Why is there evil and suffering questions Flashcards
List
Inconsisent triad
- God is all-powerful (omnipotent).
- God is all-loving (omnibenevolent).
- Evil exists in the world/God is all knowing(omniscient)
Probelm of
Inconsisent triad
Only two of these can be true at once because:
- If he is all powerful, then evil shouldn’t exist, unless he is not all loving.
- But then if he is all loving he would have eliminated evil, but he hasn’t , meaning he is not all powerful
Inventor
Augustine theodicy
St Augustine
Statement
Augustine theodicy
States that evil was never created by God, but rather humans, and that we are the only ones who can stop it
Strenghts
Augustine theodicy
Good, explains why humanity causes all the bad things….
Weakness
Augustine theodicy
How about natural evil, the one humanity didn’t invent!
Inventor
Ireanan theodicy
St Ireanan
Statement
Ireanan theodicy
States that evil was created to mature humanity, after Adam and Eve ruined creation, so that one day , they could rejoin him back in the Garden of Eden, knowing of the consequences of their mistakes
Strenghts
Ireanan theodicy
Much better explanations for why we live in such a horrible world, and explains why we learn from our mistakes
Inventor
Free-will defense
Alvin Plantinga
Statement
Free-will defense
States that although our freewill causes evil, if God removed all freewill, we wouldn’t be able to experience/appreciate his goodness and love too, an unnegotiable price to him
Strenghts
Free-will defense
The solidest suggestion to evil being present. Aslo solves the triad by saying that he is all powerful, but must let evil exist, for him to be all loving.
Weakness
Freewill defense
Still doesn’t explain natural evil + If he can no longer be all loving without evil, does that make him not all powerful
Inventor
The selfish gene
Richard Dawkins
Statement
The Selfish gene
Argues that through the process of natural selection and survival of the fittest, selfish genes will naturally survive and replicate. In this way, suffering may be a necessary consequence of evolution.
Strenghts
The selfish gene
Allows humanity to finnaly accept that evil and suffering is simply a part of nature, and although we can limit it, we can’t simply stop it/there is no such thing as world peace, esle there would be no competition or surivial=overpopulation
Weakness
The selfish gene
Would that make God’s creation a loving one.One on which you must depend on the pain of others for survial.And even so, when someone takes it too fae, and commits the ultimate sin:the end of creation, would there be any competition or survial in the end, with nothing to fight.
War can only last so long, but peace can last forever.
Summary
The Book of Job
Job was a good and moral man who praised God in all he did. Satan challenges God by stating that if Job suffered, he would turn away from God and commit evil. God allows Job to suffer, causing Job to question God’s goodness and fairness. God states that Job cannot understand God due to epistemic distance ( a gap in knowledge between us and God)
Strenghts
The Book of Job
God has his own personal reasons for inflicting suffering upon a person, and most of the time, it can be for him to test our faith in him, when things go wrong
Weakness
The selfish gene
Not all of his reasons are explainible by logical means, like WW2.Millions of Jews, died for an awlful cause, but for what resons.They didn’t beilieve in Chirstianity?Plus , God is meant to be all loving, so that totally defies his features
War can only last so long, but peace can last forever.
