The Problem of Evil and Suffering

The presence of evil and suffering in the world is a problem for those Christians who want to retain God's attributes of omnipotence, omniscience and benevolence and that God created the world 'out-of-nothing' (ex nihilo).
* David Hume's challenge: 'If God is able to something about evil and suffering yet chooses not to then God is malevolent. If God cannot do anything about evil and suffering then God is impotent.'
The word 'theodicy' is derived from the Greek words 'theos' (God) and 'dike' (justice). Theodicy is therefore a word used in Christian theology to show that God is righteous and just despite the presence of evil in the world.
Two types of Evil:
* Natural Evil - Events in the world which bring about suffering due to 'natural disasters' (E.g. Earthquakes, famine).
* Moral Evil - Actions which bring about unnecessary suffering in the world as a direct result of human activity (E.g. Rape, murder).
* It should be noted that the concept of natural evil may be rejected if one considers that events such as earthquakes and famine have come about due to human mis-management of the environment. It is also questionable whether an earthquake causing the loss of human life is an 'evil' due to humans building homes on a geological fault line (E.g. The San Andreas fault which runs through San Francisco).
* Not all suffering is bad. If I feel pain when I put my hand on something hot this is good as it may stop me permanently damaging my hand by leaving it there.
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