Mark Theo P.

Binghay
AB PHILO – 3
Reflection about the Problem of Evil by John Hick
John Hick discusses in his essay The Problem of Evil, the objections to the belief in the existence
of God is the presence of evil in the world. He begins by posing the traditional challenge to theism in the
form of the dilemma: That if God was perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil, and being all
powerful, is able to perfectly do so as he will its. He then proceeds to present some views regarding this
issue, giving insights from three point of views, that of contemporary Christian Science, the Boston
Personalist school, and the theologian Augustine. In his theodicy, Hick argues that without free will, all
people would be nothing more than a “pet animal” in a cage. Hick asserts that God had to create people
with the ability to do evil, for otherwise, people would not be able to participate in “soul-making” which
is what serves to bring men closer to God.
The problem of evil is not that there is evil in the world. The problem of evil is not there there is
so much evil in the world. The problem of evil is not that there is not a balance between good and evil in
the world. Well then, what is the problem of evil? imply put it is this: how can there be a deity that is all
good and all knowing and all powerful at the same time that evil exists? How can there be a caring and
benevolent God when there exists evil in the world ? The Problem of Evil relates to what would appear to
be a contradiction in the idea of the deity. The deity is a being that is all good and all powerful and yet
creates or allows or permits evil to exist. It is something of a problem, something that needs to be
explained or rectified.
It is a problem with the CONCEPT of the deity in the Western religions after Christianity
overlays the Greek notions of the ideal onto the Hebrew deity: God. One answer to this question is to say
that human moral agents, not the deity or God, are the cause of the evil. The deity is not responsible for
the moral evil and in some sense created a world in which it is better that there be moral evil than not to
have moral evil or even the possibility of moral evil. This answer is insufficient to solve the problem
because every manner of defending it has failed over time to explain how a deity that is all perfect and in
particular All Knowing and All Powerful and All Good would permit or allow or cause evil to exist.
Maybe God knows about the suffering and would stop it but can not stop it - that would imply God is not
omnipotent. Maybe God is able to stop the suffering and would want to but does not know about it - that
would imply God is not omniscient. Maybe God knows about the suffering and is able to stop it but does
not wish to assuage the pain - that would imply God is not omnibenevolent. These options are explored
by those in a tradition of thought known as Process Theology (see below). In the very least, David Hume
argues, the existence of evil does not justify a belief in a caring Creator.
For me, I agree with Hick that blaming evil on the fall makes little sense. If God created us in a
perfect environment, then we could have no reason to sin. God gave human beings freedom that could
only work in the environment where he placed them. Since men were creatures, they lacked control and
their freedom could only be decided by the creator. Alternatively, God would have placed them in an
environment where they would never sin. Since God placed men on an environment where they are prone
to sin, they are not wholly accountable for their wrongdoings.
Although we accept that coercion is wrong as it makes people work in ways that are different
from their will, this is not a concern here as the process involves changing the will of people, which is
part of character development. We can also argue that complete awareness of God would trigger moral
development among people so that they could act as perfect beings. In any case, an immoral person can
have a religious incident and change into a better person.
As I reflect on the problem of evil, the reason that we even have an experience of a perceived evil
is because for the soul to experience itself as any particular thing, the exact opposite of that thing must
come into the realm of existence. In other words, in this relative existence, hot cannot be hot without
cold, darkness cannot be without light, and you cannot be you without that which is not you. So, I believe
that what we call evil is just the opposite end of the spectrum of good, not something separate. Following
this line of thought, the next logical step for our human minds to pursue would seem to be that in order
for God to experience Himself as the all-consuming good, there had to be something called the all-
consuming evil.
In conclusion, Hick’s theodicy can explain the problem of evil, although it is prone to much
criticism. Hick’s central argument is that human beings became placed in an imperfect world so that they
can develop moral characters. Hence, everyone who believes in a powerful and excellent God should
believe in the soul-making theodicy.