Problem of evil and suffering - Augustine

Question 1

Who coined the term theodicy?

Answer 1

Leibniz

Question 2

What is a theodicy?

Answer 2

An attempt to justify the existence of a loving God in the face of evil

Question 3

What is Augustine’s theodicy based on?

Answer 3

Genesis 3 (the Fall)
Romans 5:12-20 (Paul describes how Jesus’ crucifixion wipes out Adam and Eve’s sin)

Question 4

4 key points about Augustinian theodicy?

Answer 4

Evil is a consequence of sin
evil is a privation
Fall of human beings and creation
Cross overcomes evil, soul-deciding

Question 5

What was Augustine influenced by?

Answer 5

Manichaeism, Neo-Platonism

Question 6

T or F: the theodicy runs through all his work rather than being a single idea

Answer 6

T

Question 7

How is evil a consequence of sin?

Answer 7

God created a perfect world that was free from evil
Evil came into existence when angels and humans misused their free will
Human and angels are part of the created order and can change - therefore, capable of turning away from God
Gift of free will involves moral responsibility so humans are responsible for sin

Question 8

How did evil come into existence?

Answer 8

angels and humans misused their free will

Question 9

Who is responsible for sin?

Answer 9

Humans as they misused their free will

Question 10

How could some angels turn away?

Answer 10

They had less graces than others

Question 11

How is evil a privation?

Answer 11

Evil is not a ‘substance’ or part of the created order and therefore has not been created by God
Evil is a privation of goodness - absence of it
Privation - an absence or privation of something
Every good thing has the potential to be corrupted - this is not evil
Having the potential to be corrupted shows that things are in their nature, good
Darkness as a metaphor for evil - darkness is the absence of light and it is not a thing in itself

Question 12

What does privation mean?

Answer 12

An absence of something

Question 13

Evil is a privation of what?

Answer 13

Goodness

Question 14

What does having the potential to be corrupted show?

Answer 14

Things are, in their nature, good

Question 15

What does Augustine use as a metaphor for evil?

Answer 15

Darkness is the absence of light rather than it being a thing in itself

Question 16

What was the significance of the fall of human beings and creation?

Answer 16

All humans are descendants of Adam (all ‘seminally present in the loins of Adam’) so all humans share his guilt and sin
Evil is a punishment
Suffer through moral evil as that is humankind’s fault through actions performed on the basis of free will
Suffering caused by natural evil is a result of the absence of good caused by the turning away from God which brought corruption into created order

Question 17

What phrase does Augustine use to explain that we are all descendants of Adam?

Answer 17

‘seminally present in the loins of Adam’

Question 18

What is Augustine’s understanding of moral evil?

Answer 18

moral evil as that is humankind’s fault through actions performed on the basis of free will

Question 19

What is Augustine’s understanding of natural evil?

Answer 19

Suffering caused by natural evil is a result of the absence of good caused by the turning away from God which brought corruption into created order

Question 20

How did Augustine respond to the question why God chose to create this universe despite knowing that humans would abuse their freewill?

Answer 20

‘God judged it to be better to bring good out of evil, than t not permit any evil to exist’

Question 21

How is Augustinian type theodicy soul-deciding?

Answer 21

‘God judged it to be better to bring good out of evil, than t not permit any evil to exist’
If it was not for the Fall, God would never had needed to send Jesus into the world to save it from sin
‘Happy mistake’ (felix culpa) - the sin of Adam viewed as fortunate because it brought about the blessedness of the Redemption
Humans have the opportunity to freely accept Jesus as their saviour and be reunited with God in heaven
The chance for humanity to seek redemption demonstrates that God is merciful and just

Question 22

What is felix culpa?

Answer 22

‘Happy mistake’
The sin of Adam viewed as fortunate because it brought about the blessedness of the Redemption

Question 23

What does humanity having the opportunity to seek redemption demonstrate?

Answer 23

God is merciful and just

Question 24

3 strengths

Answer 24

• removes responsibility from God
• values free will
• based on scripture

Question 25

Explain how being based on scripture is a strength

Answer 25

Appeals to traditional beliefs about Creation and the Fall Augustine’s ideas are in line with Christian teachings Accepted by many in the Christian Church for many centuries

Question 26

Explain how it removes responsibility from God (as as strength)

Answer 26

Retains the traditional characteristics of God Emphasises benevolence - gives the opportunity for redemption through Christ Evil was not part of God’s creative work Evil is a consequence of free will used wrongly

Question 27

How does this theodicy value free will? (as a strength)

Answer 27

Values free will as the best choice God could have made Genuine love is an expression of the free commitment of both parties Humans are free to accept or reject God’s love While being free to do good, humans have the freedom to turn to evil Modern philosophers support this: Swinburne - morally free beings are more desirable than robots

Question 28

Who said that morally free beings are more desirable than robots?

Answer 28

Swinburne

Question 29

What does Swinburne say about free will?

Answer 29

morally free beings are more desirable than robot

Question 30

3 challenges

Answer 30

scientific/biological errors logical problems with perfect order becoming chaotic' morally contradictory

Question 31

What is the scientific error with Augustinian type theodicy?

Answer 31

Contradicts evolution Based on the idea that we are all descendants of Adam Biological impossibility that we are all descended from one pairing

Question 32

What are the problems with perfect order becoming chaotic? / How is Augustinian type theodicy logically contradictory?

Answer 32

A perfect creation cannot go wrong Knowledge of good and evil implies it already existed and therefore, is the responsibility of God Hell - God knew angels and humans will fall and prepared a punishment Perfection is immutable - a perfect creation cannot be less than perfect - implies flaws in God’s creation God chose to create a being who he foresaw would do evil God is omniscient and would have known in advance Schleiermacher - Augustinian theodicy was a logical contradiction - cannot say that a perfectly created world had gone wrong as this would mean that evil created itself ‘ex nihilo’ - God created it imperfect or allowed it to go wrong Geological records show that the nature of the world is chaotic e.g earthquakes

Question 33

What did Schleiermacher say about Augustinian theodicy being a logical contradiction?

Answer 33

Augustinian theodicy was a logical contradiction - cannot say that a perfectly created world had gone wrong as this would mean that evil created itself ‘ex nihilo’ - God created it imperfect or allowed it to go wrong

Question 34

Who said that Augustinian theodicy was a logical contradiction?

Answer 34

Schleiermacher

Question 35

How is Augustinian type theodicy morally contradictory?

Answer 35

Soul deciding theodicy affirms the existence of Hell Hell being a place of torment challenges the idea of a loving God Hell being part of design implies that God knew it would go wrong