Augustine's Theodicy Flashcards
What greatly influenced him?
creation stories in Genesis 1-3
What interpretation did he take from genesis?
Literal
Why do we share Adam’s sin?
because we are descended from him; ‘seminally present’
According to Augustine, what responsibility does God have for the problem of evil?
None: humans are entirely responsible die to original sin
How does Augustine account for the origins of moral and natural evil?
Natural evil= punishment for sin
Moral evil= abuse of free will
these caused the epistemic distance between humans and God, creating an environment in which moral evil flourished
Weakness - animals
Darwin points out that there is a large amount of suffering undergone by animals which doesn’t seem to be balanced by anything, even after the animals die - surely animals are not seminally present in Adam
Counter: maybe animals are sharing the snakes sin?
Weakness - moral problem
Augustine’s concept includes the concept of hell. Hell appears to be part of the design of the universe, which means God must have anticipated the world would go wrong - and that he accepts this. Augustine is the left with having to justify eternal pain of humans who are punished and go to hell. Why does a benevolent, omnipotent, omniscient creates allow eternal pain and suffering to exist for those in hell.
Counter: we need to know what good is; notion of ‘need to be cruel to be kind’
Weakness - scientific problems
Augustine’s argument relies on the idea that God created a perfect world, which humans destroyed - but this contradicts evolutionary theory.
Also, the assumption that we are seminally present in Adam can be rejected on biological grounds as biology clearly indicates that every human has unique DNA inherited from their parents.
Counter: Augustine didn’t have this biological knowledge; we could be paying for the sins of current generations
Weakness - logical problem
Evil must already have existed and been created by God
Counter: free will causes the problem
Counter Counter: but free will makes perfection genuine
Strength - Christianity
His argument us compatible with Christianity, particularly the Genesis account of creation. It therefore appeals to Christians who accept the authority of the Bible as the direct Word of God.
Counter: not everyone is Christian
Strength - Vardy
Vardy: if God wants us to be genuinely loving, then he had to give us the opportunity to develop this quality for ourselves. A ready-made love would be valueless.
Counter: Is free will a price worth paying?
Strength - Free will
If we are able to develop and change, rather than be ready-made, then the natural world could not be paradise
Counter: maybe being robots would be better - there is the assumption that we all want free will
