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The OP lists three theodicies and wonders if there is a fourth: God had a motive for making evil that we are unaware of that did not compromise his holiness. Evil is the result of the free will of other creatures, but not God. This appears similar to the Augustinian theodicy. Sin is an absence of the good. Some candidates for a fourth might be the ...

A theodicy implies a kind of questioning of god, & assumption we are fit to judge. So arrogance or hubris are risks. It's notable the Problem of Evil is far more peripheral to Judaism & Islam, where god's unknowability to us is much more strongly emphasised.

I would say that Alvin Plantinga's free will defense is perhaps the most philosophically rigorous defense that many agree defends the logical possibility of a good God which has created a world with evil. Please see the link for arguments pro/con about his defense. Let's be clear about the argument - it's not just that God always acts good (or is all-good/...

Wayne P. Pomerleau writes in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article already referenced in the question: Kant deals with the problem of evil more impressively in his “On the Miscarriage of All Philosophical Trials in Theodicy” (1791). He analyzes possible attempts at theodicy into three approaches: (a) it can argue that what we consider evil ...

It seems to me that Augustine's argument must be rephrased differently. The first part of the argument is aimed at establishing that: whatsoever things are, are good. This means : every substance must "partake" of the Good. In particular, this is so for a corruptible substance, because corruption is deprivation of (some) good. Now, the conclusion is ...

Evil only exists as a view point of a specific perceiver. It has no objective reality. For example: if a scientist developed a virus that when released killed 90% of humans, we would call that evil. However, from the view of other mammals this would be a good as it would keep many from extinction.

"A theodicy responds to the problem of evil which objects the existence of God, so it appears that a religious believer should want to devise a theodicy." Thing is, and this, to me, is the most salient point, there are different brands of "God." Different religions. All with slightly different head honchos, revealed truths and moral ...

Short Answer One very strong interpretation would be that as an altruist experiencing life unencumbered by religious morality, he still has to experience and make sense of why there is suffering in the world and how it relates to his choice to find meaning. In a theological sense, God answers all those questions, but to an existentialist, one must select one'...

If free will necessarily leads to evil, and God desires good, then you have to find a way to make free will and its potential for evil a method for improved benevolence. One way is to show that an apparent good act of an agent is made good by the fact that the agent chose to do it. In other words, saving someone's life when you had the option not to, makes ...