Problem of evil Flashcards

1
Q

david hume on the problem of evil

A

the problem of evil is the rock of atheism

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2
Q

evil

A

morally wrong acts

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3
Q

suffering

A

consequences of evil

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4
Q

moral evil

A

evil wrought by human actions

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5
Q

natural evil

A

evil wrought by the breakdown or malfunctioning of the natural world

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6
Q

jl mackie inconsistent triad

A

an omnibenevolent, omnipotent god cannot exist at the same time as evil however thiests believe in all 3

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7
Q

monism

A

evil does not exist, it is an illusion and what we feel are false feelings

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8
Q

dualism

A

there are two coexisting substances: good and evil

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9
Q

swinburne

A

god is like a parent that allows a child to grow up (allows us to make mistakes etc resulting in evil)

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10
Q

theodicy definition

A

‘in defence of a righteous god’

an attempt to justify the existence of god in the face of evil and suffering

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11
Q

the iranaen theodicy

soul making/soul deciding

A

soul making

genesis 1:26 ‘let us make man in our image and after our likeness’

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12
Q

the iranaen theodicy

god’s image/likeness

A

humans were created imperfect with the form (image) of god but not the content (likeness) of god
being in god’s image involved having intelligence, morality, and personality yet lacked completion
completion would be gained through development of courage, honour, generosity, kindness and love: becoming god’s likeness
human perfection has to be developed rather than ready made

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13
Q

the iranaen theodicy

free will

A

true goodness requires free will
man was created with true moral autonomy and had the freedom to make moral decisions
- free will has the potential for disobedience and evil, goodness has to be developed by free choice
-potential to grow into the likeness of god is found in responsible moral choices

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14
Q

the iranaen theodicy

epistemic distance

A

the natural world had to be designed with the possibility of causing harm and god had to stand back from creation and remain at an epistemic distance/distance of knowledge and therefore not obviously influence decisions
god cannot intervene and remove evil and suffering as this would compromise free will

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15
Q

the iranaen theodicy

hick

A

this world is a vale of soul making not a paradise

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16
Q

the iranaen theodicy

universalism

A

all people will eventually be saved and go to heaven

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17
Q

the iranaen theodicy

in the end

A

eventually evil and suffering will stop and everyone will develop into god’s likeness
everyone will eventually be rewarded in heaven, some immediately whilst others progress towards heaven in purgatory which refines them

18
Q

the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
omnipotence

A

god has the power to create a perfect human/humans, ridding the need for evil and suffering
-however, this would mean perfection is ready made when the iranaen theodicy says god’s likeness needs to be earned and developed

19
Q

the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
jesus

A

the argument is contrary to jesus’ teachings who was sent by god to reduce evil and suffering
jesus is supposed to be a likeness to god and therefore a perfection and shouldnt have suffered but he did

20
Q

the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
born evil

A

people with mental illnesses commit evil but not out of choice

21
Q

the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
heaven for all unjust

A

the concept of heaven for all contradicts religious texts which promise punishment for the unrighteous
heaven for all makes moral behaviour pointless and there is no incentive to do good

22
Q

the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
quantity and gravity of suffering

A

the quantity and gravity of suffering in this world is unacceptable
why does our world need to contain the extent and severity found in events such as the holocaust

23
Q

the iranaen theodicy
criticisms
love

A

suffering can never be an expression of god’s love

dz phillips: it is never justifiable to hurt someone in order to help them

24
Q

augustinian theodicy

soul making/deciding?

A

soul deciding

decides where your soul ends up

25
Q

iranaen theodicy

god

A

god is omnipotent and omnibenevolent

26
Q

augustinian theodicy

god

A

agrees with iranaen, god exists and is omnipotent and omnibenevolent

27
Q

augustinian theodicy

what is evil

A

god created a perfect world without flaws and he created man in the perfect likeness of god, evil did not come from god
evil is just a privation of good, not an entity in itself and therefore cannot be created
to say god created a privation does not make sense

28
Q

augustinian theodicy

how did evil come about

A

evil was brought into this world by angels that followed satan in his fall from grace and human beings who abused their free will and turned away from god

29
Q

augustinian theodicy

the argument

A

1) man was created with true moral autonomy and so freedom to make choices
2) free will is god, with potential for actualising evil, the consequence of sin is evil and suffering
3) therefore evil and suffering is not the result of god

30
Q

augustinian theodicy

why does god allow evil and suffering to stay

A

god allows evil and suffering to stay as punishment for the sins of adam and eve, we were all seminally present in adam and all guilty therefore deserve to share punishment

31
Q

augustinian theodicy

moral evil

A

human actions which destroy natural order

32
Q

augustinian theodicy

natural evil

A

results from a breakdown of natural order due to moral evil

natural evil is a fitting punishment for moral evil

33
Q

augustinian theodicy

jesus/heaven/hell

A

god foresaw the fall from the beginning and planned our redemption & salvation
god sent his son jesus christ who was essential for man kinds redemption
those who accept christ will be saved and see god’s mercy
they will go to heaven whilst others are condemned to hell

34
Q

augustinian theodicy
criticisms
schleiermacher

A

it is a logical contradiction to say that a perfect world could go wrong, this means evil would have created itself exnihilo/out of nothing which is impossible

  • evil didnt need to create itself because it is a privation
  • a perfect world could go wrong if you hold a belief of deism
35
Q

augustinian theodicy
criticisms
evil attributed to god

A

whether or not evil is a privation it is still a real feature of the world as is the suffering it produces
therefore if the world is attributed to a god, evil must be too
either the world was not perfect or god enabled it to go wrong

36
Q

augustinian theodicy
criticisms
disobeying god

A

1) in a perfect world with no knowledge of good or evil how is there freedom to obey or disobey god
2) god’s creatures chose to disobey him
3) this suggests knowledge of evil
4) knowledge of evil could’ve only come from god
- could’ve unknowingly disobeyed god, you can still break a role if you didnt know it was there, e.g. dress code at a party, if you turn up in the wrong dress and you didnt know the dress code you’re still going against it.

37
Q

augustinian theodicy
criticisms
evolution

A

it is contradictory to evolutionary theory for a world to start perfect and get worse
there is evidence to support the evolutionary theory but not this

38
Q

augustinian theodicy
criticisms
hell

A

hell appears to be part of the design of the universe, with it being preplanned that those who sinned/did not accept christs redemption would end up there
god must have anticipated and accepted that everything would go wrong

39
Q

free will defence

A

both theodicies emphasise that evil is a tragic consequence of free will
this is frequently developed into its own theodicy known as the free will defence
1) the world is logically necessary for humans
2) provides true freedom in the form of choices which produce goodness/harm
3) without choices we would not be free and therefore not human

40
Q

free will defence

richard swinbourne

A

a god who intervenes compromises the gift of freedom which removes human responsibility
this prevents human development

41
Q

free will defence

mackie

A

if god is omnipotent he could have created human beings who were truly free but also always made the right decisions, resulting in no evil
he didnt and we still have the problem of evil
the gift of free will is no excuse for evil
-impossible to have free will and always make the right decision