The Theodices Flashcards
What is the Augustinian theodicy?
- God created a world free of evil
- evil is just ‘a privation (absence) of good’
- humans turned to lesser goods through free will
- natural evil cane through loss of order in nature and moral evil from knowledge of good and evil
What is schliermacher’s criticism of the Augustinian theodicy?
It’s a logical contradiction to say that a perfectly created world has gone wrong as evil would have been created from nothing which is logically impossible
What is the scientific criticism of the Augustinian theodicy?
Evolution- the universe began as chaos and has been developing not diminishing. Suffering is essential for survival and death necessary so others may live. God must bare responsibility.
What is the problem with Augustine’s belief that every human is present in Adam?
It is biologically impossible- all of humanity is not to blame. Using the genesis narrative to provide a theodicy is a misunderstanding of its purpose. They had no moral knowledge so could not ‘choose wrong’
What is the Irenaean theodicy?
- God is partly responsible for evil, as he created humans imperfectly so they could develop perfection
- God created humans in his image, with the intention of them growing into his ‘likeness’- attaining this needs the willing cooperation of human individuals with God
- freedom requires the possibility of choosing God over evil, so God had to permit evil to occur
- Hick- if God created us as perfect, automatically loving God, then love would be valueless
- the world has to be imperfect as if it were paradise, in which there was no evil, humans would not be free to choose, as only good can occur. They could not develop
What is criticism of the iranaean theodicy?
- idea that everyone goes to heaven does not seem fair and just- it makes good pointless
- challenges of the world do not always result in genuine human development
- does the world really need such extremes of suffering to produce good?
- love can never be expressed through allowing suffering
- Hume- surely an omnibenevolent god would allow us to perfect ourselves through pleasure, not pain and suffering
What is the process theodicy?
- suggests that god is not omnipotent at all
- did not create the universe as the universe is a process of which God himself is a part
- God himself is bound by natural laws
- God started evolution, which led to development of humans
- God suffers with evil since he is part of the world
- cannot change evil/ natural process- bears responsibility in not being able to stop it and starting evolution despite
- the universe is better than no universe
What are strengths of the process theodicy?
- removes problem of God and evil
- God can identify with human suffering
What are weaknesses of the process theodicy?
- does not use nature of God to explain evil’s existence
- limited God worth worship?
