Greg’s claim is that the problem of evil (hereafter PoE) is not really much of a problem for Christian theism. What makes it exempt, apparently, is that evil is a central theme of the Christian narrative. But does that really work? Does the fact that Christianity makes it a key feature of its narrative inoculate it from the PoE? That depends on whether the narrative introduces morally sufficient reasons for a God to allow evil.
For those not familiar with the details, the PoE is really a family of arguments that are essentially divided into two subcategories. One category contains all arguments aimed at showing that the existence of God and the existence of evil (or at least certain kinds of evil) are logically incompatible. These are deductive arguments. The second category contains all arguments of an evidential variety, which aim to show that given the existence of evil (or at least certain kinds of evil) it is highly unlikely that God exists. For a good overview of the PoE and its nuances, see the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
One obstacle when discussing the PoE is the term “evil”. This term has a lot of religious connotations and baggage, which can get in the way. This is why many formulations of the argument employ terms like “suffering” instead.
With that said, Greg goes on to say that in the Christian narrative God deals with the problem of evil. How? Greg believes that humans are ultimately responsible for evil. We humans screwed things up. And although he doesn’t explicitly state it, Greg likely thinks the fall of man accounts for natural “evils” as well – e.g. disease and disaster. The solution is that God entered creation as a man (Jesus) and died for us, so that we don’t have to be held guilty. Later God will renew everything.
Does this really address the PoE? Well… no, and it seems Greg doesn’t really understand the argument. The essential question is that if God is an omni-being, then why do we observe, right now, all the evil we do? To say it will eventually be dealt with is to skirt the issue. Why not renew everything now? Why not fix the problem immediately after the fall? It isn’t clear.
Now, humans are indeed to blame for much of the suffering in the world. However, this should not be mistaken with saying that all humans are at all times to blame. For instance, blaming humans doesn’t explain why God would allow some terrible humans to force children into sex trafficking. Greg gives no good reason for God waiting until some indeterminate future time to address evil as opposed to participating in human lives now. So, while Greg may not feel so bothered, he hasn’t in any way removed the obstacle of the PoE for others.
Resources
For those interested in actually critically engaging with the PoE, check out the following books.
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