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UNIT 3b GOD AND THE WORLD- The Problem of Evil - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The universe does not create good or evil, it has no purpose and comes about purely by chance. "In a universe full of electrons and selfish genes... some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky"
    - - The universe has no meaning or purpose.
- - - - Platinga criticises Mackie in that a being (God) which removed evil from the world would mean an inability to see good.The bible suggests that there comes a point where we have to let go of our intellectual questioning of evil and suffering and accept the love of God.
- - - - -God has a recue plan. God's grace and mercy allows the relationship to be restored. SOUL DECIDING- The choice with free will to follow God's example of goodness- follow christ. Believe in Jesus and his death for mankind. Judgement- heaven or hell- justice.
        
        Therefore God is still all powerful because he sent Jesus to rescue humankind.
        God is still all loving because he sent Jesus as a chance for humanity to redeem themselves as a second chance.
        He is still all knowing because he knew that people coulds till be saved and have an afterlife in paradise.
  - - - The argument seems logicallly coherent on the surface but relies on the belief in many things that people in the Modern day do not believe in.
        In line with biblical teaching
        PRIVATION- Seems to make sense and emphasises the ultimate goodness of God. SUPPORTED BY HERBERT MCCABE.Privation is the idea that something is bad if it falls short of our excpectations for it.
        Seems to fit with our experience of the world where free will causes the most suffering.
- - - - -Argues that God allows evil for a particular purpose but that God can still be called the God of Classical theism. God allows evil and surffering for humans to grow and learn goodness.
        -God is partly responsible for evil in the world. He believes that God will only allow temporary evil and there will be a time when there is no more evil.
        -God created humans imperfectly with the potential to be perfect.
        "let us make man in our image after his likeness"- God created humans in his image and only later will they develop into his likeness.
        -God wants us to grow into his likeness as we were given free will. Therefore there is evil int he world so that we can learn to be in the likeness of God and mature to be good people by choosing good over evil.
        SOUL MAKING THEODICY- Suffering and evil exist to help you grow into a strong and moral individual.
        God's aim when he created the world was to make humans flawless in his likeness. Genuine human perfection must fevelop through free choice. We are made in his image but are not from the start in his likeness. ANALOGY OF MOTHER AND BABY- A baby has to learn over time itself to eat adult food.
        We were born immature and God has given us free will so that we can learn to be mature ourselves This means he had to give us the potential to disobey him.
        There would be no such potential if there were never any possibility of evil. If humans were perfected there would be no free will.
        Therefore the natural order had to be designed with the possibility of causing harm, humans had to be imperfect and God had to stand back from his creation.
        Humans use their freedom to disobey God, causing suffering. He cannot comprimise our freedom by removing evil.
        Eventually evil and siffering will be overcome and everyone will decelop into God's likeness.
      - JONAH AND THE WALE- Jonah did not want to follow God's will but after being swallowed by a wale he realised his wrongdoing and had time to think
      - POTTERY AND CLAY EXAMPLE- Natural evil helps us to strengthen and shape our character- like a potter does with clay as they mould it into shape.
        "WE SHOULD KEEP OURSELVES MOIST SO THAT GOD CAN WORK US WITHOUT BECOMING TOO RIGID. GOD'S HANDS HELP MOULD US THROUGH THE EXISTENCE OF NATURAL EVIL"
      - BABY AND MOTHER EXAMPLE We would not be able to appreciate good if there was no evil- this would mean we were spiritually immature and have not freely learned what is good for ourselves. A mother cannot feed a baby solid food first- the baby must learn to eat first. However eventually they can get the benefits of solid food. We as humans need evil and good so we can grow and truly appreocate goodness when we finally experience it. This is echoed in the notion that we are made in the image of God (with the potential for good) and moving towards the likeness of God.
      - CRITICISMS
        
        Kant argues in his ethical theory that no one should be used as a means to an end. This means that humans should not be forced to endure suffering to reach and end goal and highlights the lack of benevolence of God as a creator.
        Challenges do not always result in spiritual growth, and instead cause suffering. Was the holocaust necessary for human development? In this sense, evil seems better explained by the free will defence. However, this then makes all theodicies seem ridiculous because of how terrible events like the holocaust were- surely we should not try to justify God's use of or lack of evil at the expense of horrendous events?
        MACKIE- criticises because people will always do the right thing as they have reliable character traits that means they do not need evil and suffering to learn to grow and be good. Mackie suggests that even if God has made creatures with free will he may have guaranteed that they will always do the right thing because of their character traits.
        MAIN CRITICISM- META ETHICS. EMOTIVISM- GOOD AND BAD DONT EXIST THEY ARE JUST EXPRESSIONS OF EMOTION.
- - - - 20TH CENTURY philosopher who as a chritian completely disagreed with soul making theodocies. "THE PROBLEM OF EVIL AND THE PROBLEM OF GOD" he argues that the position swinburne takes by arguing that a Holocaust survivors suffering is necessary as it is of use to those around them to learn from, goes completely against the idea of a loving and merciful God (ALSO LINKS TO KANTS MEANS TO AN END). STRONGLY DISAGREES WITH INSTRUMENTALISM which is the belief that we need evil to serve some greater purpose and teach us moral lessons. He claims that swinburne and hick "is a clear instance where a theodicy in the very language it employs adds to the evil it seeks to jusify"
- - - - If god is a provider of a range of evils this does not make him omnibenevolent. What about people that have experiences so much suffering that evil no longer becomes didactic but is just pure cruelty Does this mean that victims of the holocaust should recognise the trauma they experiences as didactic evil aimed at them by God to teach them lessons?
        ACCORDING TO SWINBURNE, AS WELL AS IRENEAUS AND HICK, ANOTHER PERSON SUFFERING IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THEY CAN LEARN FROM IT. This is ridiculous and cold.