Matt Dillahunty on The problem of evil
Dillahunty argues that the problem of evil is the strongest argument against an all-loving, all-powerful God and that no theodicy succeeds.
Dillahunty considers the problem of evil the single most devastating challenge to theism. His version emphasises the specific, gratuitous suffering of innocents — children with cancer, animals in forest fires — cases where no plausible theodicy applies. Free will does not explain natural disasters. Soul-making does not explain the suffering of beings incapable of moral growth.
He is particularly critical of the 'mysterious ways' defence, which he regards as a conversation-stopper rather than an argument. If God's reasons for permitting horrific suffering are beyond human comprehension, then we have no basis for calling God good — since our concept of goodness is, ex hypothesi, inadequate to assess God's character.
Dillahunty also notes the double standard in theodicy: when something good happens, believers credit God. When something terrible happens, they invoke mystery. This asymmetry, he argues, is a textbook case of unfalsifiable reasoning.
“If you can look at a child dying of cancer and say 'God has a plan,' then your God's plan is indistinguishable from no plan at all.”