Are We as Humans the Creators of Evil? Our Free Essay Answers

The problems of evil have confused the world's greatest minds with people questioning, "if God is so good, then why is there evil?" most Christians have concluded that the existence of evil and the presence of God are fully compatible. These problems are most times, divided between evidential and logical issues. Most believe that God and evil are not consistent. A traditional God, an example of the one that is seen in the Judeo-Christian religion, is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. Evil and good must co-exist, and there cannot be one without the other. Freewill is linked to moral evil, and by God giving us free will, he allows us to some extent, to create our destiny.

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Human beings, naturally, are right in the way they think, act and feel. This view is in accordance with the divine command theory, the pragmatic theory of truth, and the correspondence theories which outlines that a person's life is impacted positively by reality, and God, a supreme being, defines what good, and has created good humans whose experiences shape their beliefs on what is good and evil (Vardy, 2015). The fact that people are born innocent and become evil when they grow up is proof that goodliness is inherit. Some experts suggest that human beings are evil, but in my opinion, there is always a bad apple in a group. The content of the theories I mentioned proves that the human race is inherently good. Philosophical arguments have presented ideas and examples that humans are good.

According to Plato, "out of ignorance, evil acts are committed, and it is against human nature to be evil. Hence, evil cannot live in the hearts of humans". Actions of evil are a result of what the society and the environment we live in has taught us. We start portraying a different personality when we grow up (Adams, 2013). The divine command theory and the pragmatic theory of truth sees humans as naturally good creatures, with the pragmatic stating that as humans, we create truth through our individual experiences, and that truth is not absolute or fixed. Relating this point to the argument, "are we as humans creators of evil," I would say that it is easier to say that as humans we are equally as good as we are evil.

According to Augustine, when God created the world he created the air, stars, earth, trees, the angels above and every being that is spiritual. He even looked at these things and said they were good. An argument arises from this questioning, "if God created everything that was good, then where does evil come from?" therefore, the creator had to grant the sense of evil for it to exist, and St Augustine makes a conclusion that evil is an outcome of corruption far from the supreme God (Augustine, 2013). The problem of evil is not a defendant in Augustine's text, but it offers a solution to the problem's of evil. He assumes his idea of corruption that anything that becomes evil was good before it was corrupt.

The nature of God in being omniscient, omnipresent and omnibenevolent offers less justification as to why He would allow evil. Both God and evil exist in the world but does that mean that God is the source of both good and evil? Augustine argues that people are the cause of their sufferings if they do evil. He says that evil cannot be taught because through teaching, one gains an understanding, and a person who understands what is good is capable of being good.

References

Adams, M. M. (2013). Ignorance, instrumentality, compensation, and the problem of evil. Sophia, 52(1), 7-26.

Augustine, S., & Pusey, E. B. (2013). The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Start Publishing LLC.

Vardy, P. (2015). The puzzle of evil. Routledge.