Simplicity & the Problem of Evil

Question #26: How does divine simplicity, as taught in Catholic scholastic tradition (cf. Aquinas), intersect with the “problem of evil,” in light of God’s sovereign goodness (CCC 309–314)?

Within Catholic scholastic tradition, especially in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, divine simplicity (the doctrine that God is without parts or composition) intersects with the “problem of evil” in a manner that preserves both God’s sovereign goodness and the reality of evil in creation (see CCC 309–314). The key lies in understanding how evil fits within a universe created ex nihilo by a God who is pure goodness.

1. Evil as Privation, Not a Positive Entity

For Aquinas, evil is not a “thing” that God must have created; rather, it is a privation of good–a lack or distortion of some due perfection. Since God is actus purus (pure act) and the fullness of being, He cannot be the direct cause of any positively existing evil. All that exists in a positive sense is good insofar as it participates in being, which comes from God, “the sovereign good” (CCC 308). Consequently, evil is an absence of the good that should be present, rather than something God “injected” into creation.

2. No Contradiction in God’s Nature

Because God is simple–His essence and attributes are one–He is unchanging goodness. There is no “dark side” in God that could produce evil. The problem of evil, then, does not lie in some conflict within God. Instead, it emerges from the contingent order of creation, where finite creatures, endowed with free will or subject to corruptibility, can fail to reflect the fullness of goodness intended by God. This failure is precisely the privation that we call evil.

3. Sovereign Goodness and Permission of Evil

In Catholic theology, God’s sovereign goodness allows for the possibility of evil only insofar as it can be integrated into a greater good–a point emphasized in CCC 311–314. Aquinas reasons that God, in creating a world with free agents (angels, humans), necessarily permits the risk of sin and suffering but orders all things ultimately to His glory and to the good of those who love Him (cf. Rom 8:28). This does not mean God “wills” evil as such, but that He does not annihilate the possibility of evil, respecting the freedom and natural processes inherent in creation.

4. Divine Simplicity Ensures No “Dualism”

The scholastic tradition rejects any suggestion of a “battle” within God–no internal struggle of attributes (like justice vs. mercy) that might produce evil. Because God is simple, all God’s actions flow from His one, undivided goodness. Though creation contains evils (moral and physical), these are explained by creaturely limitations and misuses of freedom, not by a “mixed” God.

Thus, divine simplicity actually undergirds the Catholic response to the problem of evil: God is wholly good, the source of all being, and incapable of producing evil as a positive reality. Evil arises from the finite, mutable nature of creatures, yet God’s sovereign goodness can still draw greater good out of suffering and sin, pointing the way to redemption and the ultimate defeat of evil in His providential plan.


(see #27)