The Problem Of Evil

Question 1

Evidential problem of evil

Answer 1

> based on empiricism - seeing evil in the world,
concerned with the amount and extent of evil that can be seen eg natural disasters, children suffering,
evidential is hard to remove from logical as it is blamed on God’s attributes

Question 2

Logical problem of evil (removal)

Answer 2

The triad illustrates:
> God is wholly good but not powerful enough to stop evil,
> God is all powerful and could prevent evil but cannot wholly care about our suffering,
> God is all powerful and all good to want to remove suffering but evil is an illusion and doesn’t exist

Question 3

Augustine’s theodicy

Answer 3

> everything created perfectly by God,
humans fall short due to fall of humans and angles,
loss of harmony in nature,
people fall short,
all deserve punishment - seminally present,
cannot stop it as we have free will,
sent Jesus so people can go to heaven

Question 4

Responses to logical and evidential problems

Answer 4

> evil is part of a bigger plan,
some suffering is good and we learn from mistakes,
suffering and evil can bring about the best in people,
God needs to test humanity,
suffering could be a result of previous actions,
if we are genuinely free then suffering is something that we must accept

Question 5

Augustine

Answer 5

> God could only make a prefect world,
evil is a privation of good (a lack of),
God cannot be blamed for evil because you cannot create a privation

Question 6

Augustine - natural evil

Answer 6

the fall of the angles
> caused disharmony and imbalance,
> led to natural disasters,
> God allows this to act as a punishment for original sin

Question 7

Augustine - moral evil

Answer 7

The fall of humans:
> Adam and eve eating off the tree,
> first sin corrupts human nature,
> everyone inherits this as we were seminally present in Adam,
> everyone deserves to be punished

Question 8

Weaknesses - Augustine

Answer 8

> if God created a prefect world where did evil come from,
impossible to be seminally present in Adam,
reading genesis in a way that is not really accepted (we move away from perfection - opposite to evolution),
not fair to punish if not seminally present,
hard to put angelic disobedience to natural evil,
does not explain the amount of suffering,
Schleirmacker - why did God create hell

Question 9

Strengths - Augustine

Answer 9

> God cannot create a privation,
genuine free will requires no interference with God,
free will seems to cause the most suffering,
natural evil - only evil from the way that we see the world,
MacCabe - something is ‘bad’ when it does not live up to its standards

Question 10

Logical problem challenges beliefs

Answer 10

> evil and suffering continue so he cannot be all powerful,
Can’t be ominbenevolent - would love us too much,
inconsistency in God knowing of evil, wholly good and powerful could prevent it

Question 11

Logical problem does NOT challenge beliefs

Answer 11

> Plantiga - God chose to limit himself,
we cannot understand God because human perspective is limited,
good reason for evil to continue,
good cannot exist without evil

Question 12

Solutions to logical problem

Answer 12

Remove one of his attributes he is: not worthy of worship/ cannot exist/ our understanding of God needs to change,
Remove omnipotence then he is a sufferer

Question 13

Evidential problem challenges beliefs

Answer 13

> Hume - observation of evil and suffering questions his benevolence and power,
God could have made humans to always chose good,
Dostoyevsky - a God who allows this amount and extent of suffering is not worth of worship

Question 14

Evidential problem does NOT challenge belief

Answer 14

> logical problem is greater as it highlights inconstancies,
need evidential and logical to challenge belief,
Swinburne - evidential provides motivation to find cures for disease for example

Question 15

Irenaean theodicies

Answer 15

> see it as an opportunity,
these are soul making,
idea that evil is in the world to help people develop their characters in some way,
evil and free will shape the world to perfection

Question 16

Natural evil - Hick

Answer 16

> this world is the vale of soul - making because it is the kind of world that suits its purpose,
evil is instrumentally good as it allows people to develop a likeness of God,
pain is necessary because it teaches us what is valuable and dangerous,
makes the world predictable,
the world is not a paradise but useful in soul making

Question 17

Moral evil - hick

Answer 17

> free will is invaluable,
courage, compassion and kindness are developed through choices made in the face of suffering,
free will allows possibility of morally wring decisions, it is more valuable to choose to do good,
God remains at an epistemic distance in order to preserve free will - not obvious that God exists

Question 18

Extra Hick

Answer 18

> free will is the starting point,
free will must be complete and genuine to have a relationship with God,
something is only good when its purpose is considered,
instrumental good - develops a likeness in God,
our response to suffering develops our virtues,
hell is a place of cleansing, universal salvation

Question 19

Weaknesses - Hick

Answer 19

> Mackie - suggests God could have made people who were free but always made good choices,
Hume - whether the world could be more hospitable but still teach us,
Philips - true love does not use evil as a means to an end or for a purpose,
does not explain the imbalance of suffering,
universal salvation - removes freedom

Question 20

Strengths - Hick

Answer 20

> epistemic distance - allows for complete freedom and genuine love for God,
evil is instrumental - serves a purpose,
Swinburne - if God limited suffering then it would be a ‘toy world where thing matter but not very much’,
ends justify the means,
evil is a tool not a failing of God,
allows non literal approach to Genesis,
look at the bigger picture with relationships at the centre