Soul Making Theodicy Flashcards
What is the outline of the theodicy
God creates the world to be imperfect
This allows humans to freely develop from the image of God into the likeness of god
Who are the two key thinkers?
Hick and ireneaus
What is the quote that supports- the bests goods Come through free will?
“Virtues through hardship”
What does soul making theodicy mean by universal salvation
At some point everyone will be worthy of heaven- reincarnation would be the best way to develop this
What is “epistemic distance”
If we knew what God knew we would not exercise our free will as we would always do the right thing
Explain free will with moral evil
5 steps
Pushes us to mature naturally
Natural evils and soul making
5 steps
Provide opportunities for us to exercise free will and do the right thing eg rescue someone
Unpredictable and challenging- helps us to develop certain skills and qualities
Hick recognises that there is too much suffering- more than needed to bring about the perfect state of human kind
Happiness and suffering- not handed out proportionately to good and bad people as it would limit our free will
Potential to bring out greater good- spiritual development of many etc
Either no suffering and growth or all suffering and growth
Logical problem of evil and soul making
OMNIBENEVOLENCE
Evil exists because God knows it’s for the greater good
He gives us freedom to Coen into a loving, personal relationship with him
Benevolent- universal salvation is an offer
Logical problem of evil
OMNISCIENCE
God knows that humans ultimately will benefit from the existence of both moral and natural evil
Logical problem of evil and soul making
OMNIPOTENCE
His power is defended by asserting he has reasons to tolerate evil and so it is not the question of power
Soul making and the evidential problem of evil in three steps
Evil is necessary In the world
Epistemic distance- even if some suffering seems pointless- we don’t know what God wants
Pointless suffering is a part of the suffering you have to deal with- accept to grow
What are the strengths of soul making in 8 steps
- Comforting
- God is infinitely wise
- Defends 3 attributes without greatly undermining any
- Values free will
- Hope for a good future and universal salvation
- Intuitive- in line with ideas humans use everyday to explain their suffering
- Internally coherent
- Fits with science
What is the weakness of soul making
6 points
This much pain is not needed to bring about the perfected state of mind
Seems unfair that some people receive more suffering than others
Maybe there is a distance in existence instead
Epistemic distance- answer to anything but offers no real hope or explanation
