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19 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is Evil & Suffering |
David Hume - Rock of atheism Aquinas - God allows evil as part of his plan - God is all 3 omni's but allows evil. Challenge is why does he do this? 2 types of evil: Hick: Natural evil "originates independently of human actions" Swinburne: Moral Evil is "all evil caused deliberately by humans doing what they ought not to do" |
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Challenge of Evil |
4 distinctive problems that evil raises: 1. Theological - it challenges nature of god 2. Philosophical - requires believer to accept conflicting claims. 3. Diverse - evil comes in many different forms 4. Challenging - challenges theism |
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Philosopher reactions to the challenge of Evil |
St. Aquinas - recognises issue of E&S "If, therefore, God existed, there would be no evil discoverable, but there is evil in the world. Therefore God doesn't exist" St. Augustine - "Either God cannot abolish evil, or he will not; if he cannot then he is not all-powerful, and if he will not, then he is not all good" J.L. Mackie - Inconsistent Triad |
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Nature of God |
Protest theodicy - God isn't perfectly good Examples of Story of Abraham/ all first born Egyptians killed in Exodus Elie Weisel - "Such a god need, at least, to face some hard moral questioning." Dualist View - 2 different co-eternal sides; good & evil. God is the good and they are at constant conflict. |
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Nature of God cont. |
Jocelyn Bell - Easier to accept god isn't omni-potent than he isn't omni-benevolent - "I need a loving God" Basil Mitchell - Believers shouldn't avoid E&S but confront it It should count decisively against their belief Phrase 'God wills it' is not a valid justification. Anthony Flew - "God does not really love us" Suffering is the biggest challenge for belief Can't say God's love is different - insufficient explanation - doesn't say what his love actually is |
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Does Evil have a purpose? |
God uses evil as a punishment- "The lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to" - Deuteronomy (Bible) No relationship between sin and suffering- "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding - God confronting Job on his suffering. Evil is inevitable- World is best possible but has imperfections - we will eventually be perfect w/ suffering removed |
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Does Evil have a purpose? cont. |
Can suffering show God's love? God reborn as Jesus to experience suffering - we bring good to evil events just like God can/does Mark Dowd- Tsunami: Where was God? (2005) Indonesia- strict muslim region Locals believed tsunami was well-deserved punishment from God (did they really sin?) Man who lost 30 family members believe it is a test from God. Has stronger faith then ever. |
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Iranaean theodicy |
Iranaeus (130-202) Asks what is the good of evil? -3 points 1. 2 stages of creation - soul making is the first stage- World isn't perfect, we suffer to become "children of God". Second stage is gaining the likeness of God (through soul making) and going to heaven 2. Epistemic Distance (Reform added by Hick) Distance between man and God - not geographical but based on knowledge. We must generate faith and gain knowledge to close this gap. 3. God didn't want paradise on Earth If paradise on earth existed, we wouldn't grow as prople, change, or need to show emotion. Heaven would be unnecessary. |
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Strengths of Iranaean theodicy |
John Hick - freewill is better than no choice as we would be robots. People learn from mistakes. Everyone goes to heaven Works with evolution - we have to evolve to be like God Doesn't defend God but justifies evil Allows humans to value a relationship with God Evil has a purpose in the world |
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Weaknesses of Iranaean theodicy |
What if sinners don't repent? Do they still go to heaven - whats the point of being Good Is it fair to say some will suffer more than others and get the same outcome? At odds with the bible that the world is perfect Jesus' sacrifice is pointless Can the end justify the means? Is suffering worth it? |
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Augustian Theodicy |
St Augustine (354-430) Works - 'Confessions'/'City of God' Privation of Good- Evil doesn't exist, its the absence of evil. Higher & Lower goods but no evil. God created the perfect universe "he saw that it was good" and created Adam&Eve. A&E ate the forbidden fruit and evil entered the world - Jesus was sent to save us from our sins and allow us to go to heaven. "Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with what Jesus has made available in heaven." Still have sin today because of original sin and being in seminally present. |
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Strengths of Augustian theodicy |
Mary Baker Eddy - "Evil has no reality - it is simply an illusion" Alvin Platinga (1932-now) - If God made us to do pure good, we would be robots, he values free will. Bible accounts natural evil as a result of moral evil, not created by God. Jesus' sacrifice saves us. |
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Weaknesses of Augustian theodicy |
3 categories of errors: Logical errors: F.E.D. Schleiermacher (1768-1834) - perfect world gone wrong is illogical - evil can't come from nothing (must have been created by God) If God's creatures chose to disobey, then they must have known how. Scientific errors: Genesis isn't a scientific account Perfect world contradicts evolution Seminally present is biologically incorrect. Moral Errors: Hell (Was created by God as it was necessary). Salvation doesn't mean being wholly good. Lacks optimism, is a downward theodicy. |
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Process Theodicy |
God isn't omnipotent and didn't create the universe - he is a part of it. He started evolution but has no control - not powerful enough to stop evil but tries to help. Didn't make humans in his likeness and suffers when evil is committed - "God is a fellow sufferer who understands" God tries to make us good with "persuasion and lure" - John Hick |
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Strengths and Weaknesses of Process Theodicy |
Strengths - God created evolution (works with science) and takes full responsibility for E&S. God suffers with us and removes issue of triad. Weaknesses - Is God worthy of worship? God hasn't done anything - is he important No heaven is promised Is he really a comfort? |
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Free Will Defence |
Humans can only develop if they are free to act - this is key to solving the problem. Swinburne (1934-now) Existence of God (2005)- World is logically necessary environment for humans to develop as it provided opportunities for people to exercise their freedom God allows free choice so as to allow human freedom - death is necessary to be responsible for how we spend our life "The less God allows men to bring about large scale hours, the less freedom and responsibility he gives them" Natural evil is necessary so we can learn of evil and know how to avoid it - don't build next to a volcano |
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Free will Defence- How could God allow so much suffering? |
How could god allow so much suffering? Swineburne - We can't ask for less suffering because then the world wouldn't mean so much - God would be an overprotective parent Hick - we must demand no evil or accept what we have now - all evil is relative, if 'ear flicking was the worst evil then any person who did it would be a monster but its trivial currently. Brian Davies (1951-now) -God has to distance himself to allow us freewill (moral evil created) God is "A gap between what is there and what there ought to be" |
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Free will Defence - John Mackie |
Should be a third view - free will defence suggests that God only had 2 options when he created the universe: No pain, maximum pleasure - no free will Pain but free will Should be a third option of free will and minimised pain. An all powerful god could do this (Itriad) and we would always happen to do the right thing - however this would mean we weren't truly free. |
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Other beliefs |
Elie Weisel- Jewish Auschwitz survivor Witnessed 3 people put God on trial for oppression and treason Blames God for evil and the holocaust therefore he isn't omnipotent Anthony Flew- God's good is different to human good, he is not human and we shouldn't give him human characteristics as we don't understand his nature. |
