evil

Question 1

What is the problem of evil?

Answer 1

How can an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God exist alongside evil?

Question 2

Moral evil?

Answer 2

Evil caused by human actions (e.g. murder, war).

Question 3

Natural evil?

Answer 3

Evil caused by natural events (e.g. earthquakes, disease).

Question 4

Augustine’s theodicy?

Answer 4

Evil is privation of good; caused by human free will and the Fall

Question 5

Irenaean (Hick) theodicy?

Answer 5

Evil allows humans to develop morally — “soul-making”.

Question 6

Strength of the free will defence?

Answer 6

Preserves God’s goodness and human responsibility.

Question 7

Weakness of theodicies?

Answer 7

Doesn’t explain excessive or pointless suffering

Question 8

What was Augustine’s theodicy?

Answer 8

Believed that evil is a privation of good, used the example of blindness in an eye
Natural evil comes from the fall of angels and lead to an in balance in nature
Moral evil was the fall of man, seminally present, original sin and free will
Jesus brought gods grace and salvation which allowed us to be saved
Soul deciding

Question 9

Critics of Augustine

Answer 9

Schleiermacher- logical error: how can a perfect world go wrong?, Adam and Eve must have had some knowledge of evil to be able to choose it, where did it come from?

Scientific problem: contradicts evolution, biological error- seminally present
Did good anticipate the world woukd go wrong?

Question 11

Hicks Soul Making Theodicy?

Answer 11

God created the world with free will so that we can choose and make our own decisions freely
Epistemic distance
Vale of soul making
Instrumental good
God created immature humans as we need to grow into the likeliness of God
Suffering builds character
Universal salvation
God is a good role model

Question 12

Critique of Hick

Answer 12

D.Z Phillips- suffering can never be an expression of Gods love and evil as a means to an end is not morally justifiable

What about bysteleological evil (suffering that seems to serve no purpose)?

J.L Mackie - why would god make people who do not always choose good

F. Dostoyevsky- Ivan Karamamazou refuses to believe in a god who allows innocent children to suffer