The problem of Evil and Suffering

Question 1

Define Moral evil.

Answer 1

Evil that results from human wickedness. This is caused by humans as an apparent result of free will. (e.g. wars, violence, crime)

Question 2

Define Natural evil.

Answer 2

Evil resulting from the natural world and the way things are made (e.g. natural disasters, childbirth, illness, death).

Question 3

What problems do each type of evil produce?

Answer 3

Moral evil- if God knew, when He gave us free will, that we would use it for wrong, why did he grant us free will? If He did not know this, can He be considered omniscient?
Natural evil- if He led Moses out of Egypt, why didn’t He lead the people out of Hiroshima?

Question 4

Outline Epicurus’ classical formulation of the problem of evil and suffering.

Answer 4

Evil and suffering cannot co-exist with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God. Epicurus used this to evidence the gods’ inability to intervene with worldly events, but not necessarily to disprove their existence.

Question 5

Give a quote from Epicurus describing his formulation.

Answer 5

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is not omnipotent. Is He able but not willing? Then He is malevolent.”

Question 6

Outline Mackie’s reformulation of the problem.

Answer 6

Mackie’s inconsistent triad claims that we cannot hold all three premises (God’s omnipotence, His omnibenevolence, and the existence of evil and suffering) to be true without contradiction.

Question 7

How does Mackie determine that the problem of evil and suffering disproves the existence of God?

Answer 7

Evil and suffering can be observationally and empirically proven. Logic would determine that God therefore cannot be omnibenevolent and omnipotent. Omnibenevolence would imply motive for the eradication of evil, and omnipotence would imply ability.

Question 8

What type of contradiction does Mackie’s inconsistent triad present?

Answer 8

Logical, not scientific. A logical contradiction cannot be observationally falsified.

Question 9

Outline how his contradiction is proved with quasi-logical rules.

Answer 9

Additional premises connecting the terms “good”, “evil” and “omnipotent” are required.
1. Good is always opposed to evil
2. Good always eliminates evil as far as it can.
3. There are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do.
By this logic, a good omnipotent thing eliminates evil completely. Therefore, unqualified omnipotence cannot be possessed by any being that continues through time.

Question 10

What do the quasi-logical rules suggest about God’s character?

Answer 10

God’s actions must be timeless/ outside of time. If He cannot interfere with worldly events, can He be considered omnipotent?

Question 11

How does McCloskey support Mackie’s reformulation?

Answer 11

“Evil and suffering is a problem for the theist in that a contradiction is involved in the fact of evil, on the one hand, and the belief in the omnipotence and perfection of God on the other.”

Question 12

Outline Rowe’s argument for evil and suffering.

Answer 12

Intense suffering
Evidential, empirical, inductive argument against God’s existence.
Defines intense suffering as extreme, unprecedented suffering that is unresolvable through Christian theology. Intense suffering is intrinsic (evil in or of itself).

Question 13

Give the examples of Bambi and Sue.

Answer 13

The case of Bambi demonstrates intense suffering as a result of natural evil. In this case, a fawn encounters a forest fire, following lightning striking a dead tree. The fire traps a fawn who becomes badly burnt and close to death. It is then left for several days to suffering in solitude before succumbing to death.
The case of
Sue follows a real life story of a five-year-old girl who was severely beaten, raped, and strangled to death by her mother’s boyfriend in Flint, Michigan on New Years Day 1986.

Question 14

What is proven by the cases of Bambi and Sue?

Answer 14

Rowe argues that in these cases of extreme suffering, no greater good is served and no higher evil is prevented. An omniscient, wholly good God would prevent these cases. Even if these cases are somehow necessary, tis cannot be true of all instances of evil.

Question 15

Outline Gregory Paul’s problem of Evil and Suffering.

Answer 15

(Theodicy’s Problem)- premature deaths
Prior to 1900, 50% of children died before maturity. When children die in infancy, they haven’t been granted the opportunity to prove themselves, through the use of free will, to be worthy of salvation, nor deserving of eternal damnation in Hell.
Our world of great natural evil maximises the level of suffering among infants.
The extent of natural evil in the world doesn’t allow for an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God.

Question 16

Give statistics associated with Gregory Paul’s argument.

Answer 16

There have been around 100 billion humans born to date.
C19th, juvenile mortality in the UK and US was over 25%.
Before 1800, roughly50%of people died before maturity.
The majority of conceptions don’t run full term.
Around 300billion pre-natal deaths have occurred.
In the USC19th, roughly13% of infants died in infancy.
Total combined deceased= 350 billion
Total lived to maturity= 50 billion

Question 17

What do Paul’s statistics conclude?

Answer 17

Prayer does not prevent child death. Are these children sent to heaven without proof? This seems to remove the purpose of life and the importance of free will. In this way, would the ultimate sacrifice be to kill children in infancy?
Can these children not access heaven? This seems unfair, as the situation is of God’s own creation.