Problem of Evil

Question 1

The Inconsistent Triad

Answer 1

• This ‘triad’ of three ideas is ‘inconsistent’ because, it is alleged, we cannot believe all of them at the same time without contradiction. From Epicurus and Hume
• That God is perfectly good
• That God is all-powerful
• That evil and suffering exist

Question 2

The Nature of the Problem of Evil

Answer 2

• If God created the universe and everything that is in it, then he could have made the world in any way he chose. He could have made a world where there was no evil.
• How could an omnipotent God fail at the task of creating a perfect world and keeping it perfect?
• If the world has gone wrong and deviated from God’s purposes, then why does God not use his omnipotence to make it right again
• If God is omniscient he must have known what the world was going to be like when he made it; why did God not anticipate genocide, or hurricanes or cancer?

Question 3

Natural and Moral Evil

Answer 3

• Natural Evil = events in nature which result in suffering e.g. earthquakes or hurricanes.
• Moral Evil = intentional actions by humans which cause suffering such as rape, murder and war.
• For many whilst moral evil could potentially be explained by human’s choices, natural evil requires a more profound explanation if God’s characteristics are to be protected.

Question 4

The Origins of Evil

Answer 4

• For the Judaeo-Christian tradition the Genesis account is the key source text whether understood as a historical or mythological text.
• Adam and Eve when tempted by Satan use their free will to not live to the standards for which they were created and through this disobedience evil enters the word.
• Moral Evil – caused by human’s ability to choose bad as well as good.
• Natural Evil – brought into the world as a consequence of their choice – all creation suffers as a consequence.

Question 5

The Role of Human Free Will

Answer 5

• Free will is the idea that humans have the ability to make genuinely free decisions.
• The concept of free will underpins many of the classic theodicies as well as modern attempts.
• The ‘free will defence’ uses free will as the central element of a theodicy holding that God’s desire to protect genuine choices is responsible for the presence of evil in the world.

Question 6

The Classic Theodicy of Augustine

Answer 6

• Imperfection for Plato was a feature of the physical world.
• Augustine could not accept that as he did not believe that God would deliberately create something imperfect.
• God’s creation is explained in the Bible as ‘good’ and Augustine took this as the starting point for his theodicy. He ruled out the idea that evil is in the world because God made it – so he came to the conclusion that evil, is not a real, positive quality.
• It is what he called a privatio boni, a privation of the Good. Evil – whether it be an evil will, an instance of pain, or some disorder in nature – has therefore not been set there by God but represents the going wrong of something that is inherently good.
• The fall of angelic and human beings was the origin of moral evil or sin. The natural evils of disease and of natural disasters are the punishment of sin, for humanity was intended to be guardian of the earth, and this human defection has set all nature awry.
• Augustine – ‘All evil is either sin or the punishment for sin.’

Question 7

The Classic Theodicy of Irenaeus

Answer 7

• Genesis 1:26 – Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness’.
• Humans are made in the image of God with the potential to be like God and the free will to make choices. Having free will involves the chance of choosing evil.
• We are made in the image of God (with the potential for Good) and moving towards the likeness of God (becoming good).
• Using an analogy of a potter and clay Irenaeus explains the presence of natural evil in the world as keeping us moist so that God can work us without becoming too rigid. God’s ‘hands’ help mould us through the existence of natural evil – shaping us into the likeness of God if we are open to it. It enables us to develop desirable moral qualities or virtue.
• Natural evil is therefore a means to an end of soul-making – suffering must be endured so that we can move closer to God and His likeness.