> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thepulse.org/en/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Youth Group Session “The Problem of Evil” - URL: https://thepulse.org/en/the-problem-of-evil/ - Published: 2024-02-21T05:00:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T09:18:17.000Z - Description: The so-called problem of evil is one of the most common arguments against the Christian faith. Analyze the arguments of modern skeptics against God’s existence with your teenagers. With icebreaker, video and discussion questions. - Author: Esther Penner - Tags: Lessons, #age-teens, #topic-suffering, #lessons-bible-topic, #lessons-duration-medium, #lessons-method-icebreaker, #lessons-method-video, #lessons-setting-plenary, #lessons-setting-small-group, #target-educators, #target-leaders, #context-youth-night, #context-small-group, #context-school The elements described below offer different ways to engage with the topic of this session. It’s up to you whether you use all of them or just one. They are tools for you; you decide how to use them. What matters: - Be flexible and adapt the activities to the group dynamic. - Make sure all the teenagers are included and feel comfortable. - Be sensitive to emotional reactions, especially when it comes to personal topics. ## Icebreaker “Would you rather” ⏱ 5 minutes 👉 Ask a few of these “Would you rather” questions to ease the teenagers into the topic. ❓ ****Would you rather always be stressed or always be bored?** ❓ ****Would you rather know when you will die or know how you will die?** ❓ ****Would you rather be alone forever or always be surrounded by annoying people?** ❓ ****Would you rather become forgetful or physically ill?** ❓ ****Would you rather be blind or deaf?** ❓ ****Would you rather have to fight a bear or a crocodile?** ❓ ****Would you rather get lost in the desert or in the middle of the ocean?** ❓ ****Would you rather end a war or end world hunger?** ## Getting started ⏱ 10 minutes 👉 Write the five statements of the skeptics’ argument (see below) on slides or a flip chart so everyone can see them. Today we’re dealing with the “problem of evil.” The phrase alone is fascinating. ❓ ****Why do you think we have a problem with evil?** (We can’t just let injustice stand, we don’t like seeing others suffer, we don’t want to suffer ourselves, and so on.) ❓ ****Why do you think that is?** (With this question you can challenge the teenagers to think about what lies buried beneath their answers, if you want to go that deep.) The so-called problem of evil is one of the most common arguments against the Christian faith. Modern skeptics have put the problem of evil like this: - If God is perfectly good, he would prevent evil. - If God is all-powerful, he could prevent evil. - If God is all-knowing, he knows how to prevent evil. - But evil exists. - So God is either not perfectly good, not all-powerful or not all-knowing (or he doesn’t exist at all!). David Hume, a Scottish skeptic, put it this way: > “Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? whence then is evil?” (David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion) To me, this question and this line of argument are completely understandable. But before we take a position on this quote, let’s watch a video. ## Going deeper ⏱ 25 minutes 🎬 Watch the video “[Why does God let bad things happen? (The problem of evil)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBIXPr6AH4A&ref=thepulse.org)” together. “Why does God let bad things happen? (The problem of evil).” IMBeggar ❓ ****Which message in the video was most helpful for you?** ❓ ****Which statement in the video raised more questions for you?** ❓ ****Do you remember the skeptics’ argument we discussed at the beginning? Does the video give good answers to the skeptics’ questions? Why or why not?** ❓ ****What are you personally taking away from today’s topic?** You probably still have open questions about today’s topic. Take a moment and write down all the questions you have, fold the slips and drop them in the box I’m about to pass around. 👉 Give the teenagers time to write down their questions. Collect them so you can pick some of them up at upcoming meetings. Keep walking with the teenagers in their questions. Keep shaping an open and appreciative culture of conversation in your group that encourages your teenagers to voice their doubts and questions honestly. That’s how you help them develop a mature faith of their own. Close with prayer. *English version: September 2026*