A Good God in a Wicked World: Considering the Problem of Evil, Part 2

By Jonathan Moreno. From DBSJ 22 (2017): 75-90. Republished with permission. Read the series.

The Complexity of the Problem

Grappling with the problem of evil is a notoriously dubious endeavor due in part to the complexity of the problem. Therefore, if any viable solutions are to be reached, the specific kind of evil must be recognized and defined, and the theological system in which that evil resides must be identified.

Discussion

The Problem of “Evil”: What Is It?

Body

“The quotation marks in the title are not a typo. It’s an attempt to isolate and investigate a very specific question: not only ‘the question of the origin of evil,’ …but the very definition of evil itself.” - Theology in 3D

Discussion

If There Is No God, Why Is There So Much Good in the World?

Body

“Augustine summarized the argument in two great questions: ‘If there is no God, why is there so much good? If there is a God, why is there so much evil?’ To many, only the second question occurs. But the first is just as important.” - Randy Alcorn

Discussion

Why Does Creation Groan? Christianity Today Gives a Very Wrong Answer

Body

“…the god of evolution is an ogre who used a wasteful, brutal process to create life and the universe! At least Schneider is honest about what the evolutionary story means for theology (though, of course, he goes on to invent a way to explain evolution and a loving God).” - Ken Ham

Discussion

Science, Faith, and the Problem of Pain

Body

“…every worldview under the Sun must deal with the problem of pain and suffering….. having God in the equation is humanity’s last best hope of making sense of this issue.” - Reasons

Discussion

R.C. Sproul on the Problem of Pain

Body

“Whatever else evil is, it is not illusory. We experience the pangs of its impact, not only in an individual sense, but in a cosmic sense. The whole creation groans, we are told by Scripture, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.” - Ligonier

Discussion

The problem of moral evil: Calvinism vs. Molinism

Body

“As to each of the men’s positions, White is a reformed theologian (i.e., a Calvinist) while Craig espouses Molinism. Both affirmed the Westminster Confession of Faith’s stand on God and evil (section 5.4).” - CPost

Discussion