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.