How can a good God allow evil in the world?
An all-powerful, perfectly good God must not exist, because if he did he would prevent all evil. There are two standard answers to this objection, both of which ultimately fall short. I will examine these answers first before giving what I think is a more complete answer. The first answer deals with suffering as well as intentional acts of evil. Some suffering actually benefits us, and is therefore not incompatible with a loving, moral God. Physical pain teaches us our limitations and enables us to survive. When we touch a hot stove or fire and experience pain, we learn to avoid doing so in the future. Other forms of pain are the result of discipline, either from human teachers or from God himself, or are simply consequences of poor choices. Without these forms of suffering, we wouldn’t learn to be moral, responsible people. Other suffering can’t so easily be viewed as beneficial, but there are reasons for it occuring. Some suffering (e.g. disease and natural disasters) is the result o
