ABSTRACT

Every human being in every age, whether religious or not, is faced with the reality of destructive experiences and evil forces. This chapter explores that in the world and belief system of the religious person there is an added challenge: if a person believes in a loving, sovereign God, how does he respond to the presence of these destructive forces. One of the classic ways in which various religions have sought to understand and respond to the presence of evil is the debate about whether evil has a quite separate source from an omnipotent, loving God, or whether this loving God in some paradoxical way is ultimately responsible for evil. The chapter also explores some of the problems which the presence of evil poses, not only for the philosophy of religion but for the person of faith.