A PHILOSOPHICAL EVALUATION ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

A PHILOSOPHICAL EVALUATION ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

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1. 1. Background of the Study  

For centuries, people have sought a solution to the conundrum of the existence of a supernatural deity who is almighty and omni-benevolent but permits evil to exist (Manyx 2019). Three intellectual demands may be seen to be served by belief in a supernatural deity. It provides an explanation for the world's existence and nature, assurance that life is worthwhile, a solution to the issue of how one should live, and the ultimate fate of human beings. However, Manyx  emphasizes that logically, it does not provide an answer to the dilemma of a deity who is so strong and completely benevolent that he allows a bigger quantity of evil to exist at the same time. Why would a higher amount of wickedness make God's existence less plausible than a lower amount? Any amount of evil, presumably, is a difficulty for the existence of an omnipotent and omni-benevolent god. However, most modern opponents accept that an omnipotent and omni-benevolent deity would have a morally adequate reason to allow some evil, or at least some seeming evil. That is, they may or may not be gratuitous. However, the more evil there is, the more probable it is that at least part of it is gratuitous, and hence the less likely it is that the God of conventional theism exists ( Akinyemi 2016).

Thus, the evidential issue of evil, which is the difficulty of deciding whether the existence of evil provides proof against the existence of God and, if so, to what amount. This is to suggest that a being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness allows evil to exist concurrently. The evidentiary arguments from evil aim to demonstrate that, if any evidence for God's existence is set aside, it becomes exceedingly implausible that the universe was created and is ruled by an omnipotent, omniscient, and entirely benevolent entity. As Akinyemi  emphasizes, there are certain facts about evil that cannot be adequately explained by a theistic account of the world. Theism is thus treated as a large-scale hypothesis, or explanatory theory, that aims to make sense of some relevant facts and is disproven to the extent that it fails to do so (Akinyemi 2016). As a result, it is evident that the dilemma of God and the presence of evil is a philosophical one.

Orthodox theism gives to God traits that appear to contradict our perception of reality. In orthodox theism, God is thought to exist as ONE, and they maintained an anthropomorphic image of God as PERFECT, the highest of all beings. According to St. Anselm, God is the highest entity that can be imagined (Anselm, 117, 1979). This being has a number of characteristics, including being all powerful (Job. 42:2), which refers to God being able to prompt any state of affairs that must abide by logic rules; that it must be logically possible in itself while also being logically consistent with other essential characteristics of God.

Omnipresent God (Jeremiah 23: 23-24), who is fully present in all space and time, is everywhere at the same time, and so everything occurs in His presence. Omni-benevolent (completely good) (1Jn 1:9, Jr. 12:1) is regarded to be the source of moral principle; hence, he is the centre of all moral rules and acts in accordance with them. He intends for the same good to be reflected in His creation at all times. Omniscient God (all-knowing) has knowledge of the past, present, and future, and everything that occurs is pre-planned by Him. Incorporeal (Jn 4:23-24) refers to God as a disembodied actor, implying that He is a spiritual entity capable of influencing physical entities.

Aseity (Ps 90:1-4, Jn 5:26) suggests that God is immutable from eternity to eternity. This implies that God has His own essence or existence. His existence is ontologically autonomous, as it is not dependent on any external reality.

Creator and sustainer (Gn. 1-2), He is regarded as the creator and sustainer of all that is visible and invisible. Because he grants everything that exists the ability to exist, nothing can come into existence without his will. And because power to be derives from Him, it follows that operational power also comes from Him (Gerald 2015). Thus, the name God, with the traits described above, is used to designate the Supreme Being claimed by theistic believers.

Evil, on the other hand, may be defined in a variety of ways; it has been connected with anything harmful and bad. It has been labelled as unfair, terrible, immoral, unpleasant, and suffering. The following are some of its descriptions: Evil is defined as anything that is damaging to the well-being of a sentient creature, such as unjust treatment, a missed opportunity, or the lack of a good doer.

As stated in the preceding paragraph, evil is defined as pain and suffering. Let me distinguish between pain and suffering for the purpose of clarity. Pain is a bodily condition that manifests itself when a sentient entity is exposed to physical torment. For example, if you place your hand near a bare flame, you will get burned and suffer agony. Suffering, on the other hand, is a mental state that occurs when a sentient wishes that his or her condition would be different. Pain and suffering can also be classified as psychological or emotional in nature. Rowe emphasises that acute human and animal suffering occurs on a regular basis; it is abundant in our world and is a clear instance of evil. He said that there are instances of tremendous pain that an omnipotent, omniscient being might have avoided without sacrificing some larger good or allowing some evil equally horrible or worse to occur (Rowe, 1979, 335).

It becomes an issue because evil appears to win over good in our daily lives. The simplest answer to the dilemma is to reject one proposition: either God or evil does not exist, according to theologians. The latter denial is self-defeating because no one can dispute its existence, but theologians, ironically, are unwilling to abandon their conviction and continue to hold the two assertions true. On this background, we ask, "Is the presence of God and the existence of evil compatible?"

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