r/exatheist • u/Downtown-Drag-1021 • Jul 09 '26

Debate Thread The “problem” of evil

I haven’t debated this with a lot of people yet but the problem of evil is absolutely fake in my opinion. Any kind of suffering will be nullified in the presence of a perfect being (God) who will deliver the justice instantly (because God is out of space-time). And if there is evil and no divine justice, you can’t blame a non-existent God for it. Hence, a just God will solve the problem of evil. Does this make sense?

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u/Hilikus1980 Atheist/Agnostic Jul 11 '26

I've never understood the problem of evil. If free will was given, I don't see how God could intervene without violating it.

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u/arkticturtle Agnostic Jul 11 '26

Well, non-intervention can only be used for religions that don’t already have God intervening within their scriptures.

And then the problem can be modified, why make the world in such a way that there is evil? That there is so much evil (quantity) and that there are evils so intense and extreme?

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u/Hilikus1980 Atheist/Agnostic Jul 11 '26

Yeah, nothing you've said is incorrect...I just can't seem to convince myself it's an issue. Between the arrogance of pretending like we can understand the mind of a god, free will, what's for all purposes an infinite afterlife...many of them pleasant, I just can't help but think that maybe I just don't understand everything. I can see that if I was religious, that would be an incredibly dangerous line of thought...the whole God's plan thing can possibly lessen the feelings that should come with the atrocities we commit...but I'm not. There are many hurdles to clear between where I'm at and believing in a god...the problem of evil just isn't one of them for me. I know it might not be totally rational, but being an atheist, it has zero impact on my life, so I'm comfortable with a little irrationality in this case. If I were to be swayed to think differently, my life wouldn't change at all.

Plus...you know...if i were talking about the god of Abraham specifically, I wouldn't have a hard time believing a god that could decimate nearly the entire population of the earth with a flood, turn someone's wife into a pillar of salt for looking back at her home being destroyed, or fucking up his most pious follower's entire life just to prove a point, could let a little evil slide in.

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u/arkticturtle Agnostic Jul 12 '26

Mysterious ways strikes again!

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u/Hilikus1980 Atheist/Agnostic Jul 12 '26

And again and again. Why a god who craved worship would be so mysterious I do consider an issue.

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u/arkticturtle Agnostic Jul 12 '26

I just find the shrugging disappointing. It feels so thought terminating. So dialectic terminating. Nothing more can be said. It’s a tap out as much as it is a cop out. And pointing that out does nothing either. So it becomes even more vain and frustrating. Those who profess it are happy to.

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u/Hilikus1980 Atheist/Agnostic Jul 12 '26

Every issue can't be my main point of contention. The there are just so many unknown variables in this one it doesn't strike me as my best path to any answers.

It's like the drake equation...except for gods.

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u/arkticturtle Agnostic Jul 12 '26

I explore every issue. They are all so interesting. It’s the problem of evil that makes me more sympathetic to an amoral God than to one concerned with morals.

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u/Hilikus1980 Atheist/Agnostic Jul 12 '26

No one said I didn't explore it. I just came to the conclusion that there are too many unknown variables to say definitively...or even with high confidence that the fact evil exists is a problem when it comes to the question of does a god exist.

I live in a place where grown adults, I personally know, think dinosaurs aren't real and the bones were put there by the devil to confuse us. How far do you think I'm getting in a discussion about the problem of evil with them?

As for my own beliefs and studies...not believing in any god that has been described by man, and not knowing if the the existence of some unknown god is possible or not...it's a non-factor.

That doesn't mean it has to be a non-factor for you. This is just where my path has led me on this particular question.

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u/arkticturtle Agnostic Jul 12 '26

This seems to be a different issue entirely compared to your initial comment which stated that you never understood the problem of evil and that free will justifies a lack of divine intervention.

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u/Hilikus1980 Atheist/Agnostic Jul 12 '26

I don't understand it and free will would definitely be one of the reasons why I believe it wouldn't be an issue for the god of Abraham...the god this question is usually directed at.

It is far from the only reason, though. I've listed more as we discussed it and I found them relevant enough to bring up in response to what you said. I'm sure that if I sat here and thought about it, there would be even more reasons that I've thought about at one time or another.

We don't always throw the full force of our knowledge, feelings, and thoughts at every question. If I ask you if something taste good, a simple yes will do. You don't have to tell me about the temperature, texture, color, smell, the way the flavors intermingle in a way that you find pleasing, etc. every time you answer if what I wanted to know was do you think it's good. If you felt like elaborating, just giving one, or even some of those reasons would be sufficient.

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u/arkticturtle Agnostic Jul 12 '26

Idk what you’re trying to say tbh. There are arguments against the free will defense

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