the problem of evil Flashcards
(9 cards)
what is the logical problem of evil
this is the inconsistency in the beliefs of God, God is wholly good but cannot be powerful enough to stop evil as evil and suffering continues to exist, God is all powerful and can stop evil if he wanted to but he doesnt so he doesnt care about humanity. God is both powerful and good enough to want and to be able to remove evil and suffering so evil is an illusion and doesnt really exist.
what are the solutions to beat the logical problem of evil
C Harthshorne and AN Whitehead choose to remove the attribute of omnipotence so God becomes an empaphetic fellow sufferer
Another solution is to remove the statement that evil exists, evil is a privation
what is the evidential problem of evil
this is based on empiriicism, observations and experiences are used as evidence against God, the evidence comes from the sheer amount of evil and suffering that can be seen in the world. why did God create and continue to sustain such a world as this and why did he make humans so capable of this type of cruelty.
W rowe asks why an omnipotent, omnibeleovlent and omniscient God would allow seemingly pointless human and animal suffering, he concedes there must be a reason for it that we dont understand.
what are the solutions for the evidential problem of evil
by allowing this evil God is preventing something much worse from happening and a greater good can be achieved by this. hick argues the end justifies the means in that true courage and empathy can be developed only in the experience of suffering
what is augustines theodicy
it starts in genesis 1 asserting that God created a perfect world including free human beings in his image and likeness. before the fall humans were perfectly good- each human has its own scale of goodness. augustine calls something evil a privitation, it doesnt exist it is just a lack of goodness and occurs when someone doesnt live up to their good
what is moral evil
the first sin corrupted human nature so now all humans inherit a sinful nature, augustine argues because of original sin and immoral choices everyone deserves to be punished
what is natural evil
the fall of the angels caused disharmony and an imbalance in nature, God is just allowing natural evil to continue because it acts as a punishment for original sin.
what is hicks theodicy about moral evil
free will is invaluable, without free will humans will be like robots, virtues such as courage and compassion cant be ready made but develop through choices made in the face of suffering,although free will allows the possibility of morally wrong decisions it is more valuable to choose good. God remains at an epistemic distance in order to preserve free will so its not obvious that God exists otherwise we will feel compelled to obey
hick uses the example of a sick patient that is hypnotised by a doctor to fall in love when they wake up, this isnt genuine love as its not been freely chosen. similarly for God love is more valuable if freely chosen.
what is the vale of soul making
hick agrees that humans are imperfect from the start so they can grow into the likeliness of God. he developed this by saying that through hardships and life, humans develop virtues and this is better than if they were just given to us by God.
evil is instrumentally good as it allows people to develop into the likelinessof God, pain is essential as it teaches us whats valuable and dangerous. hick argues parents aim to develop their childs character by encouraging perseverence and independence. similarly the world is useful for soul making
