The Logical Problem of Evil if God is Good, Omnipotent and Omniscient – How Can He Allow Evil?

John Polkinghorne in developing the scientifically responsible apologetic that he has spent his post-quantum physicist career in developing, describes evil as the “most painful of [Christianity’s] difficulties” . Similarly, John Hick writes, “evil constitutes the most serious objection there is to the Christian belief in the God of love” and this is reflected in the antithetical manner by Richard Dawkins, “Goodness is no part of the definition of the God hypothesis, merely a desirable add-on.” It is the intention of this essay to first examine why goodness and omnipotence are theologically connected and why it should be asserted that the existence of evil and omnipotence are considered to be mutually exclusive. It will then examine the philosophical and theological issues related to this challenge and evaluate how effective the defences are.

You can read a PDF of the essay here.