2C Religious Responses (Irenaean)

Question 1

Irenaeus: Why does evil exist?

Answer 1

• A deliberate action of an omnibenevolent God so that humans can grow to be spiritually perfect, as we have been made imperfect.
• Certain moral qualities are intrinsic to humans but second-order goods (e.g. compassion, courage, forgiveness) can only develop as a response to evil
• ∴ evil = necessary facet of life
• Evil allows us to appreciate good as ‘good’ is a qualitative judgement so there must be other, less good things for goodness to exist at all
• Ability to freely choose to do good = instrumental in achieving God’s purpose for his creation

Question 2

Irenaeus: What do humans need to grow from?

Answer 2

The image to the likeness of God

Question 3

Irenaeus: What is the difference between the image and the likeness of God?

Answer 3

• Image: Possessing potential qualities of God’s spiritual perfection + having free will
• Likeness: Actualising the qualities

Question 4

Irenaeus: How do we develop into the likeness of God?

Answer 4

• Through trials/tribulations of everyday life
• For every good choice made in a moral situation, the individual develops more fully towards spiritual maturity
• We must overcome difficulties, cope with our imperfections/limitations, and resist temptation to do wrong

Question 5

Irenaeus: We can only be in the likeness of God…

Answer 5

• …after death.

* Essential part of his theodicy = everyone should live after death

Question 6

What analogy did Irenaeus use to explain goodness?

Answer 6

• God = craftsman; humans = material
• Humans should allow God to mould them into perfection by acting in faith and allowing good/bad experiences to make us a perfectly crafted item

Question 7

Irenaeus: What happens to those that resist God?

Answer 7

• Punished in the next life
• God’s mercy continues into the next life ∴ the individuals will have the opportunity to earn his forgiveness and develop spiritual perfection
• This eschatological verification for evil allows God to remain good in the face of temporary suffering experienced by creation

Question 8

How did Hick develop Irenaeus’ theodicy?

Answer 8

• In his book, ‘Evil and the God of Love’, describes it as a soul-making theodicy

Question 9

Hick: Explain soul-making.

Answer 9

• He put forward John Keats’ idea of the world being a “vale of soul-making”
• A process where the soul is developing towards spiritual perfection by gaining the wisdom to make the correct choices in moral situations when faced with the ambiguities of life
• The world is a proving ground to earn salvation, not simply by belief in a saviour figure

Question 10

Hick: How can humans be truly free?

Answer 10

• We had to be created at an epistemic distance from God
• Humans are placed in a world where the existence and non-existence of God = equally likely
• True human freedom exists in terms of how they respond to God

Question 11

Hick: Why could God not create humans who were spiritually perfect?

Answer 11

• Goodness developed through free choice is more valuable than goodness that is “ready-made”

Question 12

Hick: Why could God not create humans who were immediately aware of his existence?

Answer 12

• Restricts choices

* The feeling of always being watched would mean that we make decisions in this light

Question 13

Describe the challenge to the concept of universal salvation through eschatological verification.

Answer 13

• It is unjust
• If we will all eventually achieve perfection, how does this encourage good behaviour in this life?
• Undermines efforts to develop spiritual maturity.
• Do we have the free will to refuse spiritual development?

Question 14

Describe the challenge to evil and suffering being used as a tool.

Answer 14

• Suffering should never be used as an instrument by an omnibenevolent God
• More akin to abuse than love
• Could the greater good not be achieved w/o it?
• Seems to make the role of Jesus as a saviour superfluous/redundant/unnecessary.
• Why should the natural environment be created in a slow, pain-filled process?

Question 15

Describe the challenge to the immensity and unequal distribution of evil and suffering.

Answer 15

• Immense suffering does not make up for any possible reward of spiritual perfection.
• Suffering is not evenly-spread which implies inconsistency with God’s mechanism of perfection. Will those in Africa receive ‘better’ treatment in the afterlife?
• Does the end justify the means?
• Intensity of suffering makes it a ‘soul-breaking’ theodicy

Question 16

Describe the challenge (from me) of the image/likeness.

Answer 16

• How can God make imperfect beings if we are made in his image and likeness?
• Even when accepting Irenaeus’ differences between the two, being made in the image still means that God has some form of imperfection.