The Problem Of Evil: Theodicy Flashcards
What is the logical problem of evil?
How can God be all powerful and all loving yet evil exist?
What’s another phrase for logical problem of evil?
The inconsistent triad.
God is wholly good but cannot be powerful enough to stop evil because evil and suffering still exist
God is all powerful and could prevent evil but since evil continues God cannot be wholly good or care enough about our suffering
God is both powerful and good enough to want to and to be able to remove evil and suffering, so evil is an illusion and does not really exist
Solutions to the LPOE?
C. Hartshorne and A. N. Whitehead - chose to remove Gods omnipotence so God becomes an empathetic fellow sufferer
Dostoyevsky- are convinced that God must be malevolent and not worthy of worship
Mary Eddy Baker - evil doesn’t exist it’s all an illusion and not real
Why evil makes sense?
Good cannot exist without evil, without evil we wouldn’t know what good is
Platinga - limit himself in order to allow free will
There may be good outcomes as a result of evil. Pain and disease are necessary for the development of sympathy, courage and cures.
What is the evidential problem of evil?
The evidential problem, concerns to share amounts, and extent of evil and suffering in the world that can be observed. This may be for animals, innocent children, terrorist attacks, or the consequences of natural disasters.
W. Rowe conceded that there may be a reason we do not understand, but the ‘seemingly pointless human and animal suffering’ is irrational and therefore so is the belief in a theistic God.
Possible solutions to the evidential problem of evil?
Hick argues that the end justifies the means in that true courage and empathy can be developed, only in experience of suffering. However, this can be further challenged as do we need the sheer amount of suffering and evil to teach us.
Why the evidential problem of evil is the greatest challenge to believers.
Hume argues that observations of evil and suffering lead to questioning gods benevolence and power. Hume, asks whether God could’ve created a more hospital world were humans learn through pleasure rather than pain. Its the vast quantity of pain that poses the greatest challenge to belief
Could god have made humans always choose good, so they could not choose to inflict so much pain and suffering
Dostoyevsky argues that a God, who allows the extent of innocent suffering, is not worth worshipping. His character, Ivan returns his ticket to heaven because he does not want to spend eternity with a malevolent God
The evidential problem of evil is not the greatest challenge to belief.
Logical problem is a greater challenge because it highlights the inconsistency of belief in a theistic God. Where the characteristics of all powerful, all knowing and all good. Since evil continues, these attributes are irrational and contradictory.
Swinburne argues that the evidential problem is not so difficult because it provides greater motivation to find cures for diseases, et cetera, if pain and suffering are extreme
Augustine attempting to get God off the hook… in the beginning.
Theocracy begins with Genesis one, asserting that God created a perfect world, including creating three human beings, and his image and likeness were all humans were perfectly good. However, goodness, for Aquinas is intrinsic, meaning that each part of the creation has its own level or scale of goodness. Evil occurs when something made good, originally does not live up to its expected Goodness. This is not Gods fault as God cannot create a privation or lack of something as all evil is a privation.
What is a privation?
Evil is not a substance itself, but it is a privation, or lack of goodness
Augustine attempting to get God off the hook… moral evil.
The Fall of humans: Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, chose to disobey God and eat the fruit. The first sin corrupted human nature, so that bad choices, wrong, actions and death are now part of being human.
All humans inherit the sinful nature of Adam and Eve (Original Sin). Humans were all seminally present in God
Augustine argues that because of Original Sin and emotional choices, everyone deserves to be punished.
God is justified because he was not to blame for the three choices of humans.
Augustine attempting to get God off the hook… natural evil.
The Fall of the angels, including Lucifer (Satan), cause disharmony and imbalance in nature. This imbalance lead to natural disasters, such as hurricanes and tsunamis.
God is just in allowing natural evil to continue, because it also acts as a punishment for Original Sin. The creation has been affected by the fall, or sin too.
Augustine on the incarnation.
Augustine suggests that since God is not responsible for moral evil, it would be just if be punished everyone in hell.
However, because God is also loving, he allowed Jesus to sacrifice himself which paid for the human failure. Augustine theodicy is often called soul deciding, because those who decide to believe this will go to heaven. And, those who decide to reject it, will go to hell.
Does Augustine get God off the hook?
God cannot create evil if it’s privation, because it’s not something, but a lack of goodness, this dissolves the logical problem of evil
H. McCabe also argues when we talk about something being bad we mean it does not live up to our expectations. For example, a sour grape.
It explains why human nature (innate sinfulness) tends to make bad moral choices
Human free well is important in the theodicy. Genuine free will requires the possibility that humans could choose evil.
Augustine does not get a God off the hook.
If God created a perfect world, where did evil come from? Why would anybody rebel in a perfect world? If humans chose evil, this implies, they must have a knowledge of it, so God is partly responsible.
Modern, scientific suggest errors in Augustine’s idea of us, all being seminally present in Adam
Augustines explanation for natural evil, caused by the fall of Angels, seems alien to modern thinking, which finds explanations for natural disasters (tectonic plates etc.)
