The Problem of Evil
− From the standpoint of atheism, the problem of evil, whether due to humans’ brutality to other humans or to natural disasters, constitutes the greatest obstacle to belief in God’s existence.
− Atheism argues that because evil and suffering exists, a good, all-powerful, and all-knowing God cannot exist. Otherwise, He would stop evil and suffering.
− Atheism posits that even if God were to have adequate justifiable reasons for allowing certain evils or suffering to occur to bring about some greater good, God would only allow as much evil or suffering as is absolutely necessary. But the prevalent instances of apparently pointless (gratuitous) evils from which no greater good seems to result provides strong evidence that God does not exist.
− Atheism rejects the free will component, arguing that even if it provides a satisfactory explanation for moral evil produced by morally wrong human choices such as murder, adultery, and racism, it fails to address natural evil such as earthquakes, disease, hurricanes, and famines. This is because natural evil arises through no fault of humans, who are completely powerless to prevent it.
