 | Now that Craig has established his positive case for God, he pulls back and begins to attack some of the counter claims of atheists. One of the main issues opponents to God bring up is that of evil. If God were all powerful, certainly he would be able to stop evil. If God were all loving, certainly he would want to stop evil. And if God were all knowing, certainly he would know when evil would arise, by whom, etc. It seems, then, that an omnipotent, omniscent, omnibenevolent god would be incompatible with a world that contains evil. Before countering the notion that a world where evil exists is incompatible with God, Craig puts |
forward a very important distinction in the argument from evil. Since the issue is such an emotionally charged one, it is important to distinguish between the emotional problem of evil and the intellectual problem. Most of the time, individuals are dealing with the emotional problem. The pain of evil is so deep and so real, that loving God in that moment of suffering seems incomprehensible. Like the child who cries "I hate you" to her parents as she experiences punishment or disappointment, so it is with us. But just as disdain does not make parents non-existent entities, so it does not make a positive case against God.
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