THE HARMONY OF VIRTUE

The Principle of EvilTHE problem of evil is one that has taxedhuman thought and evolved various and conflicting solutions. Tothe rationalist who does not believe in anything not material, theproblem does not exist. Everything is in nature as the result ofevolution. Nature is blind and unintelligent and has therefore noconception of good or evil, the conception belongs to the humanmind and is the result of the social sense and the ideas ofpleasure and pain developed in human beings by a perfectly intelligiblenatural process. It is to men who believe in Intelligenceas governing and developing the world that the problem exists.Why did evil come into existence and what is its purpose?The unwillingness of the devout soul to admit that evil canhave its existence in God, has led to variations of the Manicheantheory which sees a double control in the world, God as thePrinciple of Good and Satan as the Principle of Evil. Those whoregard the belief in the existence of an intelligent evil power assuperstition, find the origin of evil in man who abuses his freedomand by his revolt and self-will gives birth to sin. This solutionsolves nothing, for it does not explain why there should havebeen a possibility of evil at all. Unless we limit our conceptionof God as the source and creator of all, that from which all proceeds,we must admit that evil as part of the economy of theworld must have proceeded from Him no less than good. Evenif we violently posit another creative force in the world limitingHis universality, we shall have to assume that He, having thepower to prevent evil, permits it; for He is omnipotent and nonecan do anything except by the permission of His all-wise andoverruling Providence. And if we limit the omnipotence of God,we reduce Him to a mere Demiurgus, a great Artificer of things,struggling amongst forces over which He has not entire control.Such a conception is unphilosophical and contrary to the universalspiritual experience of mankind. The problem remains why,if He is God, All-Love, sarvamaÚgalam, He creates evil or, if