Theme 3 (Problem of Evil) Flashcards
What is evil?
+ what are the two types of evil?
anything that causes pain & suffering
+ natural evil: caused by the means of a force outside of the control of the free-will agents
+ moral evil: evil caused as a result of the actions of a free-will agent
What is the Epicurean Paradox?
+ quote
The idea that it is illogical for God (who is willing & able to remove evil) and evil to exist side by side
+ “is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?”
What is Mackie’s Inconsistent Triad?
+ what are the premises & conclusion of this idea?
The idea that God being omnipotent, God being omnibenevolent & evil existing cannot logically be all true at the same time without contradicting
P1: evil & suffering exists
P2: God is all loving & all powerful
P3: an omnipotent & omnibenevolent God would remove suffering & evil if it existed
C: God doesn’t exist
What are some possible lines of argument against the premises of Mackie’s Inconsistent Triad?
P1: evil may just be the absence of good
evil may just be a human illusion
P2: God may be impersonal (deism)
P3: God may have a plan or legitimate reason for not removing evil
It may not be logical for God to remove evil
Who is William Rowe?
What are the premises & conclusion of his argument?
American professor of philosophy
- wrote ‘problem of evil and some variants of atheism’
- noted for his evidential argument on the problem of evil
(He accepts some suffering is needed in order to grow & develop)
P1: an omnipotent & omniscient being would know when intense suffering was about to take place
P2: Such a being could prevent this from happening
P3: an omnibenevolent being would probably prevent evil & suffering that was pointless & avoidable
P4: such evil & suffering does happen
C: God probably doesn’t exist
What are Gregory Paul’s ideas bout the problem of evil?
What are his premises & conclusion?
Collated numbers from Abrahamic Sacred Text
- suggests 50 billion of children have died naturally before ‘reaching the age on consent’
- 30 billion have also died prenatally (‘holocaust of the children’)
P1: millions of children die every year from natural & evil causes
P2: these children are too young to make choices about God- no free will
P3: no omnipotent & omnibenevolent being would permit this evil
C: God doesn’t exist
What is a theodicy?
+ what is privation?
- what is The Fall?
theological answer to the question of why God permits evil
+ absence of loss of something that is normally present
- when Adam & Eve faced God’s punishment for disobeying God’s divine command
What are the 4 parts of the Augustinian Theodicy?
+ Bible quotes on The Fall
1) Evil is a consequence of sin
- God created a perfect world free from evil
- Angels & humans used their free will to turn away from God, bringing about evil
2) Evil as a privation
- evil is not a substance so isn’t created by God
- evil is simply an absence of good
3) The Fall of human beings & creation
- all human beings are guilty of sin because we are descended from Adam (‘seminally present’)
- we suffer moral evil as that is humankind’s fault due to free will actions
4) The Cross overcomes evil, soul-deciding
- those who freely choose to accept Jesus as their saviour will be redeemed and join God in Heaven (shows God is merciful & just)
+ “cursed is the ground for thy sake”
+ “to know good and evil”
What does Dawkins suggest about the origins of human life?
+ how does this challenge Augustine’s Theodicy?
- Dawkins Key Quotes
There are many mythical stories about the origins of humanity including Adam & Eve. However, these are not true as it is biologically impossible for humans to have descended from a single pair. Scientific evidence of evolution, DNA & fossils show this.
+ challenges the idea of The Fall and Original Sin as a basis for evil existing
+ believes the Bible is purely mythical
+ is a supporter of science as it has evidence and facts to back it up unlike Augustine
- “there was never a first person”
- “the best possible answer, which is the answer of science”
- “we are quote used to gradual changes which step by tiny step… make up a big change”
