The Problem Of Evil Flashcards
Augustinian Theodicy
The Fall (Genesis 3:15-19) - humans are the source of all evil, we are all “seminally present in the loins of Adam” - we are responsible for Adam & Eve’s sin.
Irenaean Theodicy
Without evil, there would be no such thing as good, it would be indistinguishable and not appreciated. (Genesis 1:27) - humans are created in God’s likeness.
Epicurus & Mackie
The inconsistent triad
God is omnipotent, God is omni benevolent and evil exists. They cannot all be true. If he was omnipotent he would be able to stop evil, if he was omni benevolent he wouldn’t want people to suffer.
William Rowe
Couldn’t accept God allowing ‘intense suffering’. Animal suffering also seemed pointless. He used the example of a fawn caught in a forest fire to demonstrate the pointlessness of animal suffering.
Gregory Paul
Death of innocent children disproves the existence of God.
‘The holocaust of the children’
Criticisms
The idea that all human beings originated from one couple is impossible. God created Hell. This implies that he knew his creation would rebel, he knew he created a world with evil in it. Why would an omni benevolent God do this?
Not all humans experience the same amount of suffering. Some humans are moral and spiritually good without having experienced suffering and evil. Some people who experience suffering don’t develop but instead they regress and become violent.
Neither theodicy is successful in providing an adequate explanation for the problem of evil and they both fail as a defence of the God of Classical Theism.
