From these considerations we conclude that most likely those who firmly maintain that god exists will be forced into impiety: for if they say that he takes care of everything, they will be saying that god is the cause of evils, while if they say that he takes care of some things only or even of nothing, they will be force to say that he is either malevolent or weak, and manifestly these are impious conclusions. –Sextus Empiricus on God
Sextus Empiricus wrote the above quote about God and the Problem of Evil around two thousand years ago.
I assume the reason it was written down is because humans have wondered about good, evil, human nature, and God for a long time. I do not have any firm conclusions yet about how evil can exist/happen simultaneously with a good God. Job, I am sure, wondered the same thing.
It is interesting that humans have been trying to make sense of this issue for such a long time. What does it mean that humans have been trying to unravel this mystery? Is it because humans want security, control, power? Is it because we need a philosophical reason, however metaphysical it may be, that provides a foundation for meaning? Or maybe it has to do with being psychologically confused or wounded by our own father or mother. Also, it could be that all of these questions play a role in our journey to answer the question of whether there is a God and if he truly loves us.
I attended a wedding recently where I saw family that I hadn’t seen in years. One of these persons told me that she remembered how sensitive I was as a child. She told me that they remembered me being in my room crying and when they asked me what was wrong I said something about how I didn’t understand how my mother could love me when she talked to me so rudely.
The question of whether I am loved and whether I am lovable have been incredibly important questions to me in my own development.
Is this element of my story endemic to all of humanity? Is this question, formed by painful experiences, what fuels our search for answers and healing? Maybe, but even if it does fuel our search and is in large part the reason for our search, would we pursue this question if we felt loved and knew that we were loved? If a tree fell in the forest and there was no one there to hear it would love still be a question?
Maybe the real question has to do with the problem of love, rather then the problem of evil.
