Here's my own little solution to the problem of
evil:
1. If we were in any sense created by
God/
dess, should she or he exist, we were so created for his or her own inscrutable purposes. However, that doesn't mean we're helpless.
2. We have free will, or appear to.
The illusion of free will is sufficiently convincing. However, our abilities are restricted not by will, but by physical parameters.
3. The physical parameters may not be God's fault, since
kenosis (self-limitation) may be in effect with respect to the physical universe. In any case, we have to live with them.
4. One of the physical parameters is that we are of finite size, and do our thinking with a couple of pounds of
grey goo. Consequently we shouldn't be too surprised at our inability to discern a
divine plan. Of course, the absence of such a plan is another possible explanation.
5. Consequently, we may perceive our place in the world in a
less than perfect manner, and presume to know what we're doing when we don't. (Wilful ignorance, as the
Bhagavad-gita maintains, is a form of evil. Just a note.)
6. Thus,
in my humble and possibly wrong opinion, evil exists because people are basically too thick to be any better. Where human failing cease and active malice begin is a fine point, and where those of us who choose to must trust to the divine mercy.
The point of all this? You have free will - don't expect God to sweep up after you all the time. Other people have free will too - don't expect God to protect you from them.