evil and suffering

Question 1

“Why? My family did not harm anyone….

Answer 1

It shows you that those who preach hate plant the seed of evil.” Jack Adler

Question 2

‘No statement, theological or otherwise,….

Answer 2

should be made that would not be credible in the presence of burning children.’ Rabbi Greenberg

Question 3

“ls God willing to prevent evil, but not able?….

Answer 3

Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence evil?” Epicurus

Question 4

“God… will wipe away every tear….

Answer 4

from their eyes, and death shall be no more” Revelation 21:4

Question 5

'’The correlation between the capacity…..

Answer 5

to enjoy and the capacity to suffer is a necessary, metaphysical correlation, inherent in the nature of things.’ David Griffin

Question 6

Evil is …..

Answer 6

privatio boni – a privation of good. Augustine

Question 7

'’An omnibenevolent God is a case …..

Answer 7

of wish-fulfilment: there is no all-loving God, only the desire for one’’. Freud

Question 8

'’Suppose in some distant forest a……

Answer 8

lightning strike causes a forest fire. A fawn is trapped in the fire, horribly burned, and lies in agony for several days before death finally relieves its suffering. The fawn’s agony appears to be pointless. William Rowe

Question 9

‘If there is no contradiction in a ….

Answer 9

man’s freely choosing the good on one, or on several occasions, there cannot be a logical impossibility of his freely choosing the good on every occasion.’ Mackie

Question 10

“A world containing creatures who are…..

Answer 10

significantly free is more valuable, all else being equal, than a world containing no free creatures at all.” Plantinga

Question 11

“The fact that free creatures sometimes go wrong…..

Answer 11

however, counts neither against God’s omnipotence nor against His goodness; for He could have forestalled the occurrence of moral evil only by removing the possibility of moral good.” Plantinga