The problem of evil Flashcards
1
Q
what is the logical problem of evil?
A
- evil is a problem for believers because it challenges the nature of God.
- theistic believes - God is all-loving, all-powerful yet evil exists. How can God be these two things and evil exists?
- Epicurus first stated this problem in the third century. he explained that in order for this inconsistent triad to be resolved, one of these three parts cannot be true.
- God isn’t omnipotent and cannot control evil. therefore cannot control human’s free choices this is view of process theology.
- God isn’t benevolent, his benevolence only became apparent because of the New Testament as it focused more on love whereas in the Old Testament God’s view on justice was fair but brutal, like how God fought for the people of Israel.
- our definitions of omnipotence and benevolence need to change.
- maybe evil doesn’t exist and its only a privation of the substance good.
2
Q
what is the evidential problem of evil?
A
- evil is evident in the amount of people’s suffering and general suffering around the world.
- may make a religious believers question why God would allow evil to happen.
- natural disasters can injure and displace thousands at a time.
- moral evil can cause some individual’s to perform acts others would view as unthinkable.
- suffering takes place in nature in ways we don’t always think about: animals kill and eat other animals.
- why would God create a universe knowing the extreme examples of evil and suffering would occur?
3
Q
what are some responses to the evidential problem of evil?
A
- evil may be part of a ‘big picture plan’ that God has so evil shouldn’t be taken at face value.
- some suffering is good as it teaches us to learn from our mistakes.
- warns us that something worse might happen.
- suffering and evil can bring out the best in people.
- god may need to test humans in some way.
- suffering could be a result of previous actions of people, like a form of punishment.
- if we’re to be genuinely free then suffering is something we have to accept.
- Bible suggests there comes a point where we have to ‘let go’ of our intellectual questioning about evil and suffering and accept love of God.
4
Q
what did Augustine say original perfection was?
A
- a perfect God could only create a perfect world.
- seen in the creation stories in the Bible.
- evil is an absence or privation of good.
5
Q
why did Augustine see the story of the Fall as central to understanding why humans have an absence of good in themselves?
A
- before Adam and Eve, some angels being perfect misused their free will and fell from God’s grace and fell from heaven, hell was created and harmony of creation was disturbed.
- in garden of eden, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command by giving in to temptation, they too broke the harmonious relationship with God.
- all evil in the world is because of these acts of disobedience.
6
Q
according to Augustine (original sin, punishment):
A
- everything created perfectly by God.
- all things fall short of perfection, fall of both angels and humans.
- led to loss of harmony in nature.
- all humans deserve to be punished for original sin of Adam and Eve.
- we deserve this as we’re all ‘seminally present in the loins of Adam’.
- god is fair and just so he cannot stop evil and suffering as he cannot interfere with free actions.
- sent Jesus to earth as a sign of his grace to give opportunity for people to go to heaven.
- evil is part of natural balance of the universe. from God’s perspective the universe is aesthetically pleasing as it is beautiful and balanced. a world with evil and genuine free will is better than a world without choice.
7
Q
Augustine’s comparison of a runaway horse and stone.
A
Augustine compared a runaway horse and a stone to a world with evil and genuine free will because a horse can choose to runaway, whereas a stone is fixed and cannot perceive itself or move on its own accord.
8
Q
according to Augustine, where does evil come from?
A
- evil ultimately comes from the Fall.
- it affects the harmony in the world and results in human punishment.
- God’s love shows that human’s haven’t been abandoned.
- all evil is either sin or punishment for sin.
9
Q
what is Augustine’s theodicy described as in modern terms?
A
- soul-deciding, we have to decide whether or not to obey God.
10
Q
what are some strengths to Augustine’s approach?
A
- fits with our experience of the world - free will does seem to be the cause of most suffering.
- seems reasonable to put the emphasis on human action and not god’s action.
- Aquinas - natural evil might only be evil because of the way we look at the world. (cat eating mouse)
- for Aquinas, the idea of death is an aspect of our punishment, and it gives motivation to humans.
- privation also emphasises the goodness of God.
11
Q
what is Herbert McCabe’s analogy of privation?
A
a deckchair may be bad if it collapses when you sit on it but that wouldn’t make a grape bad. this is because privation is the idea that something is bad if it falls short of our expectations of it.
12
Q
why would some argue that Augustine’s theodicy is internally coherent?
A
evil does not mean that God has fallen short of expectations, we have. we are supposed to be God’s perfect creation, made in his image (imago dei) yet we cause suffering and pain.
13
Q
what are weaknesses of Augustine’s approach?
A
- requires a reading of Genesis that isn’t always accepted by Christians.
- challenged by the Theory of Evolution. Evolution suggests species work towards perfection, Augustine says we’re nearing away from perfection.
- did Adam and Eve had genuine freedom to choose evil? how can they have known they were disobeying God?
- why should we be punished for Adam and Eve’s actions?
- if everything was made perfectly how did it all go wrong? if god made hell why did he make a place that assumed others would go wrong? leave part of the blame for evil on god.
- humans may simply be flawed not perfect.
- because pf the Fall, humans have a natural inclination to sin, this takes away our free will.
- Augustine - God is in control of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, free will is limited.
- some find it difficult to agree with Augustine when he says that innocent babies suffer because they’re tainted by Original Sin.
14
Q
What is Irenaeus’ theodicy?
A
- evil is an opportunity.
evil is in the world to help people develop their character in some way, they are soul-making. - evil and free will are both part of God shaping the world to perfection.
- Genesis verse where God creates humans in his image and likeness.
- God’s likeness is something we need to achieve through our character development.
- likeness is chosen not given so evil is part of the process.
15
Q
what is John Hick’s reworking of Irenaeus’ theodicy?
A
- free will must be given so we have a genuine relationship with God.
- true freedom brings the possibility of consequences.
- epistemic distance is the reason behind this, it is the gap in knowledge between God and humanity, which allows us to use our freedom fully.
- something is only good when its purpose is considered.
- instrumental good is a good that is good for a particular purpose.
- the world is instrumentally good.
