Claim 8 of 8 · Case 06 · Problem of Evil
The serious problem of evil is the evidential one, that the amount and depth of suffering counts as evidence against God, and it has real replies.
One claim from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
The stronger challenge is not that any evil disproves God, but that the sheer scale of apparently pointless suffering makes God unlikely. This deserves to be felt, not just answered. The main replies are three. Skeptical theism argues we are in no position to say a given evil is truly pointless, since we cannot see all the connections a good God might have. The greater-good reply holds that some goods, like courage and compassion, are only possible in a world with suffering. And the Christian adds that God did not stay distant from the problem but entered it. None of these makes suffering easy. They argue it is not decisive evidence against God.
Backed by 1 piece of evidence
William Rowe’s fawn and the skeptical theist reply
Rowe is cited because he made the atheist case at its most careful and honest, not a caricature. Meeting the best version is the only version worth meeting.