Evil

The concept of evil is used in both a wide and a narrow sense. In the wide sense, evil is any situation or circumstance that causes or enables pain, suffering, or loss. This sense further subdivides into natural evil and moral evil. Natural evils are those caused by or originating in natural forces and events. Examples include hurricanes, flood, fire, and disease. Moral evils are caused by the actions of human or other agents. Examples are genocide, murder, rape, theft, and deception and coercion in their many forms.

The wide sense of evil is often used in discussions of the theological problem of evil—that is, how is it possible that an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God permits natural and moral evil in the world? It is ...