The Problem of Evil Flashcards
What is the inconsistent triad?
- Evil exists
- God has the power to stop
- God is omnibenevolent
- Such a God would stop evil
- Evil exists, therefore God doesn’t
What is a theodicy?
an argument for the compatibility of the existence of evil and God
What are the different theodicies?
1 . Augustine’s Original sin
2. Swinburne’s Free Will Defence
3. Irenaeus and Hick’s Soul Making theodicy
4. Griffin’s process theodicy
What is the evidential problem of evil?
- Evil exists
- Evil is pointless
- Evil is evidence against the omnipotence and omnibenevolence of God
What is Augustine’s theodicy about the original sin?
- God is perfect, so created a perfect world
- We created all evil
- Adam and Eve created natural and moral evil
- Christ’s atonement balances out the original sin
- Evil doesn’t actually exist in itself but is rather an absence of goodness
- When they ate the forbidden fruit, they messed up the natural order of the ecosystem and created natural evil
What is Swinburne’s free will defence (explanation of Moral Evil)?
- God created humans with free will, so that they may be in an authentic relationship with him.
- To have free will is to have the capacity to do evil
- It is greater for humans to be evil and be free, rather than be good whilst under control.
- God can’t always interfere as that would limit our free-will.
- Humans learn courage, forgiveness etc with a world with liars and cheats.
What is Swinburne’s free will defence (explanation of NATURAL Evil)?
The sharpest end of pain is death (extremist form).
We can find meaning and purpose in death, and therefore all kinds of pain can be justified.
A world with dead>without death:
- Altruism (kshatriya- nobility in death)
- Focus and appreciation (eternal time = no stress to get anything done)
- Limited opportunities for the youth
- Merciful limits of pain (death is better than constant pain mentally or physically)
What are the attacks on Swinburne’s Free Will Defence Theodicy + replies?
- God should have intervened with the Rwandan genocide.
Replies:
Swinburne - God interfering would limit our free will
Hick - These horrors do stop eventually.
Furthermore, getting rid of suffering makes people weak and oversensitive to the smaller pains of life.
- Why didn’t God create Angels who always choose the good?
Mackie -
god could create a world with no free will so people would always be good, or create a world where humans have free will, though there is always the risk of evil. Mackie concludes that there is no contradiction in God creating a world where humans have free will, yet always chose the good (Jesus and the Angels - still authentic relationships with God)
Reply:
Hick - Humans who have the capacity to do bad are greater than ‘freely choosing’ Angels.
What is Hick’s Irenean Soul Making Theodicy + definitive features?
S tars only shine in darkness
E scape incentive
N arrow minded (broadens our vision to the greater good and bigger picture
T ests our faith in God (we can only test if there is an examination)
Definitive features:
- Evolution (human life is the telos of all forms of life)
- Telos of humans is to be in a relationship with God.
- Acquiring certain virtues requires a world with evil and suffering .
- Vale of soul making
- Reincarnation
What are the stages and add-ons of Hick’s Irenean soul making theodicy?
- Let us make mankind in our image:
- We have the potential to become God like, intelligent and of perfect moral character, though it isn’t ready made
- let him be in our likeness:
- the realisation of our divine potential and what it means to truly be in God’s likeness. The process requires that we aren’t perfect first and that we must inhabit a dark and imperfect world (caterpillar).
Epistemic Distance: God doesn’t constantly intervene in the face of evil, as it would limit our freedom and make his existence obvious and not make us want to find Him. If we were always aware of God’s presence, then we would have limited free will and behave out of fear, not virtue or love.
Universalism:
- All souls get moksha…eventually
- Cause of reincarnation, it is eventually, but certain.
- Hick also rejects eternal hell as it limits God’s omnibenevolence and the failure of good to conquer evil
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the soul making theodicy?
++++++++
1. agrees with evolution.
2. an optimistic view that all pain is worth it cause of heaven.
3. No eternal hell = loving
4. Epistemic distance
5. Agrees with much of Hinduism
- Not every1 grows through suffering
- Can the ends justify the means?
- God should intervene in extreme cases
- Can you become moral in other ways?
- What about some people who don’t want moksa?
- Goes against Christian beliefs
Hick asks himself - does the ends justify the means, and if he had been through significant tragedy, we would also disagree with his theory, so understands other people’s opinions.
What is Griffin’s Process theodicy?
Panentheism - The world isn’t independent from the world, rather is a part of his body.
Both sentient and insentient stuff exist within the body of God.
God tries to reform the chaos within through persuasion, not coercion. God isn’t powerless in the face of evil, but guides the disorder out of chaos.
He persuades us through the scriptures and examples such as Jesus.
Natural Evil is just an inevitable consequence of darkness.
What are the strengths and weaknesses + replies to Griffin’s Process theodicy?
+ God aint no bully, but a care giving mother like figure
+ heals through love, but God suffers with us.
+ Eco friendliness
- God aint omnipotent
Reply: it is greater to patiently tolerate evil and try to reform it, rather than fight it.
- The best u can do is let 10k jews die?
Reply: omnibenevolent> omnipotent God
Which dyu wanna worship?
- How biblical is it?
Reply: closer to the actual fundamental truth of God and the universe.
