Evil and Suffering Flashcards
Natural Evil
The Flood/ Plagues (bad)
Jesus Feed 500 (good)
most difficult to accept
why does God not control nature?
Can the FWD account for Natural Evil?
Natural forces inevitable
If God intervened - conscious of creator
freedom developed if God doesn’t
Moral Evil
Will - bad consequences
‘inaction’
Rwandan genocide 500,000 +
Rabbi Greenberg - “No theological statement…should be made that would not be credible in the presence of burning children.”
Logical problem of evil
Logic imposs coexistence God and evil
Epicurus “is god willing but not able?” Inconsistent T
Can - deny omnipotence - worthy?
Can - deny benevolence - God love NT
Can - Deny evil - not acceptable
Evidential problem of evil
Theists/Atheists agree evil exists
Quality + Quantity - overwhelming (CT doesn’t work)
John Stuart Mill - God doesn’t exist or is cruel
Rowe - pointless evil (fawn)
Christian FWD
God justified allowing evil for humans to prefer good
develop qualities - compassion
problem - pain develop bad qualities
Mackie and the FWD
FW and God an illusion if evil not allowed
“act freely yet always go right?” - no frame ref good
Plantinga and the FWD
“any world in which God exist…enormously more valuable”
mackie logically incomplete
DEFENSE
world w/o evil - wouldnt think evil - not free
Plantinga Quote
“best possible world contains God…also…evil”
Ireanean Theodicy
God - imperfect world
humans develop from Image to likeness of God
pain makes us perfect
SOUL MAKING
Augustinian Theodicy
God - perfect world
God’s creation ruined by human sin
We were seminaly present Adam
punishment - Adam and Eve “be like God, knowing good and evil”
SOUL DECIDING
Criticisms of Ireaneas
Suffering doesn’t always have postive development (Rowe)
Quality and quantity?
D.Z Philips - love never by allowed by suffering
Criticisms of Augustine
Schleiermacher - World perfect - wouldn’t go wrong
Evil must have existed to be chosen
Survival of fittest good
God is unjust
What is John Hick’s development of Irenaean Theodicy? pt.1
If God made humans perfect - “goodness of robots”
Epistemically distance humans not overwhelmed
God allows to choose FW
John Hick Ireanaean Theodicy pt.2
Evil allows humans develop
Counter factual hypothesis if interfered
The perfect world is to look forward to
Both - universal salvation/ Soul Making
What does Hick say we will become?
Children of God
“fulfilment of God’s purpose for humanity…creating of children of God”
Hick response to Mackie?
God could not have created w/ built in awareness of virtues
Love cannot be forced
What does Griffin’s Process Theology reject?
Rejects key doctrines
- creation ex nihilo (mistranslation) (persuaded/evolution)
-God’s omnipotence (chaotic material power)
-Abandons Key Christian belief (doctrine truth cannot be guaranteed) ( x privation)
What does Griffin say about God and the universe?
God is soul of universe - panentheistic
organised pre exist materials
evil within God - process he experiences
What does Griffin say about how God created the world?
God persuaded world into existence/ chaotic matter
Evidential problem doesn’t arise - God cannot intervene
What does Griffin say about problem of evil and God?
Complexity - greater ability to oppose God
God not bring about evil - worse evil
God is ‘fellow sufferer’
Who is Griffin influenced by?
Whitehead - God always growing/changing
“great companion…the fellow sufferer who understands”
Quote Griffin
“God has never had and could never have a monopoly on power”
“All creatures…have some power with which to deviate from the divine will”
Weaknesses of Griffin Process Theology?
-Lack God’s Omnipotence not worthy
-God cannot control evil ‘risk’ God’s strategy humans power God persuasion
-Unchristian
