Topic 6 (Year 12): The problem of evil and suffering Flashcards
(32 cards)
Omnipotent definition.
All-powerful.
Omniscient definition.
All-knowing.
Omnibenevolent definition.
All-good and all-loving.
Inconsistent triad definition.
The omnibenevolence and omnipotence of God, and the existence of evil in the world, are said to be mutually incompatible.
Theodicy definition.
An attempt to justify God in the face of evil in the world.
Natural evil definition.
Evil and suffering caused by non human agencies.
Moral evil definition.
Evil done and suffering caused by deliberate misuse of human free will.
Privatio boni definition.
A phrase used by Augustine to mean an absence of goodness.
Free will definition.
The ability to make independent choices between real options.
Epistemic distance definition.
A distance in knowledge and understanding.
Is this an a priori or an a posteriori argument?
An a priori argument.
What is the logical problem of evil?
Consisting of the inconsistent triad, saying that all three cannot possibly exist simultaneously.
What is a solution to the inconsistent triad?
Limiting slighlty either God’s omnibenevolence or omnipotence.
What is the evidential problem of evil? (2 points)
- There is an enormous amount of evidence which shows evil and suffering does exist in the world.
- There is both natural and moral evil.
What does W. Rowe ask?
Why a theistic God would allow continued suffering to happen to both humans and animals.
What is the basis of Augustine’s theodicy? (3 points)
- Augustine belived that all humans were created perfect and were given free will, however we use that free will to move away from God and choose sin.
- God, being omnibenevolent and omniscient, knew this would happen and so sent Jesus for humanity to be reconcilled.
- He says that evil and sin is humanity’s fault, not God’s.
What did Augustine say was the definition of evil?
Privatio boni - the privation of good, evil is the absence of good.
How can God be omnibenevolent if evil exists?
Evil does not have to exist for good to exist, they need not an opposite, so God is not responsible for creating evil as evil does not exist as an entity.
Where did Augustine’s theodicy originate from?
The Original Sin from Genesis, as this made humanity have a predisposition to sin, and therefore humanity must be blamed for all evil and siffering.
Why, then, does God allow evil?
As a deserved punishment for human sin.
What does Augustine say on moral evil? (2 points)
- It is necessary for there to be the possibility of evil in a created world, as it is not a perfect world.
- Only God can be perfect as he is uncreated and therefore cannot change; only created things are susceptible to change, such as the Original Sin and turning away from God.
What did Augustine say on natural evil? (2 points)
- The entire human race is guilty for the Original Sin - we were all “seminally present in the loins of Adam” - and so everyone must be punished.
- Natural evil is a fitting punishment, and some people are saved from this evil to show that God is still merciful.
Why does Augustine believe God is right not to put a stop to suffering?
He is a just God, he allows humans to have free will, but at the same time the punishment for their disobedience is justice for human sin.
What is the basis of the Irenaean theodicy?
Irenaeus suggests, like Augustine, that evil can be traced back to human free will, however he sayd that God didn’t make a perfect world in the first place and that evil has a valuable part to play in God’s loving plan for humanity.
