Does God Exist? Argument from Evil

Does the existence of suffering prove that God does not exist? Does it make it unlikely that God exists?

The existence of suffering does not necessarily prove that God does not exist. However, the existence of suffering and evil does make it more unlikely that God could exist. The argument from evil attempts to show that God cannot exist because there is evil in the world, and, while it may not conclusively prove that God does not exist, it is very compelling. It is relatively straightforward, and is a reductio argument. The argument that will be used for this essay is as follows:

1. God is omni benevolent

2. Any omni benevolent prevents evil as far as he is able to

3. Therefore God prevents evil as far as he is able to

4.God is omnipotent

5. Any omnipotent being is able to prevent all evil

6. Therefore God is able to prevent all evil

7. Therefore, according to 3 and 6, God must prevent all evil

8. Therefore, according to 7, there must be no evil.

9. But there is evil

10. Therefore, 1,4, or 9 must be false.

This argument is valid- all of the premises follow to reach a deductively valid conclusion. In addition, it seems that the argument is sound.

This argument does not necessarily disprove the existence of God. However, for God to exist, there must either be no evil, or God does not have the properties as identified in this argument. Often, theists negate one of these three premises (that is, either 1 and 4, or 9).

There is no evil

This is a surprisingly common reply in rebutting the argument from evil. For the purpose of this argument, evil is defined as including both moral evil (unjust actions caused by agents, such as murder) and natural evil (the pain and suffering not caused by agents, such as earthquakes). This argument is not very convincing, as to deny the existence of evil is to either be blind to the world or to have a morally repugnant view of evilSomeone who believes there is no evil must either be denying events like the...