In response to the problem of evil Thomists have suggested that God “aims” at goods that logically depend upon suffering — for example, compassion — in response to why God didn’t just make us “all good, all the time.” In other words, to make some goods actual — mercy, the incarnation, etc — entails (at least the permission) of evil. However, this invites the charge that God is willing immoral means to some good end: essentially, God is a cosmic utilitarian.
Evil, God, and Logically Dependent Goods
In response to the problem of evil Thomists have suggested that God “aims” at goods that logically depend upon suffering — for example, compassion — in response to why God didn’t just make us “all good, all the time.” In other words, to make some goods actual — mercy, the incarnation, etc — entails (at least the permission) of evil. However, this invites the charge that God is willing immoral means to some good end: essentially, God is a cosmic utilitarian.