Online Reference For Body, Mind & Spirit

Term: Dichotomy of Evil

DEFINITION:
A philosophical problem facing monotheistic religions. The basic idea is that such religions view god as having the qualities of being both good and all-powerful. This, however, is impossible. Observation shows us that there is evil in the world. Were a good god all powerful, it is argued, evil would not exist. Therefore, either god is not all powerful and cannot stop evil (often represented in the form of an evil entity such as the Devil), or god is all-powerful but also actually evil.