evil + suffering Flashcards by anaya pala

What are examples of natural evil?

Tsunamis, wild fires, diseases

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What are examples of moral evil?

Murder, arson, genocide

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What’s the logical problem of evil?

God is omnipotent
Got is omnibenevolent
Evil exists

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What’s the first solution to denying 1 of the 3 statements?

Denying God’s omnipotence (Process Theology)

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What’s the second solution to denying 1 of the 3 statements?

Denying God’s omnibenevolence

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What’s the third solution to denying 1 of the 3 statements?

Denying that evil exists

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What is the free will defence?

Argues that God has to allow evil in order to preserve free will
If God controlled evil, there’d be no freedom

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What is John Hick’s eschatological solution?

In the end everyone reaches God’s Kingdom; evil is a necessary part of the process to become fit for heaven

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What’s the evidential problem of evil?

There are known facts about evil that are evidence against God’s existence
- Evil is overwhelmingly in quantity + quality
- Evil is pointless; serves no purpose

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What’s evidence of evil thats overwhelming in quantity + quality?

Mass genocides

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What is an example of pointless, purposeless evil? Who gave this example?

Rowe’s example of a fawn suffering a slow, painful death in a forest; it dies alone wo anyones knowledge

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What is the evidential problem + God’s omniscience?

God is omnipotent; God is omnibenevolent; God is omniscient; Evil exists

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What would an omniscient being know?

They would know, at the point of creating the universe that both overwhelming + pointless evils would occur

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Which scholar goes with first, second, third + fourth order good/evil?

John Mackie

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What are first order good/evils?

The experience in life of happiness/misery + pleasure/pain
e.g. eating cake/breaking a limb

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What are second order good/evils?

We can respond to suffering w compassion/cruelty

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What does second order good do?

Maximise first order good + minimise first order evil

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What does second order evil do?

Maximise first order evil + minimise first order good

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What is third order good?

Free will allows ppl to choose bet 2 things
Pain + suffering helps us develop capacity for sympathy to morally grow

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What is fourth order good?

God creates humans w free will, which teaches us to be morally responsible

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What is Mackie’s rejection of the Free Will Defence?

It’s logically possible for a person to make free, good choices
God could’ve created humans so they would only make good, free choices
But God didn’t

What does Mackie’s rejection of the FWD mean?

Either God lacks power
Or God isn’t loving enough to stop evil
Either way the FWD fails
Concl: God doesn’t exist

Why did Mackie set out his example of the FWD?

In order to disprove it

What are Plantinga’s 3 possible worlds?

The world as it is; evil + suffering w ‘morally sig free will’ no causal det. from God
The world wo ‘morally sig free will’ but God’s causal det. makes ppl choose good so no evil
Both ‘morally sig. free will’ + God’s causal set. to make ppl choose good

What is Plantinga's deduction of his 3 possible worlds?

- The 1st is logically possible - The 2nd is logically possible BUT would make humans robots - The 3rd is logically possible; gen. free will is incompatible w causal det. so Mackie's arg fails

What is the response to Natural evil in terms of Plantinga's defence?

- Tied up w punishment for the Fall - Logically possible that God created or allowed natural evil bc of human sin in Eden

What's a strength of the FWD from Plantinga? What's a counter to this?

Shows that FWD is logically possible in relation to both types of evil + Mackie's suggestion isn't But this doesn't mean its true

What's a strength of the FWD in terms of what is addresses?

FWD addresses the issue of natural evil bc nature has to be free in order to follow its laws of operation

What's a strength of the FWD?

A world w genuine free will has more value than one wo it where humans would be robots

What does Augustine's say about evil?

- God created all good things - Evil isn't good - Therefore god didn't create evil; so evil is not a thing - Evil is just the absence of good

What does Augustine say evil comes from?

All evil comes from humans, starting w Adam + Eve This is the reason for infant baptism

What does Augustine say happened when Adam + Eve disobeyed God?

They disrupted the harmony so even the natural world is corrupt

What is the name of Augustine's theodicy?

Soul-deciding theodicy

Why is it called the soul-deciding theodicy?

If humans decide to do good then their soul will be saved

What is the name of Hick's theodicy?

Soul-making theodicy

What does Hick say about what happened in Genesis 1 + what this means?

Humans are made in imago dei We have God's image, but not likeness (omnibenevolence, kindness etc)

What does Hick say about what God gave us?

God gave us teaching + scriptures; but God was also so nice that he gave us evil so we can use scriptures to develop

What does Hick say about free will?

Free will is necessary; we learn from mistakes + God must maintain an epistemic distance

What does Hick say about moral + natural evil?

Moral evil is a result of free will Natural evil is 'God given opportunities' to develop

Who is the scholar for Process Theology?

Griffin

What do process theologians believe about God?

God isn't omnipotent or transcendent + God changes God is 'becoming' rather than 'being' - we should treat God similar to humans

What do process theologians say about the Bible?

The bible wasn't the word of God but people expressing beliefs about him E.g. one of the Gospels was written nearly 200 years after Jesus' resurrection Its not factual

What due Process Theologians say about God's creation? What bible quote is used as evidence?

God didn't create the universe out of nothing; but he rearranged preexisting material Genesis 1:1 "earth was without form"

What may weakness 1 of Hicks Soul Making theodicy be?

Why's there sm awful evil (evidential prob); evil doesn't have to be so extensive to teach humans good

What example from Mackie supports weakness 1 on Hicks Soul Making theodicy?

To teach a child the colour yellow, he only needs to show a small amount of yellow To teach compassion, God only needs to make them experience a little bit

What is weakness 2 of Hick's soul making theodicy?

There's no doctrinal evidence to support Hick's belief that everyone gets to heaven E.g. it doesn't seem fair that Hitler would get to the same afterlife as Anne Frank

What are 2 more weaknesses of Hick's soul making theodicy?

Why should people who don't care/believe in heaven have to suffer? If we all reach God's kingdom what's the point in the journey?

What are 2 strengths of Hick's soul making theodicy?

Fits w current scientific thinking on evolution Epistemic distance justifies all kinds of evil; the means are justified if the end is heaven

What are 2 strengths of Hick's process theodicy?

- Fits w current scientific knowledge - Concept of God as a 'fellow sufferer' bc the entire universes sensory experience is 'in' him means those who suffer are assured that God understands

What are 2 weaknesses of Hick's process theodicy?

- Some theists claim we can't be sure of the correct translation of Genesis 1:1