Presence of Evil
The Presence of Evil CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.; tune any television in the world to one of these stations and anyone can see that evil runs rampant in the world today. There are long standing questions concerning the existence of evil that have been addressed numerous times. Does evil exist? ... How can a god who is supposed to be “all good” create evil? If evil exists, can there be an “all good” god? If there is such a god, can evil exist? ... Philosophy seems to be the most popular means by which to approach the question of whether or not evil exists. Even though, according to the philosophy of Boethius, evil does not exist, the presence of evil is abundant in the world. With evil present at almost every turn, how can anyone say, even by use of philosophy, that it does not exist? This seems to be a classic case of denial for those who can find no logical reason for evil’s existence. Since there is no “physical” evidence of the existence of evil, all cases of evil being seen in the guise of the effect, only after the act has been done, some people choose to ignore its existence. ... “What if evil is not a thing? Then evil did not need creating (Koukl)” When considered from this point of view, “it prompts a pair of syllogisms that lead to a different conclusion. First, 1) All things that God created are good; 2) evil is not good; 3) therefore, evil was not created by God. Second: 1) God created every thing; 2) God did not create evil; 3) therefore, evil is not a thing (Koukl).” “Boethius errs in assuming that the existence of evil is necessarily inconsistent with an all-loving, just God (McManus).” These statements lead to the conclusion that evil is not a thing. “Boethius’ equivalence of evil with nothing is his most serious error. At the same time that he claims God cannot do evil, he asserts that human beings can. ... ” In light of this end, we must ask; what is evil? Augustine’s answer to this question is: “Evil has no positive nature; but the loss of good has received the name ‘evil.’” Augustine concluded that evil always injures. ... Given that all things originated from good, evil must be the absence of good.