The Problem of Evil
One particular argument that people sometimes use to try to promote atheism is the Problem of Evil. Why would a good god allow such bad things to happen in the world? In fact, it's such a well-worn topic that there's even a name for the field of apologetics that attempts to answer it, Theodicy. And while this argument may make you question what you learned in Sunday School, I've never considered it a very strong argument for atheism, per se*. It just means that if God exists, he's not particularly nice. I mean, if a god created the entire universe and could have done so in any manner it saw fit, it still created a universe in which cancer in children is a thing that actually happens.
The fallback that some fundamentalists use of Adam and Eve and the Fall doesn't help out at all, at least when you take that story literally and not metaphorically. I mean, God just created these two beings, knowing full well what their characters were, and then put the one object that could doom the entire universe right in the middle of the garden where they were living. And these two innocents (because they didn't know right from wrong until after they ate the fruit of the tree) were punished because they were gullible enough to be tricked by a serpent (which God also created). If God really cared that much about his creation, he could have at least put a fence around the tree, or better yet, not even put it in the garden so it couldn't have caused all that trouble to begin with. It's like he was setting them up for failure.
The other most common defense I've seen by Christians is to bring up free will. If God is going to grant us free will, then some people will abuse that freedom to cause evil. But that doesn't explain natural evils like the example I mentioned above of cancer in children. Why create a universe where that's even a possibility? I mean, if we all have souls that are the real us, why even create the universe to function on a physical level with things like DNA that can go awry and cause so much suffering at random?
But the free will explanation is also pretty weak for human caused suffering. If God really is like he's presented in the OT, and took an active role in human affairs, from the Exodus to aiding the Israelites in their conquest / genocide of the Promised Land to, my personal favorite, the quail episode from Numbers, he could certainly have intervened a bit to stop the Holocaust or Stalin's massacres in the Soviet Union. I mean, it's not like the Bible presents an aloof god who was afraid to step in and do things.
I also wonder what Christians who use free will as an excuse for the problem of evil think about heaven. Do we still have free will in heaven? If so, does that mean the problem of evil still exists in the afterlife, and that we can expect the same type of suffering in heaven as happens in life? Or do they believe it is possible for God to set up a realm with free will and without suffering? And if so, then you're back to the problem of why he created the physical universe so differently.
Granted, there are other reasons to not believe in God, so we don't have to fret about being stuck in a universe created by such a cruel deity. This is really more just a thought experiment to point out the flaws in some apologetic reasoning. We might just as well be wondering why Apollo's chariot doesn't burn up from the heat of the sun.
*I've used examples myself of Yahweh not being good (e.g. God vs. Supervillains). But it's always been to make people question their assumptions about religion, not as evidence itself against gods.
Note: This entry is adapted from a series of comments I left on the CNN article, Penn Jillette: Time for atheists to stand up and be counted.
Comments
lipitor online atorvastatin uk how to buy atorvastatin
Posted by: Jiljfb | March 12, 2024 12:48 PM
baycip cost - order amoxiclav online amoxiclav order
Posted by: Ivsrql | March 13, 2024 8:34 PM
ciprofloxacin 500mg cost - sulfamethoxazole cheap buy augmentin without prescription
Posted by: Bmfwbf | March 14, 2024 7:41 AM
metronidazole sale - zithromax sale buy zithromax cheap
Posted by: Ozhakl | March 16, 2024 4:10 PM
order generic ciprofloxacin - buy erythromycin for sale erythromycin buy online
Posted by: Klntpg | March 17, 2024 1:54 PM
buy valacyclovir generic - how to get zovirax without a prescription cheap acyclovir 400mg
Posted by: Cfawiv | March 18, 2024 8:38 PM
ivermectin without prescription - cefuroxime oral buy tetracycline pills for sale
Posted by: Kkatxu | March 19, 2024 5:39 PM
buy metronidazole 400mg online - buy generic cleocin over the counter brand azithromycin
Posted by: Vvctpl | March 21, 2024 3:49 AM
where to buy acillin without a prescription acillin pills amoxil pill
Posted by: Ejgzab | March 21, 2024 2:52 PM
furosemide 40mg sale - lasix without prescription capoten 120mg sale
Posted by: Yswhdi | March 22, 2024 2:07 PM
metformin 1000mg without prescription - order lincomycin lincocin 500mg price
Posted by: Czqvba | March 25, 2024 1:39 PM
oral retrovir - avapro over the counter zyloprim us
Posted by: Iefanp | March 25, 2024 8:01 PM
buy clozaril pills for sale - oral pepcid 40mg buy pepcid 20mg without prescription
Posted by: Ephhcy | March 27, 2024 10:38 PM
order quetiapine online cheap - purchase zoloft online cheap purchase eskalith pill
Posted by: Lbmpki | March 28, 2024 6:17 PM
clomipramine order online - buy anafranil cheap doxepin 25mg tablet
Posted by: Gnizqh | March 30, 2024 4:15 PM
cheap atarax - how to buy endep endep 25mg cost
Posted by: Tnmykb | March 30, 2024 8:00 PM
purchase amoxicillin online - purchase erythromycin pills buy ciprofloxacin 500mg
Posted by: Thcspo | April 3, 2024 10:15 AM
augmentin without prescription - ampicillin cheap buy cipro 1000mg
Posted by: Ntdtjt | April 3, 2024 6:33 PM
how to get clindamycin without a prescription - buy acticlate without prescription buy chloramphenicol generic
Posted by: Cemcva | April 8, 2024 6:14 PM
zithromax 500mg pill - order tinidazole 300mg generic where to buy ciplox without a prescription
Posted by: Zritub | April 9, 2024 4:48 PM
purchase albuterol online cheap - phenergan tablet buy theophylline 400mg online
Posted by: Gcvfdq | April 12, 2024 9:08 AM
cost ivermectin - aczone online buy order cefaclor online
Posted by: Tbogug | April 12, 2024 9:57 AM
desloratadine for sale online - buy ketotifen 1 mg generic buy albuterol 4mg online cheap
Posted by: Ojuots | April 14, 2024 6:21 PM
medrol uk - buy generic fluorometholone for sale astelin 10 ml oral
Posted by: Lcbivl | April 15, 2024 10:08 AM
where to buy micronase without a prescription - buy dapagliflozin 10mg order generic dapagliflozin 10mg
Posted by: Jujzpo | April 16, 2024 7:43 PM
purchase repaglinide generic - buy jardiance generic buy jardiance sale
Posted by: Lotxsc | April 18, 2024 7:35 PM
glucophage for sale online - glucophage usa order acarbose 50mg generic
Posted by: Agarrw | April 19, 2024 12:34 PM
purchase terbinafine for sale - buy fulvicin 250mg pills griseofulvin over the counter
Posted by: Zoieya | April 21, 2024 12:17 PM
rybelsus 14 mg drug - cheap glucovance order DDAVP generic
Posted by: Jyfenn | April 22, 2024 2:15 PM
buy nizoral 200mg without prescription - order generic sporanox 100mg sporanox canada
Posted by: Sicxwp | April 23, 2024 4:02 PM
famvir cheap - buy famvir 250mg online order valaciclovir 1000mg sale
Posted by: Hodssa | April 25, 2024 3:09 PM
buy cheap lanoxin - dipyridamole generic lasix 40mg generic
Posted by: Mmagas | April 25, 2024 5:39 PM
order hydrochlorothiazide 25mg - buy generic bisoprolol buy zebeta 10mg
Posted by: Lcaoqp | April 27, 2024 7:34 PM
lopressor 100mg canada - cheap olmesartan nifedipine 30mg sale
Posted by: Ulcfca | April 28, 2024 6:46 PM
nitroglycerin pill - lozol sale valsartan for sale
Posted by: Eoyqob | April 29, 2024 7:46 PM
crestor voice - zetia mess caduet buy doorway
Posted by: Bnjrnd | May 2, 2024 11:23 AM
zocor harmony - gemfibrozil lose atorvastatin our
Posted by: Wnpcwv | May 2, 2024 11:44 AM
acne medication goodness - acne treatment our acne medication starve
Posted by: Slqjrj | May 19, 2024 9:59 AM
asthma treatment shock - inhalers for asthma toast asthma medication wither
Posted by: Hhefrr | May 20, 2024 6:48 AM
uti treatment tough - treatment for uti growl treatment for uti shed
Posted by: Jgjxks | May 21, 2024 6:30 AM
prostatitis medications aid - prostatitis medications pont pills for treat prostatitis here
Posted by: Iwqkjb | May 22, 2024 3:46 AM
valtrex online din - valtrex online bunch valtrex change
Posted by: Wydpin | May 23, 2024 5:19 AM