Why is there evil and suffering in the world? Flashcards
key concept:
Evil
- The absence of good and the impulse to seek our own desires.
- This is at the expense of others which can often result in suffering.
what is natural evil
This is suffering caused by events that had nothing to do with humans and are to do with how the way he world is e.g. volcanoes, hurricanes
what is moral evil
This is suffering caused by human actions e.g. murder , theft
What does St. Augustine mean when he says evil is the privation of good
ARGUMENT 1
God created all things good
“ God saw all that he had made and it was good” therefore God did not create evil and it is not a thing itself but in fact the absence (privation() of good
What does St. Augustine mean when he says evil is the privation of good
ARGUMENT 2
God gave humans free will when we choose to disobey God, that creates an absence of good.
What does St. Augustine’s theodicy mean for Catholics
This mean that
“All evil is either sin or the punishment for sin”
God gives us the consequences of our sin because he is both fair and just. He is also all loving as he sent his son Jesus to die for us
What does St. Augustine theodicy mean for Catholics
This means that God created the world perfect and Adam and Eve’s “original sin” destroyed that state of perfection. (The doctrine of the fall of mankind)
Therefore all humans are guilty of disobedience (The doctrine of original sin)
What is original sin
Prior to Genesis 3 God creates Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden he gives them a direct instruction:
“You are free to at the fruit of any tree except the tree that gives knowledge of Good and Evil for you will surely die”
The serpent tempts Eve, Eve eats the fruit and give it to Adam and they are given understanding:
“Their eyes were opened and they realised they were naked”
God visited the garden and realised they ate form the forbidden tree. He the banished Adam and Eve
Arguments FOR St. Augustine’s argument for privation
- The idea that evil comes from mis-using their free will fits in with what we see in our world around us
- Alvin Plantinga argues that if God designed us to always choose good, our decisions would actually be predetermined like programmed robots (American philosopher)
Arguments AGAINST St. Augustine’s argument for privation
- Theory that humans began perfect goes against evolution
- German scholar Schleirermacher said that if God had created a perfectly good world then it could never go wrong. If humans were able to choose evil, then evil must have existed in the first place
- Privation of evil doesn’t always work e.g Natural evil
what does original sin tell Catholics about human nature
All human are built with an inbuilt desire to do evil and disobey God
Genesis three (original sin) tells us that we all share responsibility for the evil and suffering in the world
Adam and Eve represent mankind in our original state
Jewish viewpoint on original sin
They do not believe that humans have a natural desire to do evil however we are born free to do good or evil
Yetzer ha tov is the impulse to do good
Yetzer ha ra is the impulse to do evil
The Torah teaches that God has given human beings choices but it is important to struggle against the inclination to do evil by giving obedience to God
Ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom kippur people atone for the times that they gave in to their evil inclinations
Key concept: Goodness
- The quality of being like God
2. Seeking out the well being of others selflessly
How does Genesis show the goodness of God
God is the cause of goodness in others
God is good because the world he created is good
Jewish viewpoint: the goodness of God in Genesis
Many similarities between the Catholic viewpoint and the catholic viewpoint
For Jews, God is the source of all life and is referred to throughout the Torah as the sole creator. As the sole creator, since everything He created is good, he in turn is good.
what is the inconsistent triad
J.L Mackie’s inconsistent triad is the belief that all three of God’s main qualities (all-loving, all-powerful and all- powerful) can not exist at the same time
what do Christians believe about inconsistent triad
- Suffering could be a punishment form God. St. Augustine believed that all humans carry the sin of Adam of Eve (original sin) so we must accept the consequence.
- Test of faith
- God allows evil as it is part of His greater plan of love
- “We enjoy and value the good more when we compare it with evil”
- St. Augustine
What is a good quote for the inconsistent triad
St. Augustine
“Either God cannot abolish evil for he can not, if he cannot he is not all- powerful, if he will not, he is not all good”
Key concept: Free will
- The idea that human beings are free to make their own decisions despite outside forces
What is the Trinity
The belief that the Father is God, The son is God and the Holy Spirit is God but they are not the same as each other and there is only one God.
Not directly stated in the Bible but passages reflect this belief
Why is the Trinity important
- The Doctrine of the Trinity is one of the hardest but fundamental teachings as it shows how God interacts with humanity
- Shows God is different to humans
- Shows how God makes himself known to humans
e. g. Holy Spirit guides Christians
How is the Trinity shown in the Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed states the belief in all the persons in the trinity. However, it makes it clear that their is only one God
“We believe in one God”
Why is the Baptism of Jesus important
Shows Christians that he is the Son of God. Not only did the voice in heaven recognised Jesus with great love
“This is my beloved son that whom I am well pleases with”
…but He also used this moment to give His son the special powers of the Holy spirit.
So here, we have the introduction of the Trinity in Christian scripture
Key concept: Begotten
Something begotten means it’s been generated by procreation in other words- it’s been fathered
What does St. Augustine say about the trinity
St. Augustine wrote book “De Trinitate” looking at the trinity. One of the ideas he used to make sense of the trinity is that the trinity is love. He believed that God is love.
The trinity persons were the lover, beloved and love itself
Arguments AGAINST the trinity
- Christian have three Gods
- If God is eternal and Jesus and God are the same, how come Jesus died
- Jesus never said anything about the trinity- so how do we know it is true
What do Jewish people believe about the trinity
The trinity challenges the oneness of God. God is stated as being the only God stated in the most important prayer- the Shema prayer.
Although God has many qualities ( he is judge) and the Shekinah signifies God’s presence on earth, these attributes do not separate God but in fact shows the different ways in which human beings experience God.
What does Richard Swinburne believe about evil
He believes that moral evil is a result of humans misusing their free will. Natural evil is caused by moral evil as when Adam and Eve destroyed the state of perfect balance in the world, they allowed evil to enter . This means that natural evil, according to Swinburne, is a consequence to original sin.
Who is Richard Swinburne
Richard Swinburne is a British philosopher
what is the paschal mystery
The paschal mystery simply refers to the events of Christ’s death and resurrection
used to refer to the suffering, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus Christ
what does the paschal mystery tell Catholics
it is important as without the suffering Jesus endured leading up to his death and resurrection, our sins would not be healed and we would not be able to have the opportunity of having eternal life with God
