God And Natural Disasters An Explanation Of Theodicy

Elizabeth Carter Professor Fuller PHIL-1301-052 13 November 2015 God and Natural Disasters: An Explanation of Theodicy Each year there are a wide variety of natural disasters occur around the world. According to the website ReliefWeb, on average there are 388 natural disasters resulting in an average of 106,654 deaths and a total of 216 million victims per average year (ReliefWeb). These types of events have caused many people to question the existence of God. How can God be omnipotent and omnibenevolent and allow this or any other evil to exist within this world? This paper will serve to explain how three of the most popular theodicies (Evil as a Privation of Good, the Free Will Defense, and Evil as Therapy) view natural disasters, God’s role within them, and why God allows these events to occur. 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