The Problem of Evil - Part 5
In my last post in this series on the problem of evil, I discussed William Lane Craig’s first response to the probabalistic problem of evil - that is, given the amount and kind of evil in the world it is improbable that God exists. In this post I will briefly offer Craig’s other responses.
Craig’s second response is that we are not in a good position to assess with confidence that God has no morally sufficient reasons for allowing evil in the world. Humans possess inherent cognitive limitations when attempting to understand the workings of a transcendent being such as God. For example, it is foolish to conclude that an object does not exist when we only have access to a fraction of the total area in which the object might be found. Likewise, to conclude God could have no morally sufficient reason for allowing the evils he allows is equally foolish seeing that we cannot possibly know the mind of God. We are in no position to assess those possibilities.
Stephen Wykstra calls the assumption that because we can’t find any morally sufficient reason for God allowing evils in the world there is no good reason a noseeum inference, as in, If we don’t see ‘um, they ain’t there. Assuming that a reason is not there just because we cannot see that reason is only justified if it is quite likely that we would see the reason if it was there. The noseeum inference is not justified in the case of discovering the reasons an omniscient being might have for allowing evil in the world. Given the limitlessness of God’s intellect and the finitude of ours it is not surprising that we might not find the answer if it is there.
Thirdly, Christian theism entails doctrines that increase the probability of the coexistence of God and evil. If these doctrines are true, one should not be surprised to find evil in the world. One example of such a doctrine is that, from the Christian perspective, the chief purpose in life is not happiness. Christians hold that the chief purpose in life is to know God. If moral and natural evils are the means by which people are brought to know God more deeply, then it is not astonishing that these evils are present in the world. Another Christian doctrine which increases the probability of the coexistence of God and evil is the teaching that mankind is in a state of rebellion against God and his purpose. The Christian actually expects evil in the world, given this belief. Additionally, God’s purposes are not limited to this life, but extend beyond the grave into life everlasting. It may be that certain evils which seem so horrible in this world that seem gratuitous from our limited perspective serve great eternal purposes.
Eleonor Stump offers an excellent illustration of this principle by examining the Old Testament story of Cain and Abel. She states that God’s…
overriding concern must be to insure not that (his creatures) live as long as possible or that they suffer as little pain as possible in this life but rather that they live in such a way as ultimately to bring them into union with God.
Finally, Christian theists hold that the knowledge of God is an incommensurable good. The sufferings of this life cannot be compared with such knowledge. Given these considerations, it is not improbable at all that God and evil coexist in the world.
Next, a look at the external version of the problem of evil.