Problem of Evil Flashcards by Bradley Robson

What is meant by natural evil

Evil that is caused by the means if a force outside of the control of free- will agents usually referred to as nature

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What is meant by the term evil

Anything that causes pain and suffering

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What is meant by moral evil

evil caused as the result of the free will agent

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Give an example of moral evil

Gun - family and friends become victims, some even die

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Give an example of natural evil

Flooding - damages property, lot of money has to get spent and even chances of death

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What is the problem of moral evil

one of the main philosophers issues that is raised by this type of evil. evil is caused by an individual that could have chosen to do good instead, does that mean that God cannot be held accountable for evil existence in the world

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what is it called when there is a constant challenge to those that would believe in a God

God of classical theism

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What is Hume quote about Epicurus

“Epicurus old questions are yet unanswered. Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? then is he impotent. Is able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?

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What did Machie write about Epicurus

‘The problem of evil is the sense in which i shall be using the phrase, is a problem only for someone who believes that there is a God who is both omnipotent and wholly good. It is a logical problem, the problem of clarifying and reconciling a number of beliefs: it is not a scientific problem that might be solved by further observations, or a practical problem that might be solved by a decision or action’

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What is the inconsistent Triad

God is perfectly Good
God is all-powerful
Evil and suffering exist
Cant believe all of them at same time without contradictions and logical issues lies

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What is meant by omnipotent

All powerful

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What is Omniscient

All knowing

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What is Omnibenevolent

All loving

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If God is Omniscient and omnipotent what isnt he

Omnibenevolent

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If God is Omnibenevolent and omniscience then what isn’t he

Omnipotent

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If God is Omnipotent and omnibenevolent

Omniscience

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In J.L Mackie what is the alternative solution

Just to remove one point

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If we remove Omnipotent from God how can we understand evil better

We can understand evil exists and he loves his creation he want have the power to stop it

What happens if we remove omnibenevolence from God and what do we understand about evil then

God has the power to remove evil but chooses not to (However opposite of classical theism)

What happens if we remove evil in J.L Mackie ideas

That God keeps all his qualities and we misunderstand evil and could have a purpose. However Hume rejects this and says that the effects of evil are felt to widely and therefore is not possible for it to be dismissible

How is the evidential problem of evil expressed simply

there are known facts about evil that are evidence of God
Evil that overwhelms the quantity and quality
Evil that is pointless because it serves no useful purpose

Briefly explain the great dying

90% of marine species and 79% of land specifies disappeared (probably thing natural disasters). NASA described it as ‘perfect crime… some perpetrator or perpetrators committed murder on a scale unequalled in the history of the world’

Explain Willian Rowe: Fawn in a forest

Suppose that in some distant forest a lighting strike causes a forest fire. A fawn is trapped in the fire and is horribly burnt and lies in agony for several days before it died. The agony appears to be pointless: suffers and died alone and not lead to any greater good whatsoever

When looking at omniscience what does creation become a problem

If God Knew how much overwhelming and purposeless evil would occur why would God bother to create the universe

what is A posteriori argument

takes the evidence of out own experience

What Did John Stuart Mill have to say about evil alone

that evil alone is enough to prove that either God doesn't exist or if he does he's not all loving

Mill arguments came from his response to the design argument but what is the design argument

That the design in the world was proof of there being a designer. Mill says using the same logic evidence of evil in the world can be used as proof of a malevolent creator

How can we link omnipotent and omnievolent to a square

That god cannot exist in the same way a square circle cannot exist

What is theodicy

attempt to justify God face of evil and suffering

What is Augustine's theodicy

Attempt to show that God can still have the desired characteristics despite evil and suffering

What quote shows that God cant make anything imperfect

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good"

What did Augustine about Evil being a quality

It is not one its in own rights and called it a privation boni (privation) lack of good

How could perfection of the world be a good for augustines theology

Each part of creation is good its in own right

How can difference be a good thing

That the necessary result of difference is that some creation will be more limited than others

Why did Augustine reject the manichees view

due to the belief that there was other powers (such as good and evil) and when he went Christian he only thought the only power was God

Explain why diversity in creation is good according to Augustine

Perfect for its own right. A tree isnt evil because it cant walk and a worm isnt evil if it cant sing. Instead they are perfect for what they are. this means that there perfection is limited

Explain how, according to Augustine, evil first came into the world

It came through the fall if the angles. Angles were perfect but some had less grace than others. Augustine saw grace as less assistance from God in their attempt to be holy

How has this then repeat

That when the angles went against God to beome 'Lord of there own beings" mirrored those of Adam and Eve. This is due to there disobedience, mirroring the disobedience of some of the angles was so terrible it disrupted the whole world on cosmic scale for all generations that followed. This is what caused natural evil

Irenaeus theodicy is what

Does not believe that humans or the world was made perfect. In order for us to develop then we need to live in a world where we are challenged with difficulties

Irenaeus Believers God allows for evils to continue, Why?

World was deliberately created with a mixture of goodness and evil

We need evil to appreciate good, Why?

Good is a qualitive judgement, comparative so has to be other less good things for goodness to exist at all

Why we need evil to progress as humans

So we can fully develop as free individuals who make their own moral decisions

Whats the discussion between Gods image and likeness

Believed God made us in his image but we have to grow into his likeness

What quote can we use to understand that we need to earn gods likeness instead of having it at the beginning

"Is in the power of a mother to give a strong food to her infanct (but she does not so) as the child is not yet able to receive more substantial nourishment; so also it was possible for god himself to have make man perfect form the first, but man could not receive this (perfection), being as yet an infant. And for this cause our lord in these times, when he had summed up all things into himself, came to us, not as he might have come, but as we were capable of beholding him"