Whether the problem of evil disproves God’s existence

The Article

The Catholic Position

The existence of evil is the most powerful objection to theism, but it does not constitute a logical disproof. Catholic theology holds that God permits evil because he can draw greater good from it, and because genuine free will requires the possibility of choosing wrongly.

Against the Position

Objections Raised

Epicurean trilemma / Mackie's logical argument

If God is willing to prevent evil but not able, he is not omnipotent. If he is able but not willing, he is not good. If he is both able and willing, why does evil exist?

Evidential argument from natural evil

Free will explains human cruelty, but it does not explain earthquakes, childhood cancer, or animal suffering. These are not caused by human choice.

On the Contrary

The Historical Counter-Witness

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

The Response

I Answer That

The logical problem of evil, in its classical form, claims that an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God is logically incompatible with the existence of evil. Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defence has shown that this is not the case: it is logically possible that God cannot create a world with free creatures who never choose evil. If free will is a genuine good, and if genuine free will includes the possibility of choosing wrongly, then God's permission of evil is logically consistent with his goodness.

The evidential problem of evil is stronger: even if evil is logically compatible with God, the sheer amount and distribution of evil makes God's existence improbable. Catholic theology responds with epistemic humility. We cannot see the full picture. A surgeon's actions look like assault to someone who does not understand the purpose of surgery. God's purposes may include goods we cannot perceive from our limited vantage point.

Natural evil (earthquakes, disease, childhood suffering) is the hardest case. The free will defence explains moral evil but not natural evil directly. Catholic theology holds that the created world is good but fallen, that physical suffering can be redemptive when united with Christ's suffering (Col 1:24), and that the full accounting includes eternity.

The Book of Job is the definitive scriptural response. God does not explain why Job suffers. He reveals himself. The answer to suffering is not a theory but a person. Christ entered suffering, endured it, and transformed its meaning. The cross is God's response to the problem of evil: not an explanation but a participation.

The problem of evil is the most honest and powerful objection to Christianity. Catholics should never dismiss it glibly. The proper response is honest engagement, not defensive deflection.

Ad Singula

Reply to Each Objection

Reply to Objection 1

The trilemma assumes that an omnipotent God can create any logically possible world, including one with free creatures who never sin. But if genuine freedom includes the real possibility of choosing evil, then eliminating all evil requires eliminating freedom. God's permission of evil is consistent with his goodness if freedom is itself a great good. Plantinga's Free Will Defence has been acknowledged by philosophers on both sides as resolving the logical problem.

Reply to Objection 2

This is the strongest version of the problem. Catholic theology offers several partial responses: the fallenness of creation affects the physical world, not just human will; suffering can be redemptive when united with Christ; the full picture includes eternal life, not just this world. None of these is a complete answer. The honest Catholic position is that natural evil remains a genuine mystery, met by trust in God's providence and by the witness of the cross, not by a tidy philosophical resolution.