problem of evil Flashcards
overview
moral evil:result of morally wrong human actions,well within human control
natural evil:pain and suffering caused to humans and animals by the natural world
augustian theodicy
- god is omnipotent and all-loving and created the perfect world
- “god saw all that he made and it was very good”
- evil is not a substance rather a privatio boni
- blindless not a thing in itself rather a lack of sight
argument supporting augustine
has biblical authority
many christians refer to the Bible as direct word of God
Schleirmacher
logical contradiction in a perfect world that can go wrong
J.L Mackie
“a wholly good being eliminates evil as far as it can”
epicurean paradox
“is he able but not willing, then he is malevolent”
hume
incosistent triad ‘god is omnipotent’ ‘god is all-loving’ ‘evil exists’ if there is evil in the world one of the other must not be true
aquinas
impossible for a being defined as “infinite goodness” to exist with evil in the world
swinburne
people must turn to God out of their own free will, otherwise faith would be meaningless
William Rowe
the amount of pointless animal and human suffering in the world
john stuart mill
“nearly all things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing to one another are nature’s every day performances
Platinga
if humans were designed to choose God they would not be truly free
choices would be determined like robots
hick
vale of soul-making theodicy
God gives humans free will in order to grow into “likeness and image of the divine”
d.z phillips
allowing suffering can never be loving
