Face the hardest question in Christian thought — and be equipped to answer it
A rigorous, philosophically grounded, and pastorally honest course that takes you from Epicurus to Plantinga, from Job to the resurrection — so you can engage the problem of evil with both intellectual precision and genuine compassion.
"I will not offer you an answer that costs you nothing — I will equip you to stand honestly inside the hardest question faith faces."
— Theoria
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Distinguish between the logical and evidential formulations of the problem of evil and evaluate the strengths and limits of each
- Analyze major theodicies — including the free will defense, soul-making theodicy, and greater-good arguments — through the lens of philosophers from Epicurus to Alvin Plantinga
- Engage key biblical texts from Job, the Psalms, the Gospels, and Paul's letters to articulate how Scripture addresses suffering, lament, and divine justice
- Explain the theological significance of Christ's suffering, the cross, and the resurrection as Christian responses to the reality of evil
- Construct well-reasoned, empathetic responses to common objections against Christian belief arising from the existence of evil and suffering
- Engage conversations about suffering and grief with intellectual humility, discernment, and pastoral sensitivity toward those in genuine pain
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 29 lessons
Framing the Problem
Introduces the problem of evil as a philosophical, theological, and personal challenge, establishing the vocabulary and distinctions students will use throughout the course.
- 1.1Why the Problem of Evil MattersIncluded
- 1.2Key Terms and DistinctionsIncluded
- 1.3The Logical Problem of EvilIncluded
- 1.4The Evidential Problem of EvilIncluded
- 1.5Emotional, Logical, and Pastoral DimensionsIncluded
Voices in the Conversation — A History of the Debate
Surveys the most influential thinkers who have shaped the problem of evil, from ancient philosophy through contemporary analytic theology.
- 2.1Epicurus, Hume, and the Classical ChallengesIncluded
- 2.2Augustine and Aquinas — Evil as PrivationIncluded
- 2.3Alvin Plantinga and the Analytic TurnIncluded
- 2.4John Hick and Irenaean TheodicyIncluded
- 2.5Contemporary Voices and Open QuestionsIncluded
Major Christian Theodicies — Arguments and Evaluations
Examines the leading Christian responses to evil in depth, assessing the strengths and limitations of each without claiming any one view settles every difficulty.
- 3.1The Free Will DefenseIncluded
- 3.2Soul-Making TheodicyIncluded
- 3.3Greater-Good and Hidden-Reasons ArgumentsIncluded
- 3.4Natural Evil, Providence, and Divine ActionIncluded
- 3.5Skeptical Theism and the Limits of Human KnowledgeIncluded
Scripture and Suffering — The Biblical Witness
Engages the Bible's own wrestling with evil and suffering across multiple genres, showing how Scripture holds together lament, justice, and hope.
- 4.1Creation, Fall, and the Origin of Evil — GenesisIncluded
- 4.2The Book of Job — Suffering Without Easy AnswersIncluded
- 4.3Lament in the Psalms and the ProphetsIncluded
- 4.4Jesus, the Gospels, and the Reality of SufferingIncluded
- 4.5Paul, Resurrection Hope, and New CreationIncluded
The Cross, the Resurrection, and the Christian Answer
Centers on Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection as the theological heart of the Christian response to evil — both intellectually and pastorally.
- 5.1The Suffering of Christ — God Enters the ProblemIncluded
- 5.2The Cross as God's Response to EvilIncluded
- 5.3Resurrection, Justice, and the Defeat of EvilIncluded
- 5.4New Creation and the Eschatological VisionIncluded
Engaging the Problem with Wisdom and Compassion
Equips learners to respond to objections in real conversations, engage those who suffer with pastoral care, and sustain faith through doubt and grief.
- 6.1Responding to Common Objections Charitably and ClearlyIncluded
- 6.2Human Freedom, Prayer, and MiraclesIncluded
- 6.3Suffering and Spiritual FormationIncluded
- 6.4Pastoral Presence — Engaging Those Who GrieveIncluded
- 6.5Living with Unanswered Questions — Faith, Doubt, and HopeIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
Theology students
Needs a philosophically precise, biblically grounded course to complement seminary coursework and sharpen arguments before they're tested in the classroom or pulpit.
Pastors and ministry leaders
Regularly sits with grieving or doubting congregants and wants the intellectual depth and pastoral vocabulary to respond faithfully rather than reflexively.
Christian apologists
Engages skeptics and atheists who cite suffering as their strongest objection, and needs to understand the logical vs. evidential problem at a level that holds up under pressure.
Thoughtful believers in crisis
Has experienced real loss or suffering and will not settle for pat answers — wants to wrestle honestly with what Christian faith has to say about God's justice and presence in pain.
Serious independent learners
Has no formal theology degree but reads widely and wants a rigorous, primary-source-grounded engagement with one of philosophy of religion's central debates.
Lay leaders and small group teachers
Leads adult education, discipleship groups, or Sunday classes and wants the depth and pastoral sensitivity to facilitate honest conversations about suffering and faith.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Theoria
If you have picked up this course, I suspect you already know that the problem of evil does not yield to quick answers. You may have tried to give those answers — to a friend, a congregant, a skeptic, or yourself — and felt the ground shift beneath them. That experience is not a failure of faith. It is the beginning of taking the question seriously. And it is exactly where this course begins.
I designed this course because I believe the church deserves better than two bad options: the theological bravado that deflects hard questions with easy formulas, and the intellectual retreat that treats doubt as the more honest position. Neither serves the person who is genuinely suffering. Neither serves the student who wants to think. The problem of evil is one of the most carefully argued questions in all of philosophy of religion, and it deserves to be engaged at that level — with rigor, with precision, and with your whole mind.
At the same time, I have never forgotten that this question has a face. Job is not a philosophical thought experiment. The psalms of lament were written by real people in real darkness. The cross happened to a real person. This course holds the philosophical and the human together, because I believe that is the only honest way to hold them.
What you will find here is a guided journey through the best thinking the tradition has produced — from Augustine's privation theory to Plantinga's free will defense to the contemporary debates in skeptical theism — alongside a serious engagement with what Scripture actually says about suffering, lament, and the justice of God. We will spend real time in Job, in the Psalms, in the Gospels, and in Paul, not as proof texts but as primary witnesses who knew the weight of the question firsthand.
By the end, you will not have a formula that makes the problem disappear. I would not insult you with that. What you will have is a richer, more precise, more honest set of resources — philosophical, theological, biblical, and pastoral — for living inside the question and helping others to do the same. You will know why the logical problem is not the slam-dunk its proponents once believed. You will understand where the evidential problem has genuine force and where it does not. You will have the language, and the heart, to sit with someone in grief without flinching.
Come and think hard about the things that matter most.
— Theoria
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- 6 modules, 29 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
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