One of the arguments put forth to cast doubt on the existence of God is what can be called the Problem of Evil or Suffering.
This objection to belief in God is the result of the erroneous view: that evil in human life is God-made. This is not true. The actual reason for this misunderstanding is that when people observe human suffering due to evil, they seek an explanation. When, in many cases, this explanation is not immediately observable they allege that either there is no God controlling this world or, that if there is a God, He is unjust. But this attribution is quite wrong. This suffering which is found in human life is caused by people themselves, by others.
The evil that exists in human society is not spread over the entire universe. Leaving aside the limited human world, the vast universe is perfect, par excellence. It is entirely free of any defect or evil. Now the question arises as to why there is evil in the human world. To arrive at an understanding of this we shall have to understand the creation plan of the Creator. The creation plan of God provides the only criterion by which to judge the nature of this matter.
The creation plan of God as revealed to His Prophet is that this world is a testing ground, where man’s virtue is being placed on trial. It is in accordance with the records of this period of trial that man’s eternal fate will be decreed. It is for the purpose of this test that he has been granted freedom. In the absence of freedom, the question of life being a test would not arise. The evil in question is, in fact, a concomitant of this freedom. God desires to select those individuals who, in spite of being granted freedom, lead a disciplined and principled life. For individuals to prove their worth an atmosphere of freedom must be provided. Undoubtedly, due to such an atmosphere, some people will surely misuse this freedom and perpetrate acts that lead to injustice. This is the inevitable price to be paid for such a creation plan to be brought to completion. No better creation plan can be envisaged for this world.
Problems are not God’s creation. They arise due to the misuse of freedom by people. When people misuse their freedom it creates problems. So, the problem of evil should be looked at as part of the Creation Plan of God.
Featured Articles
Featured Videos
FAQs
'The problem of evil' is the most debated question concerning man and God in philosophy. This is because while the rest of the universe is evil-free, man, exceptionally, is afflicted with the ‘problem of evil’. This can be explained by understanding the freedom given to man. As per the creation plan of God man is placed in different situations to test him.
Paradise is the answer to this seeming conundrum. The concept of Paradise tells us that all those good things that are there for the rest of the creation are fully available for man too, with the only difference that the rest of the universe gets what it desires in the world of ‘today’, while man will get all that he wishes in the world of ‘tomorrow’ (the Hereafter).
Source: God’s Creation Plan
A study tells us that a more significant incentive is not ease and comfort for man's progress but challenge and difficulty. One aspect of this freedom is that it produces competition and challenge, without which no progress is possible. Misuse of freedom leads to problems, and problems are, in a sense, a sort of shock treatment because they can become a means for man's inner growth. It is only through challenges that we can progress in life.
People’s engagement in different kinds of activities with complete freedom, at times, goes against the interests of others. It is a challenging situation, causing great suffering to people. This is necessary for testing human beings and selecting them for Paradise. Further, this system is not evil in the absolute sense, for there is also an element of goodness. Suffering and challenges are the most powerful teachers of life. All such unpleasant experiences prove to be a kind of ‘shock treatment’ for individuals, leading them to undergo a tremendous mental activity called ‘brainstorming’. As per psychological studies, brainstorming is the source of intellectual development.
With ease and comfort, often, man's abilities are ruined. In contrast, challenges and problems often motivate people to develop virtues and scale new heights. That is why one can say that it is not ease but effort, not facility but difficulty, that makes men.
This point can be understood with the help of a real example. In the materially affluent societies of the West, a new disease has emerged named 'Affluenza'. This is a disease of the materially rich. In 'rich' families, people become intellectual dwarfs instead of intellectual giants. Their IQ is very low. They are lazy and do not do much work. In contrast to them, people who have grown up with difficulty and challenges often go on to do great things.
Source: God’s Creation Plan
In one way or the other, all the problems in life are the price of the inappropriate use of freedom. When people misuse their freedom, it creates problems for others. On its face, this price seems to be a very high one. However, from God, we have this good news: after death, when the Day of Judgement will come, God will hold one to task only when it was proved that he had misused the freedom he had been given. For whatever other difficulties a person may have faced based on God's creation plan like the problems that he faced due to the misuse of freedom by others or due to the handicaps that he faced, arrangements will be made for their compensation. This will make it clear that whatever difficulties and hardships he had encountered while on Earth were in line with the demand of justice.
Source: God’s Creation Plan
Talking of the issue of why there is so much suffering in the human world, people often ask: ‘If God is All-Good, why did He make such a world where people are forced to face different types of problems and where there is so much suffering?’
This question can be answered by understanding the creation plan of God. Unpleasantness has been put into this world for man to learn proper lessons from it. The true lesson taught by unpleasant experiences is that man should remember the next world of Paradise where there will not be any suffering. Having understood the creation plan of God, one’s approach to life should be: “Let me not suffer in the Hereafter what I have suffered in this world.” This understanding should make one strive for Paradise in the Hereafter one’s very purpose in life.
Source: God’s Creation Plan
