God's Existism And Evil: The Problem Of Evil

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Many people, atheists and theists alike, often question how God’s existence is compatible with the evil that happens in the world each day. In this essay, I will not only discuss the problem of evil, but I will give widely held responses from theists that I think are the most plausible for proving that God and wickedness (moral and natural) can coexist in our world. These reasons are free will, evil for a greater good, and in order to strengthen our relationship with God himself. I will also provide potential objections to these arguments and how I think they can be answered from a theist’s perspective.
The problem of evil is inconsistent with the belief that (an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent) God exists because such a God would not allow the suffering of human beings, animals, and living things alike, in our universe. Many question how a perfect God could possibly allow terrible things such as terminal illnesses, poverty, death of loved ones, natural disasters, etc. to occur to us. If God were omniscient, He would know how to stop and/or prevent these sufferings from occurring. If God were omnipotent, He would have the capability to stop them. If God were omnibenevolent, loved us, and only wanted the best for us, then why would He even make us miserable in the first place? Surely, there must be a morally sufficient reason (even if we do not know, nor may we ever know). If God possessed these characteristics, then He would seek to find solutions to these sufferings in order to make His creations happy. If God knows of and is able to do this yet He refrains, then He must not be perfect.
A theist response that I think is extremely plausible, and which explains how an all-good God can allow evil is based on the premise ...

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...im in their time of need and loneliness. God is strengthening bonds and thus creating a relationship with more of His beings, as He knows they will seek solace in His protection and His unwavering support, especially when everyone else has abandoned them (Marston).
The problem of natural and moral evil and their incompatibility with an all-good God’s existence has long plagued atheists along with every day people and believers. Nonetheless, my responses provided at least a bit of support as to why the best retort a theist can give to this ever-present issue is that of our free will, granted by God himself. Of course, many objections exist and weaken this argument, such as the existence of natural instead of moral evil, unfair distributions of pain, naturalism, and determinism. However, the free will defense seems to be the most plausible justification in my opinion.

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