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Problem of Evil - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Plantinga - making of mortal world 'a shared venture' between humans & God'
- - - - not omnipotent - his roles was/is not to create the universe but to develop what's already there, his work is sort of persuading creation towards greater order & evolution
      - not fixed & still developing - everlasting (exists within time & can change)
      - bipolar - has 2 poles, one mental & one physical (the material world itself, acts almost like God's bod - he's partly distinct & partly immersed in the world just as we are in our bodies)
    - - God offer people options but they can freely choice from them
      - cannot physically force our choices - Bible covenant between God's people & God an agreement to obey his commands & for him to be their God, he cannot make a covenant on his own can't force people to obey hi commands
    - - idea that he can stoop moral evil = omnipotent fallacy/paradox of omnipotence
  - - - 'unilateral power' - power of an unfeeling King who controls subjects without being effected by them - a tyrant
      - 'relational power' - a king who suffers with & effected by his subjects
- - - - e.g. changing the definition of God through denying omnipotence or limiting its meaning
      - e.g. evil is an illusion, a privation of good or a misunderstanding on out part - what might seem evil to us might actually represent a 'universal' good
  - - - e.g. acknowledging that suffering exists but is necessary y to moral development or as a counter part to good or the result of free will
  - - - if he can't create something he cannot control then he isn't omnipotent
    - - Mackie suggests the paradox is equally a problem for a theological determinist', that is for those who argue that there is no free will & God determines whether we go to heaven or hell - if God creates a human doomed for hell then uses power to save them he isn't omnipotent cause he failed to make a human doomed for hell but if he can't save them he so isn't omnipotent
  - - - HOWEVER while he addresses the free will defence he doesn't directly address the theodicies rooted in Christian belief: has own interpretation of God & the Bible, that give specific answers to Mackie's generalised criticisms
- - - - greatest good is to seek modest, sustainable pleasures, by curbing extreme desires to attain a state of peace
  - - - evil is a necessary counterpart to goof (evil only occurs on the background of some good)
      - evil is useful for bringing about other goods (e.g. charity work)
      - evil is a way of defending free will (can choose good or evil)
      - evil gives more value to the universe (more valuable to choose good when could choose evil)
      - thinks an omnipotent, omniscient & omnibenevolent God would have found a way to bring about t& protect the goods or not have those particular virtues at all
- - - - its not a limitation of omnipotence to fail to do something that's logically contradictory (something that cannot be done) e.g. squaring a circle - the idea of controlling free will is illogical
      - its not as limitation on God's power to not do something that his own power has set limits upon - like a promise isn't a limitation, but an expression of the power of his truthfulness, seriousness & trust
- - - - through original sin they lost this original justice corrupting their spiritual character
      - more believable cause humans didn't come from original pair they evolved from early hominids
    - - why sin is both individual & collective
        
        collective - inherited as corrupted spiritual character, lacking in love & right order (not our fault)
        
        individual - individually experienced & realised (sins committed are your fault - you do them letting yourself be influenced
      - why God can't be blamed for human sin
        
        Original Sin happened 'at the root' of humanity by their choice, corrupting their gift that God intended we should all be part of
        
        despite Original Sin free will remains free so each person is responsible for sin (God isn't making them sin) - lack of aim in doing good is life suffering from a lack of direction
        
        suffering = just consequences for sin
      - why humans are likely to sin
        
        fallen nature has lost original gift of 'hitting' the target of goodness - doesn't mean were inclined/attracted to wanting to do evil
    - - made Original sin to become the reason for a greater Gift of Grace - a happy fault because when we are made to belong to Christ - not only
      - story of fall & Jesus' redemption shows his plans for goodness are not undone - Augustine's 'Principle of Plenitude' - everything works together for good to fulfil God's purpose
      - Jesus (the 'new Adam')
        
        by living without sin as a human & dying on the cross he re-established humanity into relationship with God - shows God's mercy& justice
        
        2nd coming of Jesus will defat all evil & end suffering & bring perfect world (heaven)
    - - nat evil caused by Satan using his freewill to corrupt earth's natural order & God using natural disasters as punishment for human moral evil
      - because human & angels have turned away from God - free beings
      - Satan corrupted Adam & Eve losing their Original Justice - their disobedience lead to introduction of death
      - moral evil is the voluntary turning away of free beings from God
      - all suffering is deserved consequence of human & angelic sin & creates a world distanced from God
  - - - either the world wasn't perfect to start or God made it go wrong - existence of evil isn't justified - if the world was perfect & there was no knowledge of good & evil, how could Adam & Eve have had the freedom to disobey God? disobedience suggests there was already knowledge of good & evil
- - - - freewill mirrors God's own perfection - excising it is a great good
      - Gen1 hints at 2 step process of development - humans are made;
        
        in the image of God = potential to become God-like (as Christ was)
        
        in the likeness of God: the realisation of their God-likeness (morally good & spiritually developed), by the exercise of their free will - takes effort & moral/spiritual struggle
    - - world teaches us (schoolroom) & develops us (hospital)
        
        teaches us: about sources of pain, how the world works, consequences of actions
        
        develops us, in order to obtain higher order goods - virtues & Christian values
      - cause of these goods are the result of free choice & struggle they are valuable
    - - freewill & the possibility of doing evil, is not just for making choices but for providing freely-taken opportunities for maturation & perfection
      - "God designed humans to make progress day by day... ascending towards the perfect, that is, approximating to the uncreated One"
    - - humans were created infantile begging at a later time than God - implies we need to develop
        
        they couldn't have known God's own perfection or knowledge about him as that would've made them equivalent o God
        
        God could've made them with perfect love for him - BUT it wouldn't be a perfection they could've understood or retained - not a love freely chosen
      - epistemic distance
        
        so humans were created at a small step removed from God's knowledge of himself -in order we have room to grow into the knowledge & love of God freely
        
        ensures free will
  - - - epistemic distance
        
        this is a world where God is 'hidden' - this is needed if rejecting or freely choosing God is going to be possible
      - there is 'moral friction'
        
        humans are created morally deficient & vulnerable to temptations - were born as "immature creatures living in a challenging & therfore person-making world"
      - soul making theodicy
      - virtues are developed through free will choices are more valuable
        
        they're worth more than virtues created ready-made
    - - God is responsible for evil
        
        he allows it for soul-making purposes & cause suffering & evil gives the world structure/predictability: if the divine intervened, no control or moral responsibility. The world is a 'vale of soul-making'
      - Eschatology & Universalism
        
        all people will eventually mature & be saved - if not in this life then the next (so an after life is necessary) - Hick accepted reincarnation - Hell serves no soul making purpose so can't exist (except metaphorically as a reminder to take life seriously)
      - rejects Augustine's & Irenaeus' account of Original Sin & the Fall
        
        thinks a perfect creation wouldn't have a 'fallen' from a state of blessedness, nor how Original Sin can be reconciled with science
      - some suffering serves no constructive purpose
        
        this makes it a mystery - & is a good thing as if we always knew the benefits that evil brought about, we would not develop compassion
- - - - God did create perfect human with innocent, perfect free will (Adam & Eve), the failure of humanity to have it now is cause of Original Sin - we brought on ourselves
    - - even a perfect free will in humans will enviably go wrong because we are naïve & must develop understanding through experience