How do Christians respond to the problem of evil and suffering?
The problem of evil and suffering for belief in an omnipotent and loving God, the distinction between moral and natural evil, and Christian responses including free will, the example of Jesus and practical responses.
An Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies (C120) Component 2 answer on the problem of evil and suffering, covering the logical problem for an omnipotent and loving God, moral and natural evil, and Christian responses including free will, the example of Jesus and practical compassion, with the sources of wisdom and authority Eduqas rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to explain the problem of evil and suffering: why suffering is a challenge to belief in an omnipotent and loving God, the difference between moral and natural evil, and the ways Christians respond. It grows directly out of the qualities of God studied earlier. The topic feeds the 15-mark evaluation question on whether suffering disproves God, so you need the problem stated clearly, the Christian responses, and the sources of wisdom and authority Eduqas rewards.
The problem stated
The force of the problem comes from real, terrible suffering. The Bible itself wrestles with it, above all in the book of Job, where a righteous man suffers and demands an answer from God.
Moral and natural evil
The distinction matters because the responses differ. Moral evil is most easily answered by free will (humans, not God, choose wrong). Natural evil is harder, because no human chooses an earthquake, so Christians appeal more to the idea that suffering can have a purpose we cannot fully see.
Christian responses
Christians do not all answer the problem in the same way, and Eduqas rewards knowing a range of responses.
- The free will defence. God gave humans free will because love and goodness must be freely chosen to be real. Free will makes moral evil possible, but a world of free beings who can truly love is better than a world of puppets. So moral evil is the price of genuine freedom, and the fault lies with human choice, not God.
- Suffering as a test or a way to grow. Some suffering can build character and virtue: "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3 to 4). On this view (sometimes called soul-making), a world with challenges develops courage, compassion and faith.
- The example of Jesus. In the incarnation and the crucifixion, God does not stay distant from suffering but enters it: Jesus, God the Son, suffered and died on the cross. So Christians believe God shares human suffering, which gives comfort even when it does not give a full explanation.
- God brings good out of evil. Christians trust God can bring good out of suffering: the supreme example is the resurrection, where the evil of the crucifixion becomes the means of salvation. They believe God will finally end suffering, when there will be "no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4).
- The practical response. Faith calls Christians to fight suffering, not just explain it. Following "love your neighbour" and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), Christians run hospitals, food banks and aid charities, seeing care for the suffering as obedience to God.
Why this matters for Christians
The problem of evil is not abstract: it touches every believer who suffers. Christians do not claim a complete answer (the book of Job ends not with an explanation but with trust in God's greater wisdom), but hold that suffering does not disprove God, because of free will, the cross and the hope of a final end to suffering. It also drives Christian action to relieve suffering, and links forward to Component 1's theme of good and evil.
Try this
Q1. What is the difference between moral evil and natural evil? [a-style recall]
- Cue. Moral evil is suffering caused by human choices (war, cruelty); natural evil is suffering caused by nature with no human choice behind it (earthquakes, disease).
Q2. Explain how the free will defence responds to the problem of evil. [b-style short explanation]
- Cue. God gave humans free will because real love and goodness must be freely chosen; this freedom makes moral evil possible, so wrongdoing is the result of human choice, not God, and a world of genuinely free beings is better than a world of puppets.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas C120 2019 (style)2 marks[a] What is meant by free will?Show worked answer →
This is the 2-mark (a) AO1 definition question. Define the term precisely: free will is the God-given ability to make our own genuine choices between right and wrong. A short developed phrase secures both marks, for example "the freedom to choose, which Christians believe God gave humans, making real love and goodness possible". A single word risks only one mark, so add a clause that shows understanding of why it matters for the problem of evil.
Eduqas C120 2021 (style)8 marks[c] Explain how Christians respond to the problem of evil and suffering. Refer to sources of wisdom and authority in your answer.Show worked answer →
This is the 8-mark (c) extended AO1 question, and referring to sources is required for the top band. Make developed points, each anchored in a source. Explain the free will defence: God gave humans free will, so moral evil is the result of human choice, not God; love must be freely chosen. Explain that suffering can be a test or a way to grow ("perseverance" produces character, Romans 5:3 to 4), and that God does not promise no suffering but to be present in it. Develop the example of Jesus, who suffered on the cross, showing God shares human suffering. Add the practical response: Christians follow Jesus in helping sufferers ("love your neighbour"; the Good Samaritan, Luke 10). The top band rewards developed points each tied to a named source.
Eduqas C120 2023 (style)15 marks[d] "Suffering proves that an all-powerful, loving God does not exist." Evaluate this statement. In your answer you should refer to religious beliefs and teachings, give reasoned arguments to support this statement, give reasoned arguments to support a different point of view, and reach a justified conclusion.Show worked answer →
This is the 15-mark (d) AO2 evaluation question, where SPaG is assessed, so write in continuous prose with specialist terms. Argue both sides. Arguments to support: if God is omnipotent he could stop suffering, and if he is omnibenevolent he would want to, yet terrible suffering exists, so such a God seems not to exist (the inconsistent triad); the scale of natural disasters and innocent suffering makes this forceful. Arguments for a different view: Christians answer that free will explains moral evil (God allows real choice), that suffering can build character or be part of a bigger plan we cannot see, that Jesus shares human suffering on the cross, and that God brings good out of evil (the resurrection from the crucifixion). Use specialist terms (omnipotent, omnibenevolent, free will, moral and natural evil, theodicy). A justified conclusion weighs whether suffering disproves God or whether the Christian responses adequately answer it.
Related dot points
- The nature of God as omnipotent, loving and just, the problem this raises, and the doctrine of the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
An Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies (C120) Component 2 answer on the Christian nature of God and the Trinity, covering omnipotence, love and justice, the problem this raises, and the doctrine of the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the sources of wisdom and authority Eduqas rewards.
- Christian beliefs about creation (Genesis, creation ex nihilo, the role of the Word and Spirit, literal and non-literal readings) and the incarnation of Jesus as fully God and fully human.
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- Christian beliefs about the death of Jesus on the cross, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension, and their meaning for salvation and eternal life.
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- Christian beliefs about sin and the Fall, salvation through grace, faith and works, atonement through the death of Jesus, and the afterlife of judgement, heaven, hell and purgatory.
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Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies specification (C120, from 2016) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)