Sep 9, 2018 · 1 min read
I agree, I think most theists resolve the issue of why “bad” exists by theorizing that God had to allow for bad things to potentially happen in order to adorn humanity with free will. It doesn’t address the issue of why bad things happen elsewhere in the universe.
Suppose a planet of creatures exists somewhere where the creatures can feel suffering but lack the capacity to be ‘morally bad,’ perhaps due to limited cognition and an inability to meaningfully exercise free will. Maybe a planet full of insectoids. If a meteor crashes and destroys all that life, would they or we be content with the “free will explanation?”
Also, like you said, who is to determine what’s “bad?”
