Problem of evil

Question 1

What are the key ideas of the problem of evil?

Answer 1

• We see there is both natural and moral evil and suffering in the world. Therefore, this raises the argument of why would an omni-benevolent and omnipotent God allow for such evil in the world.
• David Hume said that the problem of evil and suffering is the rock of atheism.
• Mackie coined the term inconsistent triad.
• One of these ideas must not be true, but evil and suffering does exist therefore is God all-loving or all-powerful. Maybe God just does not exist?

Question 2

What are the solutions to the problem of evil?

Answer 2

• St Augustine states that evil is a punishment for the sins of Adam and Eve.
• Mary Baker Eddy states that God was completely good and evil and suffering is a failure to understand the loving nature of God.
• Evil is an illusion.
• Evil is a test of faith.
• Evil is part of God’s greater plan.

Question 3

What is the Augustinian Theodicy?

Answer 3

• God is god and created this world perfectly good - ‘God saw what he had made and it was very good’.
• Evil is the going-wrong of something that is good.
• Evil did not come from God, it comes from beig that have been given free will who had chosen to turn away from God.
• Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge and disobey God - this is the original sin.
• Therefore, God allows suffering as a punishment for human sin.
• This all loving God also allowed his son, Jesus Christ, to die so that those who believed in him could save their souls.

Question 4

What are the criticisms of the Augustinian Theodicy?

Answer 4

• Schleiermacher states that a perfectly good world could never go wrong.
• If humans were able to choose evil then it must have existed in the first place.
• God made the world to allow for evil as it is part of nature.
• God is unjust as he allows all humans to suffer for the sins of Adam.
• Why design hell if evil was not part of the design?

Question 5

What is the Irenaean Theodicy?

Answer 5

• God deliberately created an imperfect world so that through trial and adversity, develop into perfect beings.
• Evil and suffering is part of God’s plan for humanity.
• Humans are created with the intention to develop.
• God had to give humans free will.
• This means that God gave humans the right to freely choose either good or evil.

Question 6

What did John Hick say?

Answer 6

John Hick took this further and said that humans could not be made perfectly as they would have the goodness of robots.

Question 7

What are the criticisms of the theodicy?

Answer 7

• Suffering does not always result in positive human development.
• Suffering can produce nothing but misery.

Question 8

What is the free will defence?

Answer 8

• This world is the logically neccessary environment for human development.
• It provides freedom