An Objection: Free Will and Natural Evil.Divine Omnipotence and the Free Will Defense.Logical Consistency and the Logical Problem of Evil.Special attention is given to the free will defense, which has been the most widely discussed theistic response to the logical problem of evil. The article clarifies the nature of the logical problem of evil and considers various theistic responses to the problem. This article addresses one form of that problem that is prominent in recent philosophical discussions–that the conflict that exists between the claims of orthodox theism and the facts about evil and suffering in our world is a logical one. The challenged posed by this apparent conflict has come to be known as the problem of evil.

These facts about evil and suffering seem to conflict with the orthodox theist claim that there exists a perfectly good God. And yet we find that our world is filled with countless instances of evil and suffering. Furthermore, if God were morally perfect, then surely God would want to do something about it.

If God were all-powerful, God would be able to do something about all of the evil and suffering. If God were all-knowing, it seems that God would know about all of the horrible things that happen in our world. The existence of evil and suffering in our world seems to pose a serious challenge to belief in the existence of a perfect God.