Problem of evil Flashcards
david hume on the problem of evil
the problem of evil is the rock of atheism
evil
morally wrong acts
suffering
consequences of evil
moral evil
evil wrought by human actions
natural evil
evil wrought by the breakdown or malfunctioning of the natural world
jl mackie inconsistent triad
an omnibenevolent, omnipotent god cannot exist at the same time as evil however thiests believe in all 3
monism
evil does not exist, it is an illusion and what we feel are false feelings
dualism
there are two coexisting substances: good and evil
swinburne
god is like a parent that allows a child to grow up (allows us to make mistakes etc resulting in evil)
theodicy definition
‘in defence of a righteous god’
an attempt to justify the existence of god in the face of evil and suffering
the iranaen theodicy
soul making/soul deciding
soul making
genesis 1:26 ‘let us make man in our image and after our likeness’
the iranaen theodicy
god’s image/likeness
humans were created imperfect with the form (image) of god but not the content (likeness) of god
being in god’s image involved having intelligence, morality, and personality yet lacked completion
completion would be gained through development of courage, honour, generosity, kindness and love: becoming god’s likeness
human perfection has to be developed rather than ready made
the iranaen theodicy
free will
true goodness requires free will
man was created with true moral autonomy and had the freedom to make moral decisions
- free will has the potential for disobedience and evil, goodness has to be developed by free choice
-potential to grow into the likeness of god is found in responsible moral choices
the iranaen theodicy
epistemic distance
the natural world had to be designed with the possibility of causing harm and god had to stand back from creation and remain at an epistemic distance/distance of knowledge and therefore not obviously influence decisions
god cannot intervene and remove evil and suffering as this would compromise free will
the iranaen theodicy
hick
this world is a vale of soul making not a paradise
the iranaen theodicy
universalism
all people will eventually be saved and go to heaven
the iranaen theodicy
in the end
eventually evil and suffering will stop and everyone will develop into god’s likeness
everyone will eventually be rewarded in heaven, some immediately whilst others progress towards heaven in purgatory which refines them
the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
omnipotence
god has the power to create a perfect human/humans, ridding the need for evil and suffering
-however, this would mean perfection is ready made when the iranaen theodicy says god’s likeness needs to be earned and developed
the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
jesus
the argument is contrary to jesus’ teachings who was sent by god to reduce evil and suffering
jesus is supposed to be a likeness to god and therefore a perfection and shouldnt have suffered but he did
the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
born evil
people with mental illnesses commit evil but not out of choice
the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
heaven for all unjust
the concept of heaven for all contradicts religious texts which promise punishment for the unrighteous
heaven for all makes moral behaviour pointless and there is no incentive to do good
the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
quantity and gravity of suffering
the quantity and gravity of suffering in this world is unacceptable
why does our world need to contain the extent and severity found in events such as the holocaust
the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
love
suffering can never be an expression of god’s love
dz phillips: it is never justifiable to hurt someone in order to help them
augustinian theodicy
soul making/deciding?
soul deciding
decides where your soul ends up
iranaen theodicy
god
god is omnipotent and omnibenevolent
augustinian theodicy
god
agrees with iranaen, god exists and is omnipotent and omnibenevolent
augustinian theodicy
what is evil
god created a perfect world without flaws and he created man in the perfect likeness of god, evil did not come from god
evil is just a privation of good, not an entity in itself and therefore cannot be created
to say god created a privation does not make sense
augustinian theodicy
how did evil come about
evil was brought into this world by angels that followed satan in his fall from grace and human beings who abused their free will and turned away from god
augustinian theodicy
the argument
1) man was created with true moral autonomy and so freedom to make choices
2) free will is god, with potential for actualising evil, the consequence of sin is evil and suffering
3) therefore evil and suffering is not the result of god
augustinian theodicy
why does god allow evil and suffering to stay
god allows evil and suffering to stay as punishment for the sins of adam and eve, we were all seminally present in adam and all guilty therefore deserve to share punishment
augustinian theodicy
moral evil
human actions which destroy natural order
augustinian theodicy
natural evil
results from a breakdown of natural order due to moral evil
natural evil is a fitting punishment for moral evil
augustinian theodicy
jesus/heaven/hell
god foresaw the fall from the beginning and planned our redemption & salvation
god sent his son jesus christ who was essential for man kinds redemption
those who accept christ will be saved and see god’s mercy
they will go to heaven whilst others are condemned to hell
augustinian theodicy
criticisms
schleiermacher
it is a logical contradiction to say that a perfect world could go wrong, this means evil would have created itself exnihilo/out of nothing which is impossible
- evil didnt need to create itself because it is a privation
- a perfect world could go wrong if you hold a belief of deism
augustinian theodicy
criticisms
evil attributed to god
whether or not evil is a privation it is still a real feature of the world as is the suffering it produces
therefore if the world is attributed to a god, evil must be too
either the world was not perfect or god enabled it to go wrong
augustinian theodicy
criticisms
disobeying god
1) in a perfect world with no knowledge of good or evil how is there freedom to obey or disobey god
2) god’s creatures chose to disobey him
3) this suggests knowledge of evil
4) knowledge of evil could’ve only come from god
- could’ve unknowingly disobeyed god, you can still break a role if you didnt know it was there, e.g. dress code at a party, if you turn up in the wrong dress and you didnt know the dress code you’re still going against it.
augustinian theodicy
criticisms
evolution
it is contradictory to evolutionary theory for a world to start perfect and get worse
there is evidence to support the evolutionary theory but not this
augustinian theodicy
criticisms
hell
hell appears to be part of the design of the universe, with it being preplanned that those who sinned/did not accept christs redemption would end up there
god must have anticipated and accepted that everything would go wrong
free will defence
both theodicies emphasise that evil is a tragic consequence of free will
this is frequently developed into its own theodicy known as the free will defence
1) the world is logically necessary for humans
2) provides true freedom in the form of choices which produce goodness/harm
3) without choices we would not be free and therefore not human
free will defence
richard swinbourne
a god who intervenes compromises the gift of freedom which removes human responsibility
this prevents human development
free will defence
mackie
if god is omnipotent he could have created human beings who were truly free but also always made the right decisions, resulting in no evil
he didnt and we still have the problem of evil
the gift of free will is no excuse for evil
-impossible to have free will and always make the right decision
