Why do we suffer if an almighty and all-loving God is our Creator? We discussed the Free-Will Defense against the Problem of Evil previously. There it was said that people abuse the God-given gift of free-will. They freely choose to do the wrong things that cause pain and suffering to themselves and to the people around.
Yet Free Will Defense does not address natural evil as we discussed in the last post. No humans decide out of his free will to cause natural disasters that take away innocent lives.
Another suggestion as to how to resolve the Problem of Evil is the “Soul-Making” argument proposed by Irenaeus of the second century. The main idea is that we humans often build characters not out of the time of peace and prosperity. In the contrary, many moral virtues can only be developed as we struggle against evil and suffering.
Is it true that we build good characters and develop great moral values in difficult times rather than the time when we are comfortable?
I think it indeed sounds quite reasonable. In fact, good moral values are often understood in terms of adverse conditions. Courage is a great virtue, but it only comes when there is danger or a threat of personal harm. Perseverance is admirable, but it is only possible when there is pain to be endured and difficulty to be overcome. Forgiveness is a wonderful moral act, but it only comes when some wrong has been committed.
I would argue that even virtues that do not seem to relate to adverse conditions are often connected to difficulties that humans face. Love is wonderful, but to someone who receives love from everyone surrounding him, love could be something that he or she may take it for granted. Under such conditions, that person may not feel love at all! In a certain way, it is like good, tasty food. Will anyone appreciate his tasty food if it is the only food he ever has since he was born? In fact, he would not even know what it means by “tasty”. Only if he experiences some other regular food for a good period of time when he realizes that the food he had before was tasty!
We humans are imperfect. We need to grow towards maturity, and pain and suffering could be an essential ingredient for the process of growth.
Proponents of the Soul-Making argument also claim that the Creator have “the right to allow humans to suffer so long as the package of life is overall a good one for each of us. Bad aspects could be more than compensated by good aspects”. Good aspects could include the building up of valuable moral integrity for individuals who experience pain and suffering. We see that the Soul-Making argument implies that evil – pain and suffering – could lead to greater good in the overall picture of an individual’s life, or perhaps the world as a whole.
Does this “Soul-Making” argument solve the Problem of Evil for us?
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