I somewhat recently watched the movie “Changeling.” Bad title for this movie, but very well-done.

I emphatically will not call this movie “good” because it is such a tough movie to watch due to its subject matter. While it is tough on the emotions, it is definitely worth seeing though. I cannot imagine a better visual portrayal of this story, and though I am somewhat sad to say it, this movie, like so many others, screams, “Welcome to Humanity!” and forces its viewers to confront the very nature of what it means to be human.

Both the good and bad of humanity are portrayed in this movie, and, as is always the case with honest movies, it is hard to say which side wins.

The reason I am writing about this movie is because watching it made me realize that I need to qualify some statements I previously made. I have frequently and repeatedly told a number of people that “the so-called problem of evil isn’t a problem for me.” In some such cases I have explained myself more than in others, but I now see that all of my statements on the matter need further explanation.

When I say this, what I mean is that I do not have a philosophical or theological problem with evil. I do not have a problem with the idea of evil. I am not bothered by it in the abstract. In short, the issue of “theodicy” in which people cannot believe a good God exists in light of our evil world is not a problem for me. It makes sense to me that anything not-God has a notable chance of being quite unlike and maybe even opposed to God.

Now, for the qualification: I have a very big problem with evil when it is not in the abstract. I have an enormous problem with evil as it exists in the world. Evil haunts me in the sense that I cannot fathom its manifestations. I cannot make sense of this evil world.

That is what people need to realize is happening when they consider the problem of evil. The problem of evil, in my mind at least, is not a problem at all philosophically or theologically just as any number of other philosophical or theological concepts is perfectly logical and correct within their contexts. The problem is actually trying to face these concepts and issues in life.

Facing evil is tough and causes problems. It is difficult to try to confront both the positive and the negative things that are beyond our comprehension. Anything super- or supra- or preter- or otherwise unnatural is difficult for us primarily natural beings to come to terms with, and evil – particularly the kinds of evil portrayed in Changeling – always appears unnatural to us even though we are constantly inundated with it to varying degrees.

A philosophical basis for a problem with evil does not seem founded, and philosophical arguments proposing the problem of evil have been well refuted by the likes of Boethius in the sixth century and C.S. Lewis in the twentieth, so I will henceforth refrain from philosophical refutations of the problem of evil in favor of acknowledging the problem each and every human should and hopefully does have with encountering evil. In short, my problem with evil is personal, and I do not think there is any other legitimate kind of problem with evil.

Matt Brumit is a senior Humanities major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].