Problem of Evil

Question 1

Hick’s definition of evil

Answer 1

Physical pain, mental suffering and moral wickedness

Question 2

Natural Evil

Answer 2

The apparent malfunctioning of our world e.g. 2004 26th December Tsunami

Question 3

Moral Evil

Answer 3

The result of our human immorality e.g. 9/11

Question 4

Logical Problem of Evil

Answer 4

How is God omnipotent and omnibenevolent yet evil exists (Inconsistent Triad)

Question 5

Evidential Problem of Evil

Answer 5

Why is there so much evil in the world?

Question 6

Describe Augustine’s Theodicy

Answer 6

God gave us and other beings free will
Evil is a privation of good and not created by God
Natural Evil created by the Fall of the Angels
Moral Evil created by the Fall of Humans
God provides a solution through Christ
Soul deciding

Question 7

Brian Davies

Answer 7

Evil is not properly a substance but a gap between what there is and what there ought to be

Question 8

Platinga

Answer 8

Genuine free will requires the possibility that humans will choose evil

Question 9

H McCabe

Answer 9

Is something bad because it doesn’t live up to what is expected or is it an absence of what we expect to be there

Question 10

Schleiermacher

Answer 10

How can a perfect world go wrong?

Adam & Eve must have had some knowledge in order to choose it

Question 11

Scientific Error

Answer 11

We are not all seminally present in Adam - Genesis cannot be taken literally

Question 12

Problem with God limiting his omnipotence

Answer 12

If God has limited his omnipotence to allow free willl there is no guarantee that good will overcome evil

Question 13

Describe Hick’s Irenean Theodicy

Answer 13

Evil is teleological as it allows us to grow/develop into God’s likeness
The world is good for purpose of soul-making
Christ demonstrated how to deal with suffering
Afterlife allows people to continue to develop
Hell is temporary

Question 14

What would happen if God removed the worst evil?

Answer 14

Then there would be a new worst evil which we would want God to remove. This would continue until there is no evil.

Question 15

Aesthetic Argument

Answer 15

Good is necessary to appreciate evil

Question 16

JL Mackie

Answer 16

“Why could God not have made Men always freely choose the good?”

Could our world not be a little more hospitable and still teach us

Question 17

DZ Phillips

Answer 17

Suffering can never be an expression of God’s love

Evil as a means to an end it not morally justifiable - it provides no consolodation to the victims

Question 18

Hume

Answer 18

Criticised the extend of the evil

Question 19

Swinburne

Answer 19

Natural evil is a precondition of moral evil

We learn inductively about evil through nature

Question 20

Process Theodicy

Answer 20

Developed by AN Whitehead
God isn’t omnipotent but just started off creation
God suffers with us
God is justified as it is better to have our universe than no universe at all

Question 21

Dostoyevsky

Answer 21

Brothers Karamazov - Ivan see evils e.g. babies being killed by soliders and “returns his ticket”