1 GOD & THE PROBLEM OF EVIL Introduction The problem of evil is a human problem, and it is one of the most difficult questions that anyone can try to answer, or even attempt to deal with. Why is that? The problem of evil is a reality that we all deal with in one way or another, because we have all been touched, in one way or another, by evil. As far back as human history can take us, humans have been dealing with pain and suffering. Some of the most well-known ancient cultures explained evil and suffering as being caused by the gods: If I am doing well, flourishing, experiencing success, it is because the gods are pleased with me. If I am suffering, from sickness, or failure, or if I am struck by “bad luck” or am killed, it is because, either I have displeased the gods, or someone has turned the gods against me. Early philosophers also tried to explain the problem of evil and suffering. Pythagorus, for example, explained evil with a divine dualism. A good god is responsible for all the good in the world, and an evil god is responsible for all the evil in the world. The sophists at the time of Plato and Socrates denied the objectivity of truth, and, if truth is not objective, then there is no such thing as goodness or evil. For Plato, and the Neo-Platonists throughout the centuries, the good is the ultimate principle, something like what Christians would call God. Evil couldn’t possibly come from that which is purely good, therefore it had to come from another source. Matter was the source of evil and all evils that we experience come from matter. We should note, at this point, that a common view that was developing in the minds of these great cultures, religions and philosophers, was that evil could not come from that which was perfectly good.