The Problem Of Evil Flashcards
(13 cards)
The theodicy of st Augustine
He was a mani bean, which was a version of platonism. They believed that the material was below the spiritual, but the material can be good insofar as it was related to the forms. The task of the believer was to separate the good from the evil. This was the most extreme of heresies that made up Gnosticism, which was created by prophet manes.
Basically, Gnosticism says that everything material is too evil to be associative with god. Therefore Christ cannot have existed as he came in human form.
Irenaeus argues against this by saying that everything comes from god.
Original perfection (Augustine)
Augustine believed that everything made is good, but not in the same way as the goodness of god. There is an individual form of goodness it takes.
Augustine concludes that evil must be the going wrong of something itself made good.
Augustine develops the idea that evil is a privation in something intrinsically good. If someone drives his car over a cliff, it’s the nothingness under the car he has to worry about. Someone whose mind is evil is a deviation from natural humanity.
Genesis 1:31
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
The fall (Augustine)
To explain the evil in a world itself made good, Augustine focuses on two events. The fall of angels and the fall of mankind. Angels introduced the evil of denying god, and fell into hell. Similarly, Adam and Eve are punished for going against gods word. Therefore Augustine’s theodicy is a soul-deciding theodicy. Evil is a result of sin or the punishment for sin. We are punished as we were in the loins of Adam, who sinned. Despite this, god wills his grace through Jesus.
Soul deciding theodicy
Any theodicy which sees evil as a test of goodness and faithfulness to god.
Augustine and free will
Augustine thought we could know the good, yet still not do it. However he places importance on free will. He states that a world without free will is worse than one with free will and evil. ‘For a runaway horse is better than a stone that stays in the right place only because it has no movement and perception of its own’
This is known as the free will defence, to take the burden of responsibility of evil away from god.
Mackie argues against this, by pointing out that god can make someone reliable and trustworthy in their character without affecting their free will. If god is all omniscient and omnipotent.
Objections to St Augustine
He treats genesis very literally. We do not exist in preconception in the loins of Adam. The Eden myth should not be taken so seriously.
If creation were really made perfect, it would not go wrong. Natural evil a s a result of universal turmoil makes no sense, as everything god made is perfect. Would this not follow that a perfect thing can resist any type of obstruction?
What is the good? Augustine argues that everything made has a good, but it seems that only humans assign the good to certain things. Even genesis refers to god finding his creation good in his mind, not to everyone.
Is it right to punish people for ignorance they had no part in? Aristotle and Aquinas argued that to be viable for punishment, full knowledge is required with awareness of our choices. Also, Augustine undermines his theodicy with his views on predestination, removing free will.
The theodicy of irenaeus
For irenaeus, we must recognise that evil has a purpose, and that man made in gods image has to grow to achieve salvation of the soul. Evil would help with this. An image of this is irenaeus showing man as clay and god as a potter. He says man should be pliant for god to shape him into beauty. God sends evil to help us.
John hick’s version of irenaeun theodicy
Life would be without suffering in the cost of everyone being dull and lacking empathy, charity, etc. we would lack creativity and development of the human self for strength and perseverance. Therefore he places an emphasis on free will.
Instrumental good (hick)
The world is ‘a vale of soulmaking’. And the world is instrumentally good as it creates goodness from its evils. This gets around the idea of intrinsic goodness which is hard to define. But even hick cannot argue for dysteleological evil.
Freedom and knowledge (hick)
If there was no regularity in natural evil, science would not develop. Free will allows for the finding of purpose. To this extent, Hick develops Irenaeus,
Universal salvation (hick)
Purgatorial view. Hell is a place to get better for eternal salvation. Eternal suffering makes no sense and goes against his viewpoint on earth as a vale of soulmaking.
However the issue is that this removes free will, as there is clearly no other option than to accept god. If there is only one purpose for the soul, then free will seems pointless. Some have argued for anhillationsim.
Hick states that he does not have an answer for dysteleological evil.
D.z phillips
He argues that there is no explanation for dysteleological evil
