Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God when they do? Can traditional theodicies really justify evil? If the usual theological and philosophical reasons fail, perhaps modern science can help us with answers.
With the advent of modern science, we may have a new platform on which to develop new justifications for the Problem of Evil.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God when they do? Can traditional theodicies really justify evil? If the usual theological and philosophical reasons fail, perhaps modern science can help us with answers.
John Milton in his epic poem, Paradise Lost, includes the line: “to justify the ways of God to men.” Although Milton wrote this several centuries ago, the idea that God’s ways needed justifying goes back thousands of years.
Theodicy is the term for addressing the philosophical and theological Problem of Evil by attempting to justify the actions of God to man. From the earliest monotheistic religions, the fact of evil has been a severe problem: “If our one God who is claimed to be all-good and powerful actually exists, why is there evil in the world?” Would it not be better to deny the existence of such a God rather that to worship it?
Obviously, the theists either had to show why the existence of evil is compatible with a belief in the existence of a perfectly good God, using well-reasoned justifications for evil (theodicies), or accept the atheist’s conclusion.
The Problem of Evil has thus produced many atheists who state the Problem as an inconsistent triad:
1 – The world contains instances of suffering
2 – God is omnipotent and omniscient
3 – God is perfectly good
An inconsistent triad is any three statements (also called a trilemma) such that any two of them taken together, are logically incompatible with the third proposition. Herein lays the problem. We insist that our God be all-good and all-powerful and then are at a loss to determine from whence comes evil. Surely, the all-good and powerful God would want the best for us and would be able to insure that His wants are accomplished. If so, does it mean that God is not all-good or all-powerful or, perhaps, does not even exist?
Some theodicies are ancient while some are modern and several of these are still accepted in spite of excellent counter arguments. However, a non-dogmatic student of religion cannot accept a validly defeated argument and must continue to look elsewhere for reasonably acceptable solutions.
With the advent of modern science, we may have a new place to look in order to develop new justifications for the Problem of Evil. In this work, I examine and refute many historical attempts to justify evil in a good God’s world and, using insights provided by some of the modern sciences, propose a solution to this theological conundrum with a rational, albeit unorthodox, theodicy that might withstand objective critical scrutiny – while obviating many religious conceptions of God.
About Gary A Stilwell, PhD
Upon retirement from working in science, technology, and super-computers at IBM, I began second careers of scientific computer consulting, and academic research, writing, and teaching. Combining my professional experience in the sciences with an academic interest in religion (MA and Ph.D. in Humanities with emphasis on religion), I began writing and lecturing on these subjects at the Florida State University and Academy in Tallahassee, Florida.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God when they do? Can traditional theodicies really justify evil? If the usual theological and philosophical reasons fail, perhaps modern science can help us with answers. 
Upon retirement from working in science, technology, and super-computers at IBM, I began second careers of scientific computer consulting, and academic research, writing, and teaching. Combining my professional experience in the sciences with an academic interest in religion (MA and Ph.D. in Humanities with emphasis on religion), I began writing and lecturing on these subjects at the Florida State University and Academy in Tallahassee, Florida.