The Problem Of Evil Flashcards
Natural evil
Evil which is naturally occurring in the world
Eg. Earthquakes, tsunamis
Moral evil
Evil caused by humans/ as a result of human action
Eg. Murder, theft
Inconsistent triad
God is ‘omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent’
Yet evil still exists
This is inconsistent
Influenced by Mackie, Hume, Epicurus
Theodicy
An argument that defends God in the fact of the existence of evil and suffering
It suggests that God is right to allow it because in some way it is necessary
Epistemic distance
God keeps a distance from humanity in order to not overwhelm it
This is Hick’s view of our relationship with God
Omniscience
All knowing
An attribute of the God of Classical Theism
Omnipotence
All powerful
An attribute of the God of Classical Theism
Omnibenevolent
All loving
An attribute of the God of Classical Theism
Transcendent
An idea that God is above space and time
Free will
The belief that God gave human beings the ability to be free and make their own choices in life
Libertarianism
The belief that humans have a degree of free will and so can be held morally responsible for their actions
Casual determinism
The view that every event is determined by preceding events and conditions of the laws of nature
Humans do not have free will
Compatibilism
The view that a person is free to act within the constraints of their own motives and desires
Determinism and free will are compatible
Panentheism
The view that ‘all is in God’
In Process Theology, God is the soul of the universe, so is not transcendent
Parapsychology
The investigation into paranormal and psychic phenomena
Millenarianism
The belief in an 1000 year reign of Christ on earth
It concludes with universal resurrection and judgement - the just go to heaven, the sinful go to hell
Where is the origin of evil in Christianity
The Garden of Eden in Genesis where Adam and Eve disobey God
This is original sin
How do Christians believe their sin is ‘made up for’
Paul says it is made up for by Jesus dying on the cross and rising again
The Logical Problem of Evil
The inconsistent triad - God cannot be omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omniscient AND evil exist
The Evidential Problem of evil
- The sheer extent of evil in the world + pointless evil
2. God’s omniscience - he knows about this evil
Epicurus quote on the inconsistent triad
‘Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence evil?’
Hume on the inconsistent triad
Either God is not omnipotent/omniscient
Or God is not omnibenevolent
Or evil does not exist
Since evil does exist, then God does not.
Mackie on the inconsistent triad
1 God is A) omniscient/omnipotent AND B) omnibenevolent
2 However, evil exists
3 this means that either A or B Must be logically inconsistent and therefore wrong
Quote from The Brothers Karamazov
‘I hasten to give back my entrance ticket. It’s not God that I don’t accept - only I most respectfully return Him the ticket’
‘But the children haven’t eaten anything and are so far innocent. They too suffer horribly on earth…. The innocent must not suffer for another’s sins, and especially such innocents!’
Examples of Natural evil
The Permian Triassic extinction where
90% marine species
70% land species disappeared
‘Someone committed murder on a scale unequaled in the history of the world’
Moral evil example
The Holocaust
Over 10 million died
Some Jews found faith in Auschwitz, some lost it
‘I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even when feeling it not. I believe in God, even when God is silent’
Rowe’s fawn
A fawn dies in a forest fire caused by a lightning strike
It is burned, lies in agony for days, then dies
The fawn’s agony is pointless as it suffers and dies alone.
Genuine free will necessarily includes
- The permission to do evil
- The ability to do evil
- The opportunity to do evil
First order goods
Things like happiness and pleasure
First order evils
Things like unhappiness, pain, misery
Second order goods
Things like sympathy, understanding, compassion because these are REACTIONS to first order EVILS
Second order evils
Things like spite, envy, jealousy because these are REACTIONS to first order GOODS
Why do second order goods exist
They exist to maximise first order good and minimise first order evil. We have free choice to choose these second order goods.
Third order good
For Mackie, this is freedom. It allows us to choose between the first and second order goods and evils. It eventually teaches us to love the good
Why does the Free Will Defence say God is justified in allowing evil?
It permits the freedom to choose or reject the good and teaches us to be morally responsible
Problems with the free will defence
The free will God has given us comes at an enormous price because we may develop greed, hate and selfishness. And some will have more first order evils than others.
Defences for the free will defence
Free will is worth the price because of the positive qualities the individual may choose to develop
It’s not possible to have free will without moral evil in the world
Mackie response to the free will defence
It is logically possible for a person to always make free, good choices
God did not create humans to do this so either He
Lacks power
Or lacks love
So FWD doesn’t work, God doesn’t exist
Mackie quote response to free will defence
‘His failure to avail himself of the opportunity [of making free beings who always act good] is inconsistent with his being omnipotent and wholly good’
Plantinga response to mackie’s criticism
Mackie’s criticism is not logically consistent or possible. God cannot do things that are logically impossible because a being is not FREE if it ‘always makes good choices’
Plantinga’s MSR1
‘God could not eliminate much of the evil and suffering in this world without thereby eliminating the greater good’
Some evil is allowed for the greater good - like mothers allowing immunisation for long term good.
People are morally responsible for their actions and so can be blamed or praised for this on judgement day.
Plantinga’s MSR2
‘God allowed natural evil to enter the world as part of Adam and Eve’s punishment for their sin’
It is logically possible that natural evil was created/allowed by God because of human sin in the Garden of Eden
Scholars may say this is unscientific/based on myth but it IS logically possible
St Augustine Theodicy 3 parts
1 God’s goodness
2 Original Sin
3 Evil as a Privation
St Augustine Theodicy God’s Goodness
God is good and created a perfect world
Evil is just the going wrong of something that is good
We use free will to choose to turn away from God’s goodness
St Augustine’s Theodicy Original Sin
Adam is ‘seminally present’ in us now
Free will allowed them in the Garden of Eden to disobey God
Original Sin from eating this fruit passed on to us - meaning we are naturally prone to immoral things
St Augustine’s Theodicy Evil as a privation
Evil is a privation (absence) of good
PRIVATIO BONI = latin for Privation of Good
Without God’s goodness, we experience bad things - but this is just an absence of God
Logical criticism of St Augustine’s Theodicy
Schliermacher said
If God had created a perfectly good world, it could never go wrong
If humans were able to choose evil, it must have existed in the first place
If evil existed in the first place then it wasn’t perfect
So if the world was not originally perfect then God is to blame for our suffering
Scientific criticism of St Augustine’s Theodicy
Adam is NOT Seminally present in us now (scientifically proven)
And in nature’s survival of the fittest suffering is vital for survival - which is the way God made the world
Moral criticism of St Augustine’s Theodicy
How can a loving God allow all of this suffering?
It isn’t fair or logical for us to pay for the mistakes of Adam, a mythical figure who existed millions of years ago
Biblical support for St Augustine’s Theodicy
‘God saw all that he had made and it was good’
‘You shall name him Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins’
Strengths of St Augustine’s Theodicy
It fits with the religious nature of the creation stories so works for Fundamentalists
Original sin explains why we have a desire to do wrong things
It supports the idea of God having a ‘greater plan’
It isn’t comforting to those suffering - but it is logical
Weaknesses of St Augustine’s Theodicy
God is unjust to allow humans to be punished for Adam’s sin
The existence of Hell contradicts the existence of an omnibenevloent God
If God knew he would have to have a hell and knew his world would go wrong, why did he still allow it to happen?
It is a logical contradiction that perfect beings would choose to do wrong
Romans quote on suffering
‘We rejoice in our suffering because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character and hope’
DZ Phillips quote on suffering
‘Love can never be expressed by allowing suffering to happen’
‘If God is this kind of agent, his evil nature is revealed’
Process theology
A way of seeing the universe as creative, interrelational, dynamic, and open to the future
God is seen as relational, present in every moment of our lives and in every being.
God’s 3 qualities in Process theology
Omnipresent
Persuasive
Love power
Creation is process theology
It is NOT creation ex nihilo
God is continually part of the unfolding process of creation
He started off the evolutionary process but is part of creation so suffers too
In Process theology god is not transcendent, he is
Panentheistic
Panentheistic
In space and time
The view that all is in God and he is the soul of the universe, he doesn’t transcend it
Griffin quote on God
‘It is necessarily the case that God cannot completely control the creatures’
What did Griffin think was mistranslated
He thought it was ‘in the beginning of Gods creating the heavens and the earth’ in Genesis
This assumes the universe already exists
So the universe is uncreated and eternal and God is inextricably bound with it
Darwin quote on God
‘I cannot persuade myself that there is a beneficent and omnipotent God that would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the intention of feeding in the living bodies of caterpillars’
God suffers quote
‘God is the fellow sufferer who understands’
Problems with Process theology
There is no eschatology - no doctrine for what will happen at the end of the universe or after death
John Roth quote on Process Theologu
‘A God of such weakness no matter how much he suffers is rather pathetic. Good though he may be, Griffin’s God is too small.’
Epistemic distance
God keeps his distance from humanity in order not to overwhelm it
Hicks vale of soul making
Humans were not made imperfectly in the very beginning
We have been given the ability to develop spiritually by God
He highlighted the importance of human development
How is God like a father for Hick
Children learn to love their parents through a free response to their parents’ care. Parents develop their children’s character by teaching them how to live responsibly.
In the same way God facilitates all these things for humans.
Hick belief on salvation
All will be saved and enter heaven
This will happen at different times for different individuals and may take many lifetimes
Soul deciding vs soul making
Augustine says our time here is to judge if we go to heaven or hell
Hick says this is unthinkable for a God of love and instead we have lifetimes to build and improve our souls
Animal rejection to Hicks theodicy
It doesn’t address animal suffering because they can’t develop spiritually
Pointless evil rejection to hicks theodicy
Epistemically distance doesn’t resolve pointless evil
Worst evil objection to hicks theodicy
This theodicy does not justify the very worst evils
Animal objection Hicks response
Pain warns animals of danger
Animals don’t fear death
Animals have to exist to stop us from realising our special relationship with God. It also tests us in our faith.
Epistemic objection Hicks response
Gods plan must remain a mystery or else we can’t freely choose a relationship with him
Worst evils objection Hicks response
If the worst evils were removed then something else would be the ‘worst evil’. Also we wouldn’t be completely free.
Keats quote on soul making
‘The world is a vale of soul making’
Challenges of process theodicy
A god who isn’t omnipotent is not worthy of worship
The translation is a very small issue to base an entire theology on
God is not the fellow sufferer to animals
Strengths of process theodicy
God understands what humans are going through
It fits with current scientific knowledge and biblical criticism
Humans live on eternally just in the kind of God
Gets rid of the problem of evil because God is not omnipotent
