Explain why the existence of evil is a problem for a believer (25 marks)
Evil can be defined simply as the opposite of what is good, the immoral and intentional harm to human beings. This is a problem which effectively challenges the existence of God because it contradicts God’s qualities as a loving creator.
John Hick defined evil as “physical pain, mental distress, and moral wickedness. The consequences of evil is always suffering”. Evil can be distinguished into two categories, moral evil and natural evil. Moral evil is when humans freely choose to do something wrong and natural evil is where humans experience events which have bad or evil consequences. Judeo-Christian believers recognise God for his omnibenevolence, omnipotence, omniscience and his role as source of human ethics and the judge.
This existence of evil is effective in challenging the existence of God because it contradicts the …show more content…
For Irenaeus all evil could be traced back to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, in which they go against God by eating the fruit from the tree, which he believed was a factual account of the world. Irenaeus’s argument is that humans do not intentionally choose to ignore God but that they are led astray, like Adam and Eve were led astray by the serpent. Irenaeus also argues that God allows evil and suffering to have a place in the world because it is good to some extent; the world was deliberately created with a mixture of good and evil so that humans can mature with a good understanding and a free relationship with God. Irenaeus aims to prove this from the quote “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). From this Irenaeus makes a two stage distinction by saying that human beings were made in God’s image but we are working towards his likeness/wishes. According to Irenaeus it is better that God made us immature so that we can grow and reach our
Evil can be defined simply as the opposite of what is good, the immoral and intentional harm to human beings. This is a problem which effectively challenges the existence of God because it contradicts God’s qualities as a loving creator.
John Hick defined evil as “physical pain, mental distress, and moral wickedness. The consequences of evil is always suffering”. Evil can be distinguished into two categories, moral evil and natural evil. Moral evil is when humans freely choose to do something wrong and natural evil is where humans experience events which have bad or evil consequences. Judeo-Christian believers recognise God for his omnibenevolence, omnipotence, omniscience and his role as source of human ethics and the judge.
This existence of evil is effective in challenging the existence of God because it contradicts the …show more content…
For Irenaeus all evil could be traced back to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, in which they go against God by eating the fruit from the tree, which he believed was a factual account of the world. Irenaeus’s argument is that humans do not intentionally choose to ignore God but that they are led astray, like Adam and Eve were led astray by the serpent. Irenaeus also argues that God allows evil and suffering to have a place in the world because it is good to some extent; the world was deliberately created with a mixture of good and evil so that humans can mature with a good understanding and a free relationship with God. Irenaeus aims to prove this from the quote “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). From this Irenaeus makes a two stage distinction by saying that human beings were made in God’s image but we are working towards his likeness/wishes. According to Irenaeus it is better that God made us immature so that we can grow and reach our