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The Problem of Evil, image - Coggle Diagram
The Problem of Evil
The Problem of Evil
Different Evils
Moral evil is suffering caused by human action (e.g. murder, rape, war or poverty)
Natural evil is suffering caused by nature (e.g. disease, natural disasters)
Logical problem of evil
Hume's Inconsistent Triad posits that the statements that 'God is omnibenevolent,' 'God is omnipotent' and 'Evil exists' cannot all be true simultaneously. As evil exists, this means that God cannot be all-loving or all-powerful, and thus not be the God of Christianity
Mackie believed that 'A wholly good omnipotent being would eliminate evil completely; if there really are evils, then there cannot be any such being'
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Augustine's theodicy
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Strengths
Addresses logical problem as if evil is not a substance then God can't have created it (supported by Brian Davies)
We must have possibility of evil to be truly free. Plantinga said otherwise our actions would be pre-determined like pre-programmed automatons. God is good for giving us free will
Addresses evidential problem of evil as free will is so valuable that it justifies the existence of evil in the world
Weaknesses
Schleiermacher said if evil came from a perfect world then something came from nothing - a logical impossibility
Evil is still part of the world so God has something to do with it. Did God perhaps create an imperfect world or allow it to go wrong?
If there is no knowledge of good and evil, disobeying God makes no sense as it suggests prior knowledge of evil which could then only come from God
Hell seems to already be part of the universe's design, so did God intend for it to go wrong and planned for it?
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Ivan in Dostoevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov' says that any God that allows such suffering is not worthy of worship
The blissful happiness in Eden followed by the Fall does not match evolutionary theory. We have developed the 'altruistic gene' just as we have 'sin'
Augustine's understanding of seminal presence is pre-scientific and biologically inaccurate, so why do we suffer?
Genesis is not supposed to have literal truth as Augustine seems to take it, but rather allegorical truth
Irenaean theodicies
Irenaeus' theodicy
Description of theodicy
Evil must be an option to keep free will (a fundamental part of humanity) and free will is needed so we may freely choose relationships with God
Evil allows us to appreciate good - virtues like bravery, kindness and generosity only exist in a world with evil
We are made in God's image but can develop into His likeness (Genesis 1:26) and suffering enables us to be matured and spiritually developed
Heaven is the reward for all of us that attain God's likeness (a development which continues after death) where we forget the sufferings on Earth
Strengths
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If our love of God is to be genuine it must be freely developed and chosen (Peter Vardy on the King and the peasant girl)
Hick said that goodness developed by free choice is better than the manufactured 'goodness' of robots
Weaknesses
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D.Z. Phillips believes that love can never be expressed through suffering, and points out that some lose faith during hardship
Hume questions whether we couldn't develop through pleasure as well as pain so our world would be more 'hospitable'
Hick's theodicy
Description of theodicy
The world is a 'vale of soul-making' where characters are formed and souls are shaped. Evil and suffering is part of God's plan to help us develop using our free will
He uses a counterfactual hypothesis to ask what a world without evil and suffering would be like and argues that God's purpose would not be possible in such a world
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We continue our spiritual development after death (open to people of any belief), viewing Hell as purgatorial and the promise of Heaven for all as the only justification for earthly suffering
Weaknesses
Extent of evil is not justifiable - Hume said the world could be more hospitable and development is still possible, so some cruelty is excessive
Some suffer more than others which suggests either that God discriminates or that it seems more random than planned
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If everyone is guaranteed entry to Heaven, then what is the motivation for being good in this life? Lacks justice?
D.Z. Phillips argues against instrumental evil as it is still evil and rejects any soul-making theodicy
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Richard Swinburne
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We can only determine if something is evil from the consequences. As the only way for the first murderer to know murder is evil is through the effects of natural evil, natural evil is therefore a precondition of moral evil
Our freedom is shown through acts of great evil (e.g, the Holocaust)
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Criticisms
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If we learn from others' suffering, what is the purpose of the victim's suffering?
We could learn from an egg breaking that a rock would damage the human head, so why have the rock?
Suffering before death is not lessened at all and for some there is greater suffering in knowing they are going to die which hardly seems an act of mercy
D.Z. Phillips rejects instrumental evil and argues against the idea that suffering is never more than we can bear
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