Augustinian Theodicy Flashcards
How did Augustine describe the Universe?
Good because it was made by a good God for a good purpose.
What is meant by the ‘privation of good?’
When something good goes wrong and causes evil. E.g. Illness is a lack of good helath.
Which beings did Augustine believe evil had come from and why?
Humans and angels because their freewill meant that they had the choice to turn their back on God.
How did natural evil come into being?
The loss of order in nature because of the eating of the forbidden fruit.
How did moral evil come into being?
From the knowledge of good and evil that humanity had discovered by eating the forbidden fruit.
Why did Augustine believe that God is right for not putting an end to suffering?
Because God is just, thus he believes that humanity needs punishment for their sins.
What was the ‘logical contradiction’ that Friedrich Schleiermacher pointed out in the Augustinian Theodicy?
If a perfectly created world had gone wrong, that would mean that evil had come out of nothing.
What is the scientific criticism of the Augustinian Theodicy?
The theory that the world was perfect before humans damaged it is contrary to the theory of evolution, which states that the Universe began as chaos and has been developing, not diminishing.
While Augustine believed that evil was caused by the lack of good, which entity do many religious people believe personifies evil?
Satan.
Why does the existence of Hell contradict an all-loving God?
If Hell was already a part of the Universe it suggests that God knew that the world and humans would turn to evil. This means that God knows that people are going to sin before they do it and punishes them as a result, which portrays a malicious God.
