Theodicies

Question 1

What gift did God give to us according to Augustine ?

Answer 1

freewill

Question 2

WHY IS FREEEWILL IMPORTANT FOR AUGUSTINE?

Answer 2

its so we truly love God and make right decisions by choice otherwise our decisions are meaningless

Question 3

what quote shows the world was perfect

Answer 3

“God saw all that he had made and saw that it was very good”

Question 4

what quote shows we inherited sin

Answer 4

“seminally present in the loins of Adam”

Question 5

how did Augustine think evil entered the world ?

Answer 5

Augustine believed the world was made perfect but Adam and eve disobeying God brought evil and suffering into the world

Question 6

how did humans inherit evil according to Augustine ?

Answer 6

We were present with Adam when he committed sin and therefore became sinners

Question 7

Who was Augustine influenced by ?

Answer 7

Manichean

Question 8

what did Manichean believe ?

Answer 8

they were dualists who argued good and evil forces existed in the universe

Question 9

how did Manichean beliefs create a problem for Augustine

Answer 9

they’re dualists who believe Good, and evil are two substances however this is logically incompatible with Gods attributes since if evil exists that means a more powerful being created it, or God created it therefore evil cannot be an entity in itself it is an absence of good

Question 10

what is evil according to Augustine ?

Answer 10

evil is not a substance in its self put a privation of goodness much like darkness is an absence of light

Question 11

what is privatio boni ?

Answer 11

absence of good

Question 12

what is absence of good in Latin ?

Answer 12

privatio boni

Question 13

what is lust for power in Latin ?

Answer 13

libidio dominandi

Question 14

what did Augustine argue causes privation ?

Answer 14

humans lust for power and desire their lives over Gods

Question 15

what does the aesthetic quality argument suggest ?

Answer 15

we have to know evil to know good like we must know cold to know hot and that evil is a part of the natural balance of the universe

Question 16

what did Augustine says causes natural evil ?

Answer 16

angels were created good and grew evil since they were jealous of god and tried to become ‘lords of their own being’ e.g lucifer
when theyre cast down to earth this causes corruption

Question 17

where do both evils come from to Augustine ?

Answer 17

misuse of free will

Question 18

what are limitations of Augustines theodicy ?

Answer 18

• God is being unjust by making us suffer from Adams Sin therefore if hes not just does that mean there is other flaws of God for example not omnibenevolent
  -biology, were we seminally present evolution ???

Question 19

what is a theodicy ?

Answer 19

an argument that attempts to justify Gods existence alongside evil

Question 20

what type of theodicy is Augustine’s ?

Answer 20

soul deciding theodicy

Question 21

What is the evidential problem of evil?

Answer 21

we observe too much suffering in the world to reach the conclusion of a benevolent creator.

Question 22

scholarly debate for the evidential problem of evil

Answer 22

1. Charles Darwin said he cannot believe in an omnibenevolent God who created parasitic wasps who eat living caterpillars.
2. Bertrand Russel- “I cannot believe in a good God after sitting beside a dying child”
3. Rowe cites gratuitous evil as evidence that a theistic God cannot exist. He uses the example of a fawn trapped and left to die in a forest fire. This is ultimately pointless
4. if the world is a mirror for a creator then it suggests a malevolent, sadistic one claims JSM

Question 23

what is the logical problem of evil ?

Answer 23

argues that if there is a God, he cannot be omnipotent and omnibenevolent as if he was loving and powerful, he would stop evil.

Question 24

scholarly debate for logical problem of evil

Answer 24

1. Mackie’s inconsistent triangle shows that evil and an omnibenevolent but omnipotent creator cannot make logical sense. At the most two can only be considered true at one time.
2. Epicurus “is he nityher able nor willing then why call him God”

Question 25

Explain why humans are sinful, for Augustine.

Answer 25

When adam and eve disobeyed God there was a transmission of sin. from this humans became ontologically sinful and could do not behave morally. There is also a privation of good meaning that where good was it is no longer there.

Question 26

why has the privation of the good occurred ?

Answer 26

because of humanity’s lust for power or libidio dominandi where humans seek their own lives over Gods

Question 27

what happened to the relationship between humans and God after the fall ?

Answer 27

There was a barrier made between Gods goodness and humanity

Question 28

Describe an A01 on Augustine’s theodicy ….

Answer 28

Augustine believed that evil can exist alongside God because it exists due to humanities miss use of freewill. God is a perfect being thus his creations reflect this perfection so God is not at fault for the fall of man. God gave humans the gift of free will as he wanted them to love him autonomously but when adam and eve missused this there was a transmission of sin. ‘seminally present in the loins of adam’. This created a barrier between Gods goodness and humans. After this humans became ontologically sinful and could no longer act good. Also there was a privation of God created by humans lust for power.

Question 29

Strengths of Augustine’s theodicy

Answer 29

explains both moral and natural evil

would be appreciated by literalists

Question 30

Limitations of Augustine’s argument for moral evil

Answer 30

It seems unjust that humans would suffer the consequences of the first people, if we can question Gods fairness can we question his benevolence and omnipotence too

Epicurus

Mackie

Schleiermacher postulated two questions. How can a perfect world go so wrong and how can people and angels who live amongst God become evil. so, God made an imperfect world, or he enabled it to go wrong.

Based on an outdated interpretation of Genesis and even disproven - dawkins and evolution

Question 31

which problem is a priori and which is a posteriori ?

Answer 31

evidential = a posteriori
a priori = logical

Question 32

limitations of Augustine’s argument for natural evil

Answer 32

there is evidence to show that natural disasters occured during the early forming of the earth - before humans

Schleiermacher postulated two questions. How can a perfect world go so wrong and how can people and angels who live amongst God become evil.

Question 33

which theodicies are soul making and which are soul deciding

Answer 33

Augustine = soul deciding

Irenaeus and hick = soul making

Question 34

Describe Irenaeus theodicy in detail

Answer 34

Irenaeus believed the world was intentionally made imperfect by a perfect God. This is because evil is necessary to grow closer into the likeness of God We have all been created in the image of God, Free will is an essential component of what it means to be made in God’s image. Irenaeus argued that humans must develop into the likeness of God through using our free will to make the right choice. by choosing the good we develop as moral people and grow closer to God but only if choosing evil is possible does this choice actually become virtuous​. Irenaeus also argued for aesthetic quality of evil, must know evil to know good. Irenaeus describes Adam and eve growing from immaturity to maturity as do humans and generationally society and humanity will improve.

Question 35

describe hick theodicy in detail

Answer 35

Influenced by John Keats (poet) from whom he borrows the idea that the world is the “vale of soul-making.”​

Disputed the story of Adam and Eve as a myth that reveals truth about the nature of God and his relationship with humanity rather than as a historical event. Hick argues that God allows an ‘epistemic distance’ (knowledge gap) between God and humans and that this is necessary. If God were not ‘distant’ from us then we would have no free will. we would have no freedom to choose in moral matters if God did not distance himself from us​ we would have indisputable knowledge of God’s existence which would take away our choice to enter into a free relationship with him. God therefore intends for his existence to be ambiguous. Hick’s theory relies on the existence of a life after death (heaven)​
Believed that the ‘all-important aspect’ of Irenaean theodicies is the belief that although we do not necessarily understand what happens to us now, everything will be resolved after death

Question 36

Evaluation of Irenaeus’ Theodicy

Answer 36

we can observe humanity improving genorationally

The view of creation presented by Irenaeus is radically at odds with the Biblical account in which man is created perfectly. It is certainly not to be considered wholly ‘orthodox’

The quantity and gravity of suffering is out of proportion to rewards. Even if suffering is necessary it could be restricted. For example, if Jews had to die in the Holocaust why not 1 million instead of 6 million?

D Z Phillips argues that it is never justifiable to harm someone in order to help them.

process theodicy God suffers with us

bertrand russel

Surely suffering cannot be an expression of God’s love

bonhoeffer in the costly desciple argued that to suffer allows us to follow christ who also entered suffering at the fault of human evil

Question 37

limits of Hick’s theodicy

Answer 37

Can the end justify the means? Is it satisfactory to state that all the suffering experienced within the world is justifiable because it will lead to knowledge of God and moral perfection.​

wishful thinking

not scriptural - excluciism and luther

The concept of heaven for all is unjust and it does not correspond with biblical view of eternal punishment

The quantity and gravity of suffering is out of proportion to rewards. Even if suffering is necessary it could be restricted. For example, if Jews had to die in the Holocaust why not 1 million instead of 6 million?

D Z Phillips argues that it is never justifiable to harm someone in order to help them.

Surely suffering cannot be an expression of God’s love?

Question 38

strengths of hick

Answer 38

The ambiguity of God means we have an honest free relationship with him as it takes a ‘leap of faith’ as said by kierkegard to believe. Thus, evil exists so we can choose Gods existence and believe in him
swinburne ‘ we would never learn the art of ​goodness in a world designed as a complete paradise’
doesnt rely on the story of genesis
attractive idea

Question 39

why did Swinburne argue God has no knowledge of evil?

Answer 39

God exists temporally and has indefinite knowledge of the future because he cannot know what is logically impossible to know. Therefore cannot know how humans use their free will. And will not know suffering.