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Evil Improves The Existence Of God Essay

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Discuss whether the existence of evil disproves the existence of God

A major argument used by atheists against the existence of God is the existence of evil in the world. In philosophy evil is viewed in two different ways: moral evil, which is a result of human action, and natural evil, which caused by a fault in the natural world; the consequence of both types of evil is suffering. Due to this God’s presence is questioned by many non believers, because an omnibenevolent God wouldn’t allow suffering to his people; as a result of this Thomas Aquinas saw a frequent conclusion from philosophers that stated if God existed, there would be no evil in the world, but there is evil; therefore, God does not exist (1917). However, the existence of evil and suffering for a religious …show more content…

Aquinas approaches natural evil in a different way, because he views it as less of a punishment and more of an opportunity for goodness; “many good things would be missed if God permitted no evil to exist” (Aquinas, 1917, 1A, 49, 1). Sometimes a seemingly evil event, such as an earthquake, inspires people around the world to come together and help the country in need; therefore, the evil created an opportunity for goodness and unity, which is essentially God’s ultimate plan. When viewing evil through Aquinas’ approach it is notable that God is almost praised for including evil in our world, because it allows humanity to distinguish a difference between good and bad; therefore, humanity has a greater chance of appreciating the goodness in the world. Because of this, God’s existence is not only justified, but evil is shown as an essential part in making the world a peaceful place, rather than the initial idea that evil is a problem for the

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