“The Problem of Evil”

The problem of evil is the problem of reconciling the existence of a god who is all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful (or even one who is quite knowledgeable, quite good, and quite powerful) with the evil we find in the world. Theodicies are attempts to explain why such a god would allow there to be evil. The article describes three theodicies: one which says evil is necessary for our development (‘soul-making’), one based upon the idea that we have free will and (briefly) one based in the idea that evil is necessary for the world to have regular laws. The article mentions some problems with these theodicies, but try to think of other problems with them and to think of problems with the objections. In addition, try to think of other theodicies.