Explanation of God
One of the explanations people give to their belief in God is a possibility to live a good life and have some supernatural protector and a guide. It is necessary to read the Bible or another holy scripture, follow the defined norms, and expect that everything is good. However, as soon as the problem of evil or suffering is raised, many people start questioning a traditional image of God in theism as an all good and powerful creature.
Why Suffering and Evil Exist?
Rowe (2007) introduced different pragmatic definitions, theories, and Christian approaches to contribute to the discussion of evil and God relation and explain why it is normal to believe that God does not exist. People are free to share their opinions and beliefs, but one thing remains the same that the presence of evil and suffering in human life disrupts the idea of God’s supernatural powers.
In Christianity, there are several thoughts about why God makes suffering or evil real and inevitable for all people. On the one hand, the Free Will Defense promotes personal freedoms that may be not up to God’s wish or rule (Rowe, 2007). Another philosophy includes the role of human development, both spiritual and moral, and the inability to control behaviors, which results in the misuse of personal freedoms and the emergence of sins (Rowe, 2007).
Conclusion
Despite the position chosen in this discussion, the problem of evil and its impact on the belief in God’s existence cannot be solved once and forever. There are always some new ideas and approaches, as well as personal opinions, experiences, and traditions. The existence of God is never something material but abstract and eternal, with a great possibility to improve human lives.
Reference
Rowe, W. L. (2007). Philosophy of religion: An introduction (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.