A thought on one small portion of the theological problem of evil

Last updated on: September 5, 2018 at 9:53 am by Dan Peterson

A thought on one small portion of the theological problem of evil 2018-09-05T09:53:32-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The lava lake in Kilauea’s caldera can rise or fall in a matter of hours. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image) And its lava is continually flowing into the Pacific Ocean, making the Big Island a little bit bigger every year.

Perhaps the most serious threat to theistic belief is the problem of evil. If God exists, and if God is both good and all-powerful, evil is difficult to explain. Again assuming that he exists and that evil exists, God is either not good or he is not all-powerful. He either cannot prevent evil or chooses not to do so. (Perhaps, indeed, he even wills it.)

This is a thorny problem, and I won’t pretend to resolve it in a blog post, nor even to resolve it to everyone’s satisfaction in a virtually infinite series of blog posts.

However, I will point out that, in my view, the concept of eternal life and postmortem reward helps to mitigate the problem of evil. But that’s a topic for further discussion, on another occasion.

For now, I point out that the problem of evil is typically divided into two distinct parts: the problem of human evil and the problem of natural evil.

A response to human evil — e.g., murders, theft, rape, abuse, cruelty, dishonesty, and so forth — is possible on the grounds of human freedom. This world is not, a defender of theism might point out, the world that God wills. And it’s arguably not God’s fault. If people followed the Ten Commandments, for example, or lived according to the Sermon on the Mount, a great deal of human evil would be eliminated. So long as God permits human freedom, alas, human evil is possible.

But what about natural evils? A great deal of human suffering comes from pestilence and disease, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and the like.

I offer here a brief note on one class of such natural evils:

The principal areas where earthquakes and volcanic activities occur fall at the intersection of Earth’s tectonic plates, which, in their movements, create and then suddenly release enormous pressures and stress and/or provide seams through which magma can rise to our planet’s surface.

But, as it happens, such tectonic activity may be indispensable to the emergence of life in the first place:

See, for example,

“Why Earth’s Cracked Crust May Be Essential for Life: Life needs more than water alone. Recent discoveries suggest that plate tectonics has played a critical role in nourishing life on Earth. The findings carry major consequences for the search for life elsewhere in the universe.”

(For a dissenting view, see “Does a planet need plate tectonics to develop life?”)

If tectonic activity really is essential to life, or at least to complex life, this may be relevant to reflections on at least that part of the problem of natural evil.

In the first article, incidentally, you may be surprised at the prominent role played by the film director James Cameron (Terminator, The Abyss, Titanic, Avatar, etc.). He is, as it turns out, a very serious and quite intrepid oceanographic explorer. His name figured prominently at the National Geographic Museum when we visited it yesterday. One reason, obviously, was the special exhibit on the H.M.S. Titanic that was on display. But Cameron is actually a serious explorer. I’m impressed.

Posted from Washington DC

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 16, 2018

The Saga of BYU’s Jerusalem Center (Part 5)

Next Post

June 16, 2018 On Fatherhood, Chastity, and Traditional Values

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Jesus teach about forgiving others?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Once is enough Forgive seventy times seven Never forgive Only forgive friends