Augustinian theodicy

Question 1

What is a theodicy?

Answer 1

Any solution to the problem of evil that does not neglect or disregard evil, God, his existence or his omnibenevolence

Question 2

What does a theodicy aim to do?

Answer 2

Solve the problem of evil, and, in doing so, prove that the God of classical theism exists despite the presence of evil in the world

Question 3

When did Augustine live?

Answer 3

354-430 CE

Question 4

What is Augustine the patron of?

Answer 4

Theologians

Question 5

When did Augustine convert to Christianity?

Answer 5

In 387 CE, following a hedonistic youth

Question 6

How does Augustine use the book of Genesis to prove that evil is not a thing?

Answer 6

• Genesis describes the world as good and free from sin
• There was no evil and suffering
• Because God created every thing, evil can therefore not exist

Question 7

State Genesis 1:31

Answer 7

‘God saw all that was made and it was very good’

Question 8

What did Augustine believe evil was?

Answer 8

A privation of good; the going wrong of something. He believed this privation came from people with free will rather than God. They turned their backs on God as a result of the fall

Question 9

What three punishments did both men and women share for original sin?

Answer 9

• Death
• Estrangement
• Sexual desire

Question 10

What was men’s punishment for original sin?

Answer 10

Work the land

Question 11

What were women’s punishments for original sin?

Answer 11

• Pain in childbirth
• Submissiveness to men

Question 12

What did Augustine believe to be the cause of moral evil?

Answer 12

Came from the knowledge of good and evil, which human beings discovered through their disobedience

Question 13

What did Augustine believe to be the cause of non-moral evil?

Answer 13

He thought that the state of perfection in the world had been ruined by human sin and the delicate perfect balance of the world was destroyed. He believed that this non-moral evil was a consequence of this loss of order in the natural world

Question 14

What does Augustine believe all forms of evil to be?

Answer 14

Suffering in order to punish humans. He believed we brought this suffering upon ourselves by being from the ‘loins of Adam’. Christians refer to this as original sin. He believed that we are all sinful and just as deserving of punishment as A+E were

Question 15

Why did Augustine believe God was right not to intervene to prevent human suffering?

Answer 15

Because this is just punishment for human sin

Question 16

What did God do in spite of the fact that humans deserved punishment for their sins?

Answer 16

In his infinite love and grace, God sent his son to die so that all who believed in and accepted him could be saved and receive eternal life in his name

Question 17

Explain Augustine’s notion of ‘soul deciding’

Answer 17

Our fate is based upon Adam’s disobedience and our response to God’s offer of salvation

Question 18

Define privation

Answer 18

The loss or absence of something

Question 19

Why does Augustine believe God cannot be not held responsible for evil and suffering?

Answer 19

He argued that God was justified in allowing suffering as a result of the fall as it was a just punishment for human sin. God would have been unjust if he did not punish humans for it. God is therefore not responsible for evil and suffering, as humans brought it upon themselves

Question 20

How does the Augustinian theodicy leave God’s omnipotence in question?

Answer 20

Because God surely could have been powerful enough to create a world in which humans did not sin in the Garden of Eden, which would have prevented the fall

Question 21

How does the Augustinian theodicy leave God’s omniscience in question?

Answer 21

Either God knew the fall would happen and continued to create mankind in the same way, which would mean he was partially responsible for evil, or he is not omniscient and did not know it would happen

Question 22

How do theologians respond to the seeming incompatability between human free will and God’s omniscience?

Answer 22

They argue that God had to create humans with a certain degree of free will so that we could have a real relationship with him. If God created humans in such a way that they always chose good and what he wanted, then there would be no evil, but humans would also have a relationship with God that was based on force

Question 23

What does John Hick argue about the extent of free will?

Answer 23

That a compromise should have been reached, whereby humans had free will but would not sin

Question 24

How could it be argued that human experience counters the idea that evil is a mere privation?

Answer 24

Evil is experienced as very much real, rather than just as a privation of good. It often feels as though it has a definite force of its own

Question 25

State the three main strengths of the Augustinian theodicy

Answer 25

• It is consistent with classical theism, which believes God is omnipotent, omnibenevolent and not responsible for evil
• Responsibility for evil is recognised but attributed to humans instead of God
• Free will is presented as the reason for suffering. Evil and suffering could be considered the price worth paying for freedom

Question 26

How did Brian Davies support the Augustinian theodicy?

Answer 26

He supports the claim that evil cannot be called a substance. This meant that he agreed w Augustine’s claim that it is not right to blame God for it

Question 27

How does Plantinga support the Augustinian theodicy?

Answer 27

If God has designed humans to always choose good, then they would not be truly free. He thought that if we are to be truly free then the necessity for evil is present. He suggests that free will is so valuable that it justifies the existence of evil

Question 28

What makes the Augustinian theodicy so appealing to Christians?

Answer 28

Due to its reliance on genesis and its acceptance that the Bible is the word of God

Question 29

Explain the moral problem with the theodicy

Answer 29

This issue stems from the fact that hell seems to have been part of the design of the universe. This means that God must have already known that the world would go wrong and accepted and prepared for it

Question 30

Explain the scientific problem with the Augustinian idea that God made the world good and that it was then sabotaged by humans

Answer 30

• This clearly contradicts the idea of evolution; as the selfish battle for survival indicative of early life seems incompatible with the peaceful tranquility of the garden of eden

Question 31

Explain the scientific problem with the Augustinian ideas that all humans were seminally present in Adam

Answer 31

This theory has been rejected on biological grounds, meaning it would be wrong to hold us all accountable for Adam’s sin. This means that God is not just in allowing us to suffer for it