Problem Of Evil and Suffering

Question 1

What are the different types of evil?

Answer 1

Moral: suffering caused by human wickedness
Natural: suffering caused by natural (non-human) events.

Question 2

What is the problem of evil?

Answer 2

Argument against Gods existence, as evil and suffering is incompatible with the God of classical theism characteristics.

Question 3

What is Humes account / argument

Answer 3

1. If an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God exists, then evil doesnt.
2. There is evil in the world
3. Therefore omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient God doesn’t exist.

Question 4

What type of argument is the problem of evil?

Answer 4

Deductive: moves from general to specific

Question 5

What are the 2 different problems of evil that Theodicies aim to solve?

Answer 5

Evidential: existence of evil is against the existence of God (inductive)
Logical: existence of evil is logically incompatible with the existence of God (deductive)

Question 6

What are the characteristics of the Gid if classical theism

Answer 6

Omnipotence, omnibenevolence, omniscience

Question 7

What is mackie’s inconsistent triad? (Logical)

Answer 7

• argued that belief in God is irrational because if problem of evil.
• propositional characteristics are logically incompatible.
  1. God is omnipotent
  2. God is omnibenevolent
  3. Evil exists

Question 8

How does mackie propose that the inconsistency can be solved?

Answer 8

• solving the problem is only possible by denying Gods omnipotence and omnibenevolnce as u can’t deny that evil and suffering exist

Question 9

What does st Augustine view evil as

Answer 9

Privation boni: evil is merely a privation of good so it is not part of Gods creation

Question 10

What is the basis of Augustine’s theodicies what type is it ?

Answer 10

• soul deciding: God predestines all his creatures, but humans decide their fate by using free will.
• God created an entirely good world with no evil.

Question 11

What does Augustine think the use of reconciliation is?

Answer 11

• God is omnibenevolent so he gives humans the opportunity to redeem themselves as he didn’t intend souls to go to hell

Question 12

Why is Augustine’s theodicy not a true theodicy?

Answer 12

• limits Gods omnipotence and omniscience as he can’t rid of evil

Question 13

What kind of theodicies are irenaus and Hick?

Answer 13

Soul-making

Question 14

What is epidemic distance?

Answer 14

• hick’s idea that God created humans at special distance from him so they could know God through their own will so they have a choice

Question 15

What is eschatological and universal justification?

Answer 15

• suffering on earth can be morally justified as it helps us to reach perfection.
• universal justification: everyone reaches heaven as the world strengthens our souls for preparation

Question 16

What does Hick describe the world as?

Answer 16

‘Vale for soul-making’

Question 17

What does Irenaeus believe evil and suffering is used for?

Answer 17

• useful as a means of knowledge: we can know more about how evil helps us
• character building: helps up to develop desirable characteristics such as compassion helping to become in Gods likeness

Question 18

Two strengths of soul making theodicies?

Answer 18

Responsibility of evil is placed on humans not God so he can still be omnibenevolent

• Swinburne: many admirable virtues need an imperfect would to develop to become like Gods likeness

Question 19

Give three different reasons why some believe evil exists

Answer 19

1. The fall- (Augustine) Adam and eves disobedience caused moral evil by using their free will. Man kind was seminally present in adam so we sinned alongside him
2. Fallen angels- natural evil is the result of the devil as he tempts humans and spreads disease
3. Predictable environment- free will needs evil to exist as it allows us to think abt consequences of our actions

Question 20

What theory does Mackie believe in ?

Answer 20

Compatibilism: human free will is compatible with Gods determinism as it should be possible to have free will yet only choose good

Question 21

What is the aim Alvin Plantiga’s: The Free will defense?

Answer 21

• logical problem of evil is untenable
• it is an argument not theodicy that responds to mackies criticism to show that it is reason make to believe in God in a world with evil and suffering

Question 22

What is plantiga’s 4 possible worlds?

Answer 22

• it is possible to have a world with no determinism and we never choose evil but humans choose not to use their free will for that

Question 23

What is process theology?

Answer 23

• whitehead ~ influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution
• God and humans are evolving in a journey in order to reach perfection
• God didn’t create the universe but created humans so he is bound by natural laws aswell so he has no control over evil

Question 24

What does process theology regard Gods characteristic as? (Passibility)

Answer 24

• he is passible and can change his feelings aswell being capable of suffering.
• God is not transcendent

Question 25

What is Panentheism?

Answer 25

- proposed by whitehead in process theology: Belief in a God who is part of the physical world but exist beyond it as he is powerful enough to start a new one - God and humans are journeying towards perfection together

Question 26

What is Leibniz’s best of all possible worlds argument?

Answer 26

- having some evil is the price we have to pay for living in a world with desirable features - we don’t know enough about how everything is linked together so it may be impossible to create a world without undesirable features

Question 27

Give a real life example that supports Liebniz’s best of all possible worlds

Answer 27

- volcanic eruptions wreck homes, but without then there would not be any fertile soil

Question 29

What are 2 weaknesses of process theology

Answer 29

- it isn’t a theodicy as it doesn’t justify the existence of the God of classical theism it instead changes his propositional characteristics - theodicy of sorts: God bears responsibility of evil but can’t stop it because he lacks power meaning that he isn’t omnipotent

Question 30

What is a strength of process theology?

Answer 30

- solves problem of evil by suggesting that God is in a personal relationship with humans as a ‘fellow sufferer’ as he can’t prevent evil but can start it

Question 31

What is free will?

Answer 31

- belief that human actions are determined by self