Problem of Evil Flashcards
what is the logical problem of evil?
an omnipotent and omnibenevolent being cannot exist If evil exists, it is incoherent
what is the evidential problem of evil
there is a logical possibility that evil and God coexists, but the evidence is against this, evil is disproportionate
what does Hume conclude of any theodicy made
they might invent ‘reasons’ for allowing evil, but we have no evince that God has such reasons
what is a theodicy
any attempt to justify the Goodness of God in the face of evil
what did Augustine observe
humans have a predisposition for sin, and take pleasure in it.
augustines theodicy of original sin
we are all born sinful who deserve to be punished of living in a fallen world
quote of Augustine of what is evil
“all evil is either a sin or punishment for sin”
what is evil for Augustine
evil does not exists it is merely the privation of good, we fell away from Gods goodness
where did Augustine think natural evil came from
fallen angels
how does Plantinga criticise Augustines natural evil
he challenges Augustines idea of angelic existence, there is no evidence unlike human sin
how is Augustines reliance on Genesis weak
St Augustine rooted his theory on genesis being true, science has disproven Adam and Eve
how does a Childs suffering criticise augustines theodicy
small children are too young to sin, so they should not be able to suffer until they are able to choose. thus Augustines theodicy is incoherent.
what did Irenaeus make a distinction between
we are the image of God but not the likeness.
what does it mean to be in the image of God
we have to potential for Good, though choosing correct actions we can become in the likeness of God
how does evil help us become in the likeness of God
punishment and suffering is the way to help us mature
what is a biblical example of how evil was used for growth
Jonah was eaten by a big fish for disobeying God, after being spat out days later he then started to obey God
what did God intend for human kind
that we should mature over time and that is clear to see through history
who came up with epistemic distance
Hick
what is epistemic distance
if God made himself known to the world, then we would have to follow his commands and be obedient, then we could never truly grow
what is Hicks view of the afterlife
everyone will be saved as no loving God would send people to hell
Nietzsche quote
“what does not kill me, makes me stronger”
what is a weakness of soul making and evil proportion
the evil in the world seems to outweigh what is necessary for soul making
what is dysteleological evil
some evil has no purpose, for example most animal suffering is dysteleological
how does Hick defend the use of dysteleoloigcal evil
if all evil was perfectly calibrated for our use then it would be obvious that there is a god, purposeless evil is necessary to avoid breaking epistemic distance
