Philosophy of Religion: 👹 the Problem of Evil 👹 Flashcards
What are the two different
types of evil and an
example of each?
Natural evil-Tsunamis
Moral evil- murder
What is natural evil?
Suffering that is caused by
nature and it outside of
human control
What is moral evil?
Suffering caused by people
How do Christians think
evil first came into this is
world?
- God made everything perfect
- Evil came in through Adam and Eve’s
disobedience - When Satan tempted them to eat the forbidden “tree of knowledge of good and evil” they realised they had the freedom to chose between right an wrong and would now be responsible for their own actions
- When people rebel against God’s laws, evil results
How do Christians believe evil came into the world?
Satan - some Christians believe that Satan is the fallen angel Lucifer
who is the source of all evil. He rejected God and his reign. 2 Peter
2:4 states that God did not spare his angels when they sinned, but
sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for
judgement. Satan also tempts Jesus on three occasions when he is
in the wilderness for 40 days and nights (Matt 4:1-11 & Luke 4:1-13)
and is the reason why Judas betrayed Jesus according to Luke 22:3.
What do you religious believers accept as the purposes for evil and suffering?
- a test of faith
- Suffering is used by God to test a person’s faith e.g. Abraham and Sarah suffered from infertility. God promised them a son and when Isaac was born he was very precious to them. However, God asked Abraham to kill his son to test that his faith in Him was genuine. - to strengthen faith
- Used by God to make a persons faith stronger e.g. Romans 5:3-5, Paul writes, “ Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope “
- Suffering is part of God’s plan and some Christians believe that they are called to suffer just as Jesus did - punishment for sin
- Eejit Adam and eves punishment – Genesis3 expelled from the garden, Zachariah’s punishment Luke’s Gospel- birth of John the Baptist
How does evil and suffering challenge the existence of God?
the inconsistent triad
What is the inconsistent triad?
The atheist philosopher ] L Mackie (1917-1981) argued that the existence of evil challenged the existence of
a loving and powerful God. He outlined the problem as follows:
In its simplest form the problem is this: “God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and yet evil exists. There
seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions”
Mackie outlined the following three propositions:
- God is omnipotent - he is all powerful, he created the world out of nothing and therefore must take
responsibility for creation. He has the power to do anything that is logically possible therefore could create a world free from evil and suffering. - God is omnibenevolent - he loves his creation and therefore would wish to end all evil and suffering. An all-loving god would not want his creation to suffer.
- Evil exists - therefore god is not omnipotent, or god is not omnibenevolent and if God does really exist then he isn’t really worthy of worship!
An inconsistent triad consists of three statements and only two can be true. Mackie argued that the following three propositions were inconsistent, and thus, that at least one of these propositions must be false.
How do religions explain evil and suffering in the world?
Theodicies
What is a theodicy?
A theodicy is an attempt to answer the question of why a good God would allow evil in the world
What is Augustine’s theodicy?
- St Augustine (354 - 430) argued that evil exists because God gave humans free will
- Humans abuse this free will when they commit evil acts
- He used the example of The Fall’ in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve abused their free will and brought evil into an otherwise perfect world
- How humans use free will determines whether or not they will get to heaven or hell
- Therefore, Augustine’s theodicy has been referred to as a ‘soul deciding’ theodicy
What are the criticisms of Augustine’s theodicy?
The Augustinian theodicy only explains moral evil.
He believes that evil and suffering are a consequence of human abuse of free will.
What about natural suffering?
Should God not take responsibility for natural suffering, the suffering beyond the control of humans?
What is Irenaeus’ theodicy?
- St Irenaeus (130 - 202) argued that evil exists because God wants humans to respond positively to suffering so that humans can become more like God
- He used the example from Genesis 1:26 - humans are made in the ‘image of God’ but humans are ‘unfinished’ or not perfect and need to become more like’ God
- If free will is used correctly, the human response to evil and suffering helps us grow and develop to reach moral and spiritual perfection, like God
- Therefore, Irenaeus’ theodicy has been referred to as a ‘soul making’ theodicy
What are the criticisms of Irenaeus’ theodicy?
Irenaeus’ theodicy can account for natural suffering. However, it still doesn’t explain the full extent of
human suffering. Did six million Jews really need to die during the Holocaust so that some humans could reflect God’s likeness better?
How does Hick support Irenaeus’ theodicy?
God purposefully created himself at an epistemic distance from creation – God cannot become involved with human affairs = limit freedom
