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Epicurus's paradox in summary reads as follows: "Is it that God wants to prevent evil, but is not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but does not wish to do so? Then he is malevolent. Is he able and willing to do so?" "Where then does evil come from? Is it that he is neither able nor willing to do it? Then why call him God?"
Epicurus of Samos (341 BC - 270 BC) was a Greek philosopher and member of the hedonistic school. Hedonistic philosophy is a moral doctrine that establishes satisfaction as the highest goal and foundation of life. Its main objective is the search for pleasure that can be associated with good. Hedonism does not consist of affirming that pleasure is a good, since this affirmation has been admitted in this way by many other ethical doctrines very far from hedonism, but rather in considering that pleasure is the only and supreme good.
Philosophy, like religion, must be an exact science and its resulting thoughts must be just like mathematical equations that give us a correct and utilitarian result at all times. Unfortunately, there are philosophers who, without due knowledge, or on purpose, tend to underestimate or "forget" factors in their thinking, resulting in paradoxes that are apparently unsolvable, contradictory, and ultimately give false and harmful results. It is as if the equation made by a physicist does not take into account, for example, the speed of the air, the result is that a projectile launched using his equation will not hit the target in any of the cases.
The factors that Epicurus did not take into account [because he wanted it that way on purpose or because he is not that intelligent] are both the free will that God gives to all living entities as well as their individual karma.
If God stops "the bad guys" and prevents them from doing evil, then God would not be respecting the free will of that individual soul that wants to do evil. How does God solve the problem that a bad person does not do evil to someone who does not? Does he deserve it while respecting his free will? Easy, he applies the law of karma and brings together someone who wants to do evil with someone who must pay karma for their past activities. Seeing it this way is the supposed paradox of why does God allow bad things to happen? It ceases to exist and becomes a display of God's perfect justice (in a perfect equation).
Obviously, the person who did wrong to another will later have to pay for that karma that was awarded to them by being paired with another person who wants to do wrong to someone, in this or their next life, there is no escape.
Epicurus' paradox arises from the Edonist school of thought, which says among other things that one is here to enjoy, putting God in the role of our servant and with the obligation to provide us with pure pleasure at our will.
In practically all religions it is said that we "fell" in this world due to an original sin. This original sin is the pride of feeling equal or superior to God. This original sin can be expressed in many different ways, but in essence it is the same arrogance of pretending to be above God. A soul with that pride does not fit in Paradise or the Spiritual World and that is why we are here, both to try to enjoy this material world that is a perfect prison for individual souls to receive the punishment they deserve for their bad actions, as to have a place in which we can reflect on our true original position and once this lesson has been assimilated, we can return to that Paradise or Spiritual World from which we should never have left.
It is from the glimpse of this great truth that the frustration reflected in the Epicurus Paradox arises.