Christians have various different beliefs about the problem of evil but these are all loosely based on the same few theories.
The Augustinian theodity says that evil was not caused by God, but was caused by free will. It is believed that Angels and Humans (Adam & Eve) are the cause of evil. St Augustine’s belief was that angels and human beings are different to everything else as they have free will and this free will was misused therefore causing mortal evil. ‘The source of evil is human and angelic free choice.’ The story of Adam and Eve clearly portrays the misuse of free will when they use their free will to disobey Gods rules.
The Irenaean theodity is different to the one provided by Augustine as he believed that God did create evil. Irenaeas believed that evil is necessary for humans to develop and so that they can have free will.
This belief is based on all humans needing to experience evil to learn from it and better themselves, for example, ‘People who have been through a terrible disease sometimes say that they actually gained a great deal from it.’ This is a great example of how bad or evil things can help us to learn and better ourselves.
These theories both give a good answer to the problem of evil but they also both have problems. Neither explains why suffering is random and inconsistent, and Augustine’s theory doesn’t give an answer to natural evil as it is based on the evil caused by peoples own freewill.
Another theory of the cause of evil is the Devil. Most Christians believe the Devil is, ‘a fallen angel who used free will to rebel against God,’ this theory comes from Augustine, who described evil as a lack of goodness. As the devil is supposed to be a fallen angel should mean it has free will, which explains why God would be unable to stop evil.
Other Christians believe that, ‘The Devil is just a symbol’
But some of those that do believe in a Devil believe that he is the root of all evil. This would give a perfect explanation to the problem of evil, as it would mean that God did not create evil. It also explains the reason for the inconsistencies in evil and clarifies the cause of both moral and natural evil.
This belief is also easy to justify as in the bible we read of Jesus’ temptations from the devil (Mathew 4:1, 5, 6, 11).
Thinkers Guide to Evil, P.Vardy, P52
The Problem of evil, Stephen Law, P19
Thinkers Guide to Evil, P.Vardy, P73
