The Iranian Theodicy

A lot of people give much thought to theology and do not spend much time on theodicy. There are several cultures that consider it very important. The Persians gave theodicy much consideration and as a result, the cultures that are derived from Persia also focus on this topic. In the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism, Zarathushtrian theodicy is a major component of the beliefs.

The problem

The western or catholic belief in God claims that He is omnipotent and all good. The confusing part of this is that they also believe that evil exists. If God is all-powerful and all good, then why does He allow for evil to exist? This is a question that is mostly ignored by western theology but greatly considered in Zoroastrianism.

The solution

The first consideration is that evil is a counterpart to good. This is not far from catholic beliefs of a God and a devil. Zoroastrianism believes that both good and evil have existed from the beginning of existence and are equal in power. A further distinction made by this religion separates evil into natural evil and human evil.

Human evil vs. natural evil

Natural evil is one that makes chaos from order and does so randomly. It is the explanation given when good things happen to good people for no discernible reason. Human evil is much less random and is targeted towards someone or something for a purpose. The existence for this evil in people is explained as a free will choice to not make moralistic decisions or take moral actions.

The most interesting point in this religion is the fact that divinity evolves just as anything else. Evil exists now because good is trying to eradicate it.