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Afterlife and the Problem of Evil - Coggle Diagram
Afterlife and the Problem of Evil
Irenaeus' Theodicy
He did not attempt to show that evil and suffering do not exist; he admitted that God appears to have allowed them to continue
God allows evil and suffering to have a place in the world and allows a mixture of good and evil so that human beings can grow and develop into a free relationship with God
There had to be evil in the world for us to appreciate the good
Good is qualitive so we need there to be other 'less goods' to compare to it
We need evil in our world in order for us to develop and grow and we must learn from our own mistakes by persevering and having patience
Evil and suffering are not just in the world by mistake - they are part of God's original intention
When God created humans in his 'own image and likeness' this allowed us free will, whether the choices were made in with selfish intent or not
The Earth is a 'soul making place' in which we must develop
If God stepped in every time we made a wrong choice and put it right then this would remove our choices and prevent us from learning
Evil and suffering are necessary
They are part of Gods plan for us
Suffering should be endured because even if we cannot see the reason for it, we should understand that it is necessary to bring us closer to God to enable God to complete his purpose
Reincarnation and the problem of evil
Irenaeus
regards the initial state of creation of God as being in a state of immaturity like that of an innocent child. Our life on Earth enables growth through our experience of suffering
this leads humans to reach ultimate happiness, where they are able to see and know God
Hick - has developed on the idea of 'soul making' and argued for the idea of universalism. He argues that the idea of hell is not understood literally and that a benevolent God could not eternally punish people
Augustine's Theodicy
Two premises
1) Evil did not come from God, since God's creation was faultless and perfect
- 'God saw all that he had made, and it was good'
2) Evil has come from elsewhere and God has justified in allowing for it to stay
Evil has come from the world - not God
Augustine described evil as 'privatio boni' - a privation of good
Hierarchy found in the created world - angels found in the top
Evil came into the world through fallen angels - they were perfect but received less grace
They fell because they misused free will
Adam then repeated this
Evil has followed from here
' Free will is the cause of our doing evil'*
Resurrection and the problem of evil
the idea that our actions are rewarded or punished and that those who suffer unjustly are compensated in the next life - this is a key idea to religions about resurrections
Kant's notion about the summum bonum expresses the common sense notion that if goodness is commanded, it out to be achievable and good actions should be rewarded however, this does not always happen in this life
Both Augustine and Irenaen theodicies require a belief in the afterlife. They both rely on the notion of free will and this in turn seems to require the idea of rewards and punishments if there is to be justice in the world
Augustine
Death is a consequence of sin - had first human beings not sinned, there would be no death
All human beings deserving suffering due to the original sin, but God redeems the believer through Christ's work
There are two main weaknesses
many modern thinkers find the ide of hell immoral (Hick) it is questionable whether God is morally justified in allowing an infinite punishment for a finite amount of sin
Augustine's view on heaven and hell are further damage by his belief that God predestines some to be saved. This seems to be unjust and contradicts his view that humans have genuine free will