evil and suffering Flashcards

1
Q

what is natural evil?

A
  • evil that is caused by naturally occurring events

- e.g hurricanes

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2
Q

what is moral evil?

A
  • evil which is caused by mankind

- e.g theft, rape etc

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3
Q

what is suffering?

A
  • mental/physical pain/hardship/distress brought about though natural and moral evils
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4
Q

what’s a quote saying God made the person blind so Jesus could show the loving power of God?

A

“it was not that this man had sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be manifest in him”

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5
Q

what is a example case study for natural evil?

A
  • 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami

- killed over 250,000

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6
Q

what’s a example case study for moral evil?

A
  • the Holocaust
  • Hitlers Nazi Germany
  • killed 6 million jews
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7
Q

what is the logical problem of evil?

A
  • God is omnipotent
  • God is omnibenevolent
  • evil exists
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8
Q

what is the logical problem of evil also known as?

A
  • the inconsistent triad
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9
Q

what does the logical problem of evil suggest?

A
  • they cannot all be true
  • all powerful God= He’s able
  • all loving God= He’d want to remove evil
  • yet evil exists
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10
Q

what would it mean if Gods not omnipotent?

A
  • He’s unable to control evil
  • therefore cannot be blamed
  • however a God which isn’t omnipotent isn’t worthy of worship
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11
Q

what is Augustine’s solution to the logical problem of evil?

A
  • evil doesn’t exist in its own right, but its an absence of good
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12
Q

what are two reasons why God allows evil to exist?

A
  • free will defence

- John Hicks eschatological solution

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13
Q

what is John Hicks eschatological solution?

A
  • in the end everyone will reach Gods kingdom

- evil is a necessary part for which we become fit for heaven

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14
Q

what is the evidential problem of evil?

A
  • there are 2 types of evidence which supply evidence
    1. Evil which is overwhelming in quantity and quality
    1. Evil which is pointless as it serves no purpose
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15
Q

what is William Rowes example of pointless evils?

A
  • in a distant forest a lightning strike causes a forest fire
  • a fawn is trapped and horribly burned in agony for several days before dying alone
  • no evidential good would come from this
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16
Q

what’s an example of natural evil which is of great quantity and quality?

A
  • the ‘great dying’
  • killed 90% of marines species
  • killed 79% of land species
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17
Q

what’s an example of moral evil which is of great quantity and quality?

A
  • the holocaust

- Hitler killed 6 million Jews

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18
Q

what does the evidential problem of evil and Gods omniscience show?

A
  • an omniscient being would know at the point of creation that both pointless and overwhelming evils would exist
  • then why did God create the universe
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19
Q

what can we say about gods plan?

A
  • God has a plan by which all suffering will eventually lead to perfect harmony of life in heaven
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20
Q

why might we accept some suffering is good?

A
  • the pain of injections

- the pain will bring about the good of immunisation from harmful diseases

21
Q

what is the free will defence?

A
  • Gods given up control over human behaviour in order to bring about a greater good
  • humans are morally responsible agents
22
Q

what does human free will allow for?

A
  • to develop qualities that are valuable

- e.g empathy, compassion

23
Q

What 2 things do people who defend the free will defence have to prove?

A
  • free will necessarily lead to moral evil

- the result of having feee will are worth the price

24
Q

What’s a reason why Mackie doesn’t believe God exists?

A
  • the problem of evil
25
Q

What are examples of first order goods?

A
  • happiness, pleasure
26
Q

What are examples of first order evils?

A
  • unhappiness, pain, misery
27
Q

What are examples of higher order goods?

A
  • sympathy, understanding, kindness
28
Q

Why might we say second order goods exist?

A
  • to maximise first order good

- to minimise first order evils

29
Q

Why might we say first order evils exist?

A
  • maximise first order evils

- minimise first order goods

30
Q

Why is freedom a third order good?

A
  • as it allows us to choose between putting in place first and second order goods and evils
31
Q

Why is God justified in allowing evil in the universe according to John Mackies account of the free will defence?

A
  • as it permits us to choose or reject the good

- it teaches us to be mortally responsible

32
Q

What does Mackie say in his rejection of the free will defence?

A
  1. It is logically possible for a person to make free, good choices all of the time
  2. God could’ve created humans so they only make free, good choices
  3. God did not do so
33
Q

What does Mackie’s rejection lead to?

A
  • either God lacks the power to do so
  • God is not loving enough to do so
  • the free will defence fails
  • therefore God does not exist
34
Q

how strong is Mackie’s argument against the free will defence?

A
  • according to Plantinga, there’s no possible way God could make us to always make free good choices
  • this is not free choice
35
Q

what does Plantinga’s argument aim to show?

A
  • that there’s no possible world in which God could have created being who would always make free, good choices
36
Q

what is Plantinga’s MSR1?

A

‘God could not eliminate much of the evil and suffering in this world without thereby eliminating the greater good of having created persons with free will’

37
Q

what is libertarianism?

A
  • we can make choices that are genuinely free
38
Q

what does libertarian there mean?

A
  • people have the ability to put in practice Mackie’s second order goods of sympathy, love
  • this kind of freedom is the most important
39
Q

what is Plantinga’s MSR2?

A

‘God allowed evil to enter the world as part of Adam and Eve’s punishment for their sin in the Garden of Eden’

40
Q

what are strengths of the free will defence?

A
  • Plantinga shows MSR1 and MSR2 are both logically possible
  • natural evils bring about second order goods which are to be values
  • without freedom there is no achievement and no real happiness
41
Q

what are weaknesses of the free will defence?

A
  • Plantinga’s MSR2 uses a mythological story

- it has no convincing response for the evidential problem of evil

42
Q

what is a starting point for Hicks soul making theodicy?

A
  • humans did not ‘fall’ from perfection they were created as imperfect beings
43
Q

how does Hick describe the development of the human race?

A
  • God creates the human race through biology and allows it to develop itself unit every human being achieves the likeness of Christ
44
Q

what will the whole human race eventually do?

A
  • respond freely to God, all will be saved and will enter heaven
  • Gods salvation is for all humanity
  • no loving father would commit their children to hell
  • humans freely come to love God and the good
45
Q

what are the 3 objections to Hicks argument which he deals with?

A
  • it doesn’t justify animal suffering
  • there are pointless evils in the world
  • it doesn’t justify the very worst evils
46
Q

what are strengths of Hicks soul making theodicy?

A
  • that we’re created at an epistemic distance from God this can be used to justify any evil
  • evil is justified as its necessary for soul making
  • incorporates evolution of the human race
47
Q

weakness for Hicks soul making theodicy?

A
  • he says there no good explanation for animal suffering then immediately gives one
  • the ends don’t justify the means, promise of heaven isn’t a fixed contract
  • doesn’t match up with Christian teachings e.g what was the point of Jesus’ crucifixion
48
Q

what is Griffins process theology?

A
  • rejects ‘creatio ex nihilo
  • Gods creation role was to persuade matter into a state of greater order and complexity
  • ‘the earth being without form and void’ suggests the universe already existed