ld answer this question by asserting that there was no good reason for God to have prevented the extinction of dinosaurs. Most religions including Christianity employ theodicy and try to explain God’s motives for letting evil thrive.

III. Soul Building Evil

One of the leading concepts in theodicy is of soul building evil . This concept asserts that some evils are capable of soul building and refers to the strengthening of character by suffering adversities and hardships. It is offered as a plausible explanation by theodicy for God allowing evil to thrive. It is indeed a fact that hardships strengthen ones character and make one a better and stronger person. Suffering might make a person stronger, but it can also destroy a person. The torture that the Jews were subjected to, in the second world war, didn’t strengthen them as much as it destroyed them. It inflicted irreversible damage. The brutal tortures people are still being subjected to in different parts of the world every day are not making them any stronger but are destroying them. And even if such brutal tortures did reform or strengthen people, it is not worth it. A strength that requires going through inhumane ordeals is not worth acquiring. People who prevail the concept of soul building evil would not choose to go through such adversities themselves for soul building. Moreover, natural evil in the form of disasters destroys countless lives while claiming countless for good as well. The deadliest tsunamis Japan and Indonesia have suffered over the years have not led to mass reforms but destruction of masses on grand scale. The nuclear accident of Chernobyl didn’t lead to the residents becoming better people. It destroyed their lives. Therefore, saying that all evil is soul building is a gross understatement. Only a small proportion of evil is soul building .

A. Soul building of audience

There are some who argue that suffering of an individual is soul building for the witnesses as well . But this is also true for only a small proportion of evil. Most evils do not even have an audience they can subject to soul building. The evil that does get an audience only affects a small part of it in a positive way, the rest are either indifferent or unaffected because of their helplessness to aid the suffering. For example, everyday news from the atrocities being carried ou