The 'Problem of Evil' arises out of the apparent incompatibility of these statements:

1

• The 'Problem of Evil' arises out of the apparent
  incompatibility of these statements
• 1. God is omnipotent (all-powerful).
• 2. God is totally good.
• 3. Evil exists (or there exists widespread and
  intense evil, such as the suffering of
  innocent people).
• It may also be necessary to add
• 4. God is omniscient (all-knowing).

2

• Two responses to the Problem of Evil
• 1. The Free Will Defence.
• Human free will, which is supremely valuable,
  could not exist without at least the possibility
  of evil.
• 2. The 'Soul-making' Defence.
• The existence of evil is necessary for
  creating the kind of challenges needed for
  spiritual growth.

3

• Objections to free will defence
• 1. It does not account for 'natural' evil.
• 2. 'Compatibilist' free will would permit God to
  guarantee that good choices are made every
  time.
• 3. Free will could be exercised in a 'play pen'.
• 4. God knew all the evil that would be produced.

4

• Objections to soul-making defence
• 1. It does not account for the pain of animals.
• 2. It does not account for the pain of infants
  who do not live long enough for soul-making.
• 3. It does not account for painful deaths.
• 4. It seems to give soul-making disproportionate
  value.

5

• I will call no being good who is not what I
  mean when I apply that epithet to my
  fellow-creatures and if such a being can
  sentence me to hell for not so calling him, to
  hell I will go.
• 
  John Stuart Mill