Hick's theodicy

Question 1

Hick: evil

Answer 1

God created the world with evil it serves a purpose

Question 2

Hick: moral evil

Answer 2

-free will invaluable as humans would be like robots forced to love god and do right thing
-develops virus such as compassion in face of suffering
-free will allows ability to do wrong, so being good is more valuable
-epistemic distance to enable free will god not obvious otherwise we would feel compelled to obey
-example: hypnosis patient being told to fall in love when they waken. not genuine love as not freely chosen

Question 3

hick: natural evil

Answer 3

-‘vale of soul-making’ world suits purpose, instrumentally good bc allows people to develop into the likeness of god
-i.e. earthquake not intrinsically good but provides opportunities for selflessness
-pain necessary teaches us what’s valuable and dangerous. we learn from experience to avoid things that cause pain
-Hick suggests most parents aim to help develop their child’s character not by giving in to everything or solving all problems but by encouraging perseverance, resilience and independence.

Question 4

Dostoyevsky

Answer 4

-he gives examples of the suffering of innocents and dysteleological evil. in the novel, character Ivan chooses to walk away from the kind of God who allows as much evil and suffering of children

Question 5

Swinburne

Answer 5

-if suffering limited world would be like a ‘toy world where things matter but not very much’. god like an overprotective parent who can’t allow child out of his sight. not genuine free will

Question 6

D.Z. Phillips

Answer 6

-evil as a means to an end end can never be an expression of God’s love. god is omnibenevolent and so does not create evil for an purpose

Question 7

J L Mackie

Answer 7

‘why could God not have made men such that they always freely choose the good?’
-could have made people who are free but always make good choices or god limit amount of evil they can inflict i.e. hurt someone but not organising genocide

Question 8

hume

Answer 8

-world could be a little more hospitable and still teach us and allow us to develop. moral character can be developed through pleasure so maybe don’t need the amount of suffering to learn.

Question 9

hick: ‘vale of soul-making’

Answer 9

evil instrumentally good, develops character that couldn’t be developed in pain-free paradise

Question 10

hick: end justifies means

Answer 10

since evil and suffering instrumentally good amount of evil justified by universal salvation