--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If God is, why is there evil? But if God…" description: "\"If God is, why is there evil? But if God is not, why is there good?\" — Saint Augustine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/saint-augustine-328_evil_if-god-is-why-is-there-evil-but-if-god-i_2399204.png" --- # If God is, why is there evil? But if God is not, why is… ![“If God is, why is there evil? But if God is not, why is there good?” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/saint-augustine-328_evil_if-god-is-why-is-there-evil-but-if-god-i_2399204.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/saint-augustine-328_evil_if-god-is-why-is-there-evil-but-if-god-i_2399204.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/saint-augustine-328_evil_if-god-is-why-is-there-evil-but-if-god-i_2399204.png) > “If God is, why is there evil? But if God is not, why is there good?” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The paradox of divine existence versus the presence of suffering and goodness challenges belief. **In simple terms:** Questioning why evil exists if God is good, and why good exists if God is absent. Key Takeaway Reflect on the complexity of morality and divine purpose. Themes theology philosophy paradox morality Mood contemplative serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - ethical debates - interfaith dialogue - philosophical study Key Concepts theodicy existential inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What does the existence of evil reveal about free will? - Can good exist without a deity? A Different Perspective The argument may oversimplify nuanced theological perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-god/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-evil-730510/) [God Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-good/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-god/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/beauty-is-indeed-a-good-gift-of-god-but-that-the-good-may-not-think/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Sin is our condition," I said. "Say rather that love is our rightful condition." "You talk like--you are a good man! But how can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mccann/sin-is-our-condition-i-said-say-rather-that-love-is-our-rightful/) [Maria McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mccann/) > [“Anything meant in this world for evil, God can use for good. God is able to take the mess of our past and turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-caine/anything-meant-in-this-world-for-evil-god-can-use-for-good-god-is/) [Christine Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-caine/) > [For good people to do evil things, it takes religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/for-good-people-to-do-evil-things-it-takes-religion/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“God is a good God, and He gives good things to his children. No matter who has denigrated you or how much pain you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/god-is-a-good-god-and-he-gives-good-things-to-his-children-no-matter/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [No one is good but God alone. What is good is therefore divine, what is divine is therefore good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-ambrose/no-one-is-good-but-god-alone-what-is-good-is-therefore-divine-what-is/) [Saint Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-ambrose/) > [“God is good at being God. I don’t have to figure my present circumstances out. I don’t have to fill the silence left behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/god-is-good-at-being-god-i-don-t-have-to-figure-my-present/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [God is ...Good Love Life... God is Good! God is Love! God is Life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-khashane-ngobeni/god-is-good-love-life-god-is-good-god-is-love-god-is-life/) [Wilson Khashane Ngobeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-khashane-ngobeni/) > [“God is great and God is good, but God is also elusive and unpredictable,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-plantinga-jr/god-is-great-and-god-is-good-but-god-is-also-elusive-and-unpredictable/) [Cornelius Plantinga Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-plantinga-jr/) > [Faith is having a good opinion of God. That God is a good God. He is not a taker but a give!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/faith-is-having-a-good-opinion-of-god-that-god-is-a-good-god-he-is/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [God is a good God, and that he's on our side, and that he has great things in store and I believe that as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/god-is-a-good-god-and-that-he-s-on-our-side-and-that-he-has-great/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [We act like God's only good when the outcome is good. We say, 'We've got a good God because I've got a good job.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/we-act-like-god-s-only-good-when-the-outcome-is-good-we-say-we-ve-got/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [ “\[...\] I talk to the dead although I don't believe in ghosts. But it makes me feel good to speak with them. Maybe that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/i-talk-to-the-dead-although-i-don-t-believe-in-ghosts-but-it-makes-me/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [God is good. God is great. We need to stop what we are doing. And thank him each day. AMEN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-vickers/god-is-good-god-is-great-we-need-to-stop-what-we-are-doing-and-thank/) [Jennifer Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-vickers/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If God is, why is there evil? 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