The Problem of Evil

If God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, why does the world contain so much suffering? This is the problem of evil, widely regarded as the strongest objection to classical theism. It comes in two main forms. The logical problem claims that God and evil are strictly incompatible, so the existence of any evil disproves God. The evidential problem grants that they are not contradictory but argues that the amount and distribution of evil make God's existence improbable. Philosophers also distinguish moral evil, the suffering caused by human wrongdoing, from natural evil, the suffering caused by disease, earthquakes, and the impersonal workings of nature.

The Epicurean paradox

The challenge is ancient. The formulation attributed to Epicurus asks: is God willing to prevent evil but