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title: "Matt Dillahunty on The problem of evil"
description: "Dillahunty argues that the problem of evil is the strongest argument against an all-loving, all-powerful God and that no theodicy succeeds."
canonical: https://opendoubt.com/people/matt-dillahunty/on/problem-of-evil
source: html
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# 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.

Position

# Matt Dillahunty on _The problem of evil_

Argues againstAtheist activist and public speaker

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.

Key quotes

> “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.”

Continue exploring

[

Matt Dillahunty

Full profile — positions, quotes, and key moments.

](/people/matt-dillahunty)[

The problem of evil

The full argument — stated fairly, then answered.

](/arguments/problem-of-evil)

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