The problem of evil, or, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”
There are two categories that are really pivotal in my thoughts and opinions on theism in the last decade. These are “theodicy” and “dystheism”. The definitions of these terms are very similar, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people out there who use them interchangeably. But I think the terms are distinct in their level of precision.
Theodicy is “the problem of evil.” So this would be something that theologians have been discussing for years. The typical answer from an average pastor might be that evil is a result of the Fall of Man, when a literal Adam followed a literal Eve in a literal garden eating a literal fruit, that at that point sin entered their lives and was passed down through the generations like an infection. Some charismatic books say that the fact that God “allows” evil is that he’s given mankind “dominion” over the Earth and it’s our job to stand up and conquer it.
“Why does God cause bad things to happen?”
Dystheism, on the other hand, is the idea that God is not merely passive or apathetic, but actively, intentionally, bad. Old dualistic religions have a good god and a bad god, and they imply that both gods are legitimate, whereas in Christianity, the devil is considered to be a created being with limited power.
The way we can have a conversation about dystheism is by considering “what is good?” and sitting in judgment over God to see whether he measures up.
“God in the Dock,” so to say.
“God is good…”? There is a saying: “It’s not that God is good because he does good things; but goodness is good because it’s what God does.” But maybe there is a universal goodness indicated by altruism and humanism.
How about the Golden Rule? (Which, incidentally, turns out to occur in writings older than the Bible. You don’t need Scripture to know you should treat others how you’d like to be treated.)
There is right, and there is wrong. From our perspective, probably rightness entails preservation of ourselves and our homes. Murder and theft is injustice. If you wouldn’t know it’s wrong to murder and steal unless you read about it in the 10 commandments, then you’re not fit for civil society anyway.