[Map: Intro, I, II, III, IV, V, VI]
I’m trying to wrap up this series and get on to planned subsequent topics. In this post I will consider the Problem of Evil (PoE), and hopefully I’ll wrap up next time. The typical TAG response to PoE can be summarized like this:
Atheist: How can there be evil in a universe created by an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God?
TAG: Evil? Who said you can talk about evil? You don’t believe in a God to establish a standard of good and evil, so it is ridiculous for you to ask such a question!
In long form, “The Great Debate” between atheist Gordon Stein and Christian Greg Bahnsen gives an example of an actual interchange along these lines. In his opening statement, Stein states the problem well enough:
…In addition, we have a number of things, which I wouldn’t call proofs, but I would call evidence which make the existence of god even more improbable; and one of them is the problem of evil. If an all-good god exists, why is there evil in the world? We are told with god that all things are possible. If all things are possible, it would be possible for him to create a world in which the vast mass of suffering that is morally pointless, such as the pain and misery of animals, the cancer and blindness of little children, the humiliations of senility and insanity were avoided. These are apparently inflictions of the creator himself, or else we have a god that isn’t omnipotent. If you admit that, then you deny his goodness. If you say that he would not have done otherwise, you deny “with him all things are possible.”
Bahnsen addresses PoE at the end of his rebuttal:
Well, we have one minute left here. I want to answer very quickly those few things that Dr. Stein brought up in his second presentation so that I might rebut them. He wants to know about the problem of evil. My answer to the problem of evil is this: There is no problem of evil in an atheist universe because there is no evil in an atheist universe. Since there’s no god, there’s no absolute moral standard and nothing is wrong. The torture of little children is not wrong in an atheist universe. It may be painful, but it is not wrong. It is morally wrong in a theistic universe, and therefore there is a problem of evil, of perhaps the psychological or emotional sort, but philosophically the answer to the problem of evil is, you don’t have an absolute standard of good by which to measure evil in an atheist universe. You only have that in a theistic universe, and therefore the very posing of the problem presupposes my world-view, rather than his own. God has a good reason for the evil that he plans or allows.
The effect of this tactic on Stein (and other atheists I have heard this line used on) is to send him into an attempt to defend a utilitarian definition of ‘good vs. evil’ based on maximizing global happiness. It is important to expose the arbitrariness of any moral system which does not derive its authority from an eternal, unchanging God. But at bottom, this answer is merely a redirection — smoke and mirrors to distract the eye from the real Problem of Evil. Whether or not it is true that “there is no evil in an atheist universe”, the question about the Christian universe stands.
Not to say that Christianity (and TAG) has no answer for PoE (and Bahnsen’s very quick answer is buried in the statement above) — my point is that PoE has the proper logical form to be a true defeater for Christianity, so it is incumbent upon the Christian to demonstrate the invalidity of its premises. The logical form can be abstracted from Stein’s statement above:
IF (God is omnipotent AND God is omnibenevolent) THEN evil can not (does not) exist.
If that properly formed logical assertion is TRUE, then so is its contrapositive, which has the form
IF (evil does (can) exist) THEN (God is not omnipotent OR God is not omnibenevolent)
So it falls on both parties to address this logical assertion. Working within the confines of the logical statement, one way is to prove that evil does not (cannot) exist. Bahnsen’s point is that this is the atheist solution to PoE (as an effect, the questions of God’s omnipotence or omnibenevolence (or even existence) become irrelevant). Alternatively, one could demonstrate that God is not omnipotent, or that God is not omnibenevolent. Obviously, none of those logical techniques are acceptable to the Christian. The final way to address the question is to demonstrate the the assertion is not valid, and this is the right way to go.
First, note that statements of the form “IF (X is able to do Y AND X wants to do Y) THEN Y” are not always true. What if “X” is “a man” and “Y” is “steal” or “murder” or “rape” or “lie” or “cheat” or “eat a dozen donuts” or “be faithful to one’s wife” or “give to charity” or “join the peace corps”? Has it never been the case in all of human history that someone has not done what they really want to do, not because of compulsion, but by self-discipline (or lack thereof)? Or how about if X is “a high school principal”, and Y is “give a signed diploma to every student”? Or if X is “a parent” and Y is “discipline his children”?
We are getting to a point where it is important to clearly understand what is meant by “able” and “willing”, and it is at this level that we can deal with Stein. Stein opens up with, “We are told with god that all things are possible. If all things are possible, it would be possible for him to create a world…” with no evil. This evidences a common misconception of omnipotence. As my children can tell you, the correct answer to the question “Can God do all things?” is “Yes; God can do all his holy will“. So when Stein concludes “If you say that he would not have done otherwise, you deny ‘with him all things are possible,'” then I reply, “you are correct — you were wrong in the sense that you understood ‘with God all things are possible'”. Jesus has a proper perspective on the Father’s omnipotence in Mark 14:36:
And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.
So with a proper understanding of omnipotence, the question then becomes “Why would an omnibenevolent God will that evil exist?” And this is indeed a difficult question. In his limited surplus rebuttal time, Bahnsen hints at the answer: “The torture of little children…is morally wrong in a theistic universe, and therefore there is a problem of evil, of perhaps the psychological or emotional sort, but philosophically the answer to the problem of evil is…God has a good reason for the evil that he plans or allows.”
I also have limited time, so I’ll leave it at that.
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