Existence of evil

God is the creator and moral governor of the world. He is regarded as omnipotent and benevolent. But there are so many evils existing in the world.

So, how can we reconcile the existence of evil with the omnipotence and benevolence of God? Who is responsible for the evils- God, men or anyone or anything else? This is the question of God and the problem of evil.

Evil is of three kinds –
  1. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, famines and the like are natural evils.
  2. Different sorts of physical problems and misery, sufferings, diseases are physical evils.
  3. Sins committed by persons freely such as thefts, murders, arson, adultery, rape, cruelty etc are moral evils.

Different answers to this problem of evil have been advanced by different schools of thinkers –

  • Zoroastrians believe in the existence of two rival Gods - Ahura Mazda, a good God; and Ahriman, an evil God. The good God having been defeated, the evils occur in the world. But such dualism of two rival Gods in conflict with each other is not satisfactory to the omnipotence of God.

  • According to Deism, God transcends the world after having created the world and having invested in it necessary forces to govern it. But when the forces fail to govern, the evils happen. And then God intervenes in the world. So God is not responsible for the evil. But this is not also satisfactory to us.


  • According to Theism, God has left man with freedom of will: he is free to choose either good or evil. Without freedom men world have been nothing but automation.
  • Martineau says that to strengthen man’s morality the evil appears, since God does not choose immorality. These two opinions can be satisfactory to us.

  • Pantheism denies the reality of evil and says that the so called evil is an illusory appearance. Because, God is all; all is God. But this view is also unsatisfactory to most of us.
  
  • According to pragmatism, evil is real and positive, which can be eradicated by free human efforts with the help of God.
  • According to science, the natural calamities are the results of our own activities. We can minimize them.

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