Natural And Moral Evil

Question 1

What is Evil?

Answer 1

-Evil is the direct cause of suffering
-both natural and moral evil are integral to discussions about the problem of evil, which challenges the belief in the God of classical theism

Question 2

What is natural evil?

Answer 2

Natural evil refers to suffering caused by natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and diseases which occur independently of human actions

Question 3

What is moral evil?

Answer 3

Moral evil refers to any action where the moral agent uses their will to bring about morally bad consequences and suffering

Question 4

What arguments support the co-existence of both evil and God?

Answer 4

-Hicks vale of soul making
-FWD (Richard Swineburne also addresses natural evil)

Question 5

Why might natural evil be harder to explain than moral evil?

Answer 5

-William Rowe’s argument
-* In the Old Testament, God is depicted as directly using natural evils as a form of punishment. Examples include the plagues in Egypt found in Exodus and the Flood in Genesis used to punish widespread evil&raquo_space; why would an all loving God who can clearly control natural evil as seen by his intervention 2,000 years ago, not stop natural evil now ( link to John Stuart)