the logical problem of evil and suffering + religious experience- philosophy

Question 1

what is the inconsistent triad

against god

Answer 1

evil exists
god is omnipotent
god is omnibenevolent

Question 2

plotinus’s argument

in favour of god

Answer 2

• the universe is perfect and good
• things cant be evil - just less good than other things
• bad things are still deemed good as they are part of a greater good in gods plan
• critical analysis: his argument is a rudimental form of the privation argument - aristotle

Question 3

what veiw does steven fry hold?

against god

Answer 3

• humanist and athiest
• how can an all loving god create a world with unecessary evil such as: bugs burrowing into childrens eyes to make them blind.

Question 4

why do christians belive evil exists alongside god

in favour of god

Answer 4

• fall of mankind/original sin means that sin is inherent in humans and we have a predisposition to commit evil acts.

Question 5

what does the irenian theodicy conclude?

in favour of god

Answer 5

all humans were made in the image of god but were not made in the likeness of god. we must work and do good deeds to become the likeness of god - evil exists to encourage development.

Question 6

why does irenius consider suffering to be catharitc

in favour of god

Answer 6

becuase good deeds come with the sacrifice of others suffering in the short term so they can experience moral perfection later on

Question 7

what does john hick talk about in his book ‘evil and the god of love’

in favour of god

Answer 7

hick holds a contemporary modification of irenius and talks about how the only relationship worth having is with god and how the world is instrumentally good which overcomes the problem of the world being intrinsically good becuase the consequence of suffering is what makes for human improvment.

Question 8

when was st irenius born

Answer 8

120-200AD

Question 9

what argument did augustine and plotinus uphold

Answer 9

the privation argument

Question 10

william james Quote

in favour of religeous experience

Answer 10

‘the feelings, acts and experiences of men in their solitude’

Question 11

what were william james’ 4 qualities of mystical experience

in favour of religious experience

Answer 11

noetic - direct revelation (prophecy)
transciency - quick but life changing
ineffability - go beyond human comprehension so cannot be described in the human intellect
passivity - those affected will feel as though their free-will is being controlled by a superior power

Question 12

an example of corporate religeous experince and what it means

in favour of religeous experience

Answer 12

toronto blessing
it means a religious experince that has happened on a mass scale. can involve speaking in tounges and feeling drunk.

Question 13

what does nicholas lash argue about the nature of religeous experience

in favour of religious experience

Answer 13

he argues that its constant in everyday processes, arguing a more realistic approach.

Question 14

alston james quote:
‘we learn to find god in …………… , ……………………. , …………………………………..’

in favour of religious experience

Answer 14

‘we learn to find god in all life, all freedom, all vitality and creation’
this contributes to the realistic perception of religeous experience that nicholas lash holds.

Question 15

ludwig feurbach Q:
‘religion is …………………….’

against religious experience

Answer 15

‘religion is a dream of the human mind’
this means that hevan is a human construct, stemming from our natural survival instinct.

Question 16

sigmund freud interpratation

against religious experience

Answer 16

god is a paternal figure as he represents fear and admiration. we seek confort by consoling in god to reassure our safety from nature.

Question 17

veiw of john lofland and rodney stork

against religious experience

Answer 17

we cannot prove gods existance when we are unaware of where religious experience stems from.

Question 18

william alstons veiw

against religious experience

Answer 18

the premise of god being intangible is insufficient as we use our sense to experience him. senses are subjective so they cannot be credited.

Question 19

dostovesky and hume

agaisnt religious experience

Answer 19

there are many factors that can cause us to misconcieve our experiences so they cannot be credited - i.e. alcohol

Question 20

peter vardys veiw

against religeous experience

Answer 20

nurture endorces a specific outlook/interperatation that allows you to experience religous phenomenon - insufficient as it should be the same for everyone to be credible.

Question 21

robert kirkwoods veiw

against religious experience

Answer 21

goes against basic grounds of knowledge.

Question 22

what does john cottingham argue

in favour of RE + counter argument

Answer 22

he argues that non believers can still have transcendent experiences.
counter: dostevsky and hume contradict this statement as there are many things that can cause human misconceptions

Question 23

what are the 2 types of religious experience?

Answer 23

private - dreams, non-describable experience (beyond human comprehension), looking at the world from a religious perspective.
public - ordinary experience, extraordinary experience (defys laws of nature)

Question 24

swinburnes 2 principles

Answer 24

creduility - argument for rationality (i.e. if someone says god exists then god is true)
testimony - the experiences of others are probably oh how they report them

Question 25

apriori

Answer 25

argument based on logic

Question 26

aposteriori

Answer 26

arguments based on experience
‘of the latter’

Question 27

augustinian theodicy in latin

Answer 27

theos dikaos (gods justification)

Question 28

augustine quote for intrinsic good in humans

Answer 28

‘things which are liable to corruption are good……if there were no good, then there would be nothing capable of corruption’

Question 29

weaknesses of augustines theodicy

Answer 29

augustines argument of original sin (fall in genesis) lack clarity and explination as it seems insufficient to make one person responsible for an inherent disposition towards evil acts.

Question 30

scheiermacher’s argument

against god

Answer 30

pre-deterministic argument - goes against augustinian theodicy
human evil and suffering is caused by an authoratative figure - god can see past, present and future, meaning hes responsible for the actions of humans. goes against augustinian theodicy becuase augustine believes god is eternal.