(December 13, 2018 at 8:39 pm)Aliza Wrote: The concept of an omnibenevolent deity is distasteful to me. What is the point of life other than learning through experience, and what is there to learn without some kind of conflict?
As a theist, you must be familiar with the concept of theodicy. An omnibenevolent god may create a world with evil in it for various reasons. Perhaps God values "moral grit." Because integrity (or "grit") is only teachable experientially, this explains why an omnibenevolent god might create evil in the world.
On a side note, I find the theodicy of soulmaking compelling, which is why I never argue the problem of evil with theists. (Unless they posit the design argument, and found their claim on all the "good" that is intelligible in the universe. Otherwise, I think the "problem of evil" argument is no good.)