What Shall We Say? by Thomas G. Long
Pat Robertson had a ready explanation for the Haiti earthquake—he said that it was an expression of divine wrath at a centuries-old pact with the devil. Robertson's explanation may offend many of us, but attempts at offering a theodicy have a long pedigree. Monotheists have long had a difficult time explaining the presence of evil and suffering in the world since they assume that God has no rival. If God exists and is by definition omnipotent, good and loving, then why do the innocent suffer?