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Irenaeus and Hick (problem of evil) - Coggle Diagram
Irenaeus and Hick (problem of evil)
Irenaeus
second century
accepted that evil and suffering exist and that God appears to allow them to continue
argued that God allows evil and suffering so that people can develop into freely chosen, mature relationship with God
there has to be evil in the world for us to appreciate good
has to be fewer good things in the world in order for virtues such as kindness, bravery and generosity to exist at all
made in God's image but we have to grow into God's likeness
free will is an important part of being made in the image of God
could not have a free relationship with God unless we have genuine options to choose otherwise - evil has to be a real option for us
cannot grow totally into the likeness of God in this world and there is a life after death in which we can complete our spiritual development
Hick
twentieth and twenty-first centuries
described the world as a 'vale of soul-making' using words from the poet John Keats
explores his theodicy in his book
Evil and the God of Love
saw the world as a place where our characters and souls are shaped
evil and suffering are not an unfortunate accident but a apart of God's loving plan to help us grow into a free relationship with him
God deliberately keeps himself partly hidden from us so that there is 'epistemic distance' - we can make free choices if God does not force himself on us in an immediate way
through tackling challenges and hardships we can learn to turn to God through free choices
thought that after death, we continue in our spiritual journeys towards a free choice for God, and this option is open to people of any belief
criticisms
idea that evil exists in the world for our own good can seem self-contradictory
if evil is really good for us then there is confusion between good and evil making concepts such as sin and salvation difficult to comprehend
idea that God put evil in the world in order to help us develop and grow can become unacceptable when the suffering is great - for example when there is childhood cancer or an act of terrorism or genocide
idea that God's love is difficult for us to comprehend can present problems if we are trying to be more Godlike and do not understand what that means
argument that God has to allow evil in order for us to have free will suggests limitations on God's omnipotence
tackling challenges and hardships makes some people lose faith rather than gain it
an omniscient God should know this in advance of making such people suffer
this kind of theodicy does not give an adequate explanation of why animals, small babies or people with severe learning difficulties suffer
could be comforting to those who suffer because they suggest that there us a plan and it will turn out well in the end
relate to the idea that facing challenges helps us to develop