 This response to the argument from evil has been around for quite a while.  In recent years, however, it has been strongly advocated by George Schlesinger (1964, 1977), and, more recently, by Peter Forrest (1981)—though Forrest, curiously, describes the defense as one that has been “neglected”, and refers neither to Schlesinger’s well-known discussions, nor to the very strong objections that have been directed against this response to the argument from evil.