In “The Star” an astrophysicist priest witnesses a planet that exploded while living beings were still residing. After witnessing this incident, Father Tom’s beliefs about God changed. He could not comprehend the fact that God let such an evil to occur. When Father Tom returns back to Earth, he seeks to find answers about why God would allow evil to exist. John hick, a theology philosopher, has these answers for Father Tom. They arranged a meeting and Hick will discuss the different forms of evil; moral and natural evil.
Father Tom goes to see John Hick in his office and they discuss the problem of evil.
John: “Father Tom, How are you? Come in. Pleased to meet you.”
Tom: “Thank you for meeting with me today John. I have some questions that you may be able to answer with your knowledge and understanding of evil.”
John: “Ah, I’m guessing these questions are related to what you and your team discovered in the Phoenix Nebula?”
Tom: “Yes, I find myself distraught upon our findings. After witnessing that planet explode, my beliefs in God have changed. I don’t see any justification for what he has done and it bothers me that he allowed such evil to occur.”
John: “Before we talk about why God allows evil to exist, let’s break down evil into two categories. There is natural evil and there is moral evil. Now do you understand the difference between the two evils?”
Tom: “I’m not quite familiar with the two, please explain the difference.”
John: “Well, natural evil is something that happens by itself; it is said to be caused by God, and causes pain to humans. Natural evil is something we have no control over, for example, earthquakes, floods, thunderstorms, etc. Moral evil, on the other hand, is something that we do have control over. It is something that a person chooses to do that may hurt someone. For example, murder, theft, fraud, etc.”
Tom: “Okay, but why not just create the perfect human beings who do no evil? And why would God want to inflict more evil...