Problem of Evil

• what is the problem of evil

  challenges/contradicts the attributes of (Abrahamic) God, which are his omniscience (all knowing), omnipotence (all powerful) and omnibenevolence (all loving). problem for all religious people
• what are the 2 types of evil

  natural and moral
• what is natural evil


  apparent malfunctioning of natural world, which arises independently of human actions.

  e.g. disease, earthquakes, volcanoes, famines, floods, tumours

  Mill in his criticism of the design argument uses natural evil to criticise an all loving and all powerful God
• what is moral evil

  arises as a result of human actions which are morally wrong, caused deliberately by humans. can also be humans failing to act rather than immoral actions themselves (e.g. neglect, Grenfell)

  e.g. war in Ukraine, murder, cruelty
• what is the inconsistent triad/logical problem


  based on logic, originates from Epicurus, greek philosopher, developed by David Hume as its name today and JL Mackie

  involves 3 statements:

  God is omnipotent, God is omnibenevolent, evil exists.

  these 3 statements cannot logically all be true at the same time (logically contradict), and cannot be solved unless one statement is removed (conjunction of any 2 entails negation of the 3rd)

  a good omnipotent thing would eliminate evil, but evil exists.
• what are the solutions to the logical problem/inconsistent triad

  general: God is not omnipotent, or all loving, or all good, (solutions to the nature of God) evil does not exist or God doesn't exist, evil has a purpose or evil is inevitable (solutions to evil existing)

  God isn't perfectly good: no evidence God is perfect, if he isn't he's not worthy of worship, or perhaps we misunderstand God's goodness as we think of it akin to human goodness - don't have power to understand.

  God is not all powerful: God is incapable of destroying evil. Dualist view lays out 2 coeternal sides existing (good and evil) and God represents the best side of good, he can only lead events towards goof but cannot control them or stop evil.

  God isn't all loving: not usually chosen by theists, perhaps however God is malevolent, or we don't understand God's love or it's greater plan, God has reasons to not intervene

  Evil is a punishment: e.g. Islam believes natural disasters are expressing God's will and are a test of faith. suffering is deserved/brings one closer to God (Bible, Old testament, the great flood, expulsion from Eden). evil punishes those who don't believe or sin.

  Evil is a test: tests human qualities and commitment to God, provides opportunity to show love and noble traits, builds character (however not everyone benefits). e.g. story of Job, sacrifice of Isaac (Old Testament, Hebrew scriptures).

  Evil is inevitable: God isn't responsible, an imperfect world is the best world. no evil = no good, growth and achievement impossible, everything perfected by God's love in the end, free will = inevitable evil, but free will is best possible world

  Evil allows God's love to be displayed: God cares for those who suffer and evil enables good to be brought out of it, God is vulnerable to evil and suffering through Jesus.
• what is the book of job

  addresses why good and innocent people suffer more than they deserve - God decides to test job's faithfulness by illness, killing his children etc. Job asks for an explanation, but realises he will never be able to understand
• what is a theodicy

  defending God and his attributes (good and omnipotent) in the face of evil

  4: Irenaeus, Augustine, process theodicy and free will defence
• what is irenaeus' theodicy (soul-making theodicy)

  we are not created in the likeness of God, but instead the image - we are imperfect and must work towards the likeness of God.

  in order to develop we must face adversity and evil, we need to experience sin to learn that it's wrong.

  need the evil to see the good - they're comparative. goodness wouldn't mean anything without evil.

  we also need free will - to be able to choose to develop towards God's likeness and perfection, but also to be able to choose evil and learn from it. free will allows us autonomy to choose the good (developing our own morals is more valuable than already having them)

  after death, people achieve their potential and become in the likeness of God
• what are some modern developments of irenaeus' soul-making theodicy

  John Hick - world is a 'vale of soul-making' (borrowed from John Keats, an English poet). This world is the best place for us to develop our souls - we need to experience adversity to grow and develop our morals. Life after death is key to this theory - there must be better things to come in death if hardship is faced in life. God created epistemic distance, doesn't intervene too much in our lives and gave us free will so that we have to choose to believe in him and develop alone

  
  

  Richard Swinburne - current world with suffering is the best possible world, in order to deal with and cure evil we must experience it (e.g. we need to experience disease to cure disease). God gave us limited life spans so we can only endure a limited amount of suffering and inflict a limited amount of suffering, humans can make a real impact by improving on evil. suffering allows learning and developing.
• what are some criticisms of irenaeus' theodicy

  - some people suffer more than others, is god unfair?

  - some suffering weakens/makes people worse rather than building character (e.g. mental illness as a result of trauma)

  - if the afterlife doesn't exist there's no justification of evil

  - second order goods don't always come from first order evils

  - evil is unnecessary on such a large scale

  - why should innocent/children/animals suffer when they can never have good come of it

  - if the afterlife does exist, what's the point of all the suffering in this life - surely God could've made it equally as good
• what is the augustinian theodicy

  created by St. Augustine of Hippo, influenced by Plato (believed imperfection was a part of the physical world)

  - believed evil isn't a real quality, but rather a lack (privation) of goodness (aka privatio boni) - means God isn't responsible, as it cannot be created as a thing

  - in the beginning God created a perfect and good world (ie no evil), with humans in His image

  - God created the world with variety - some of his angels therefore had less grace (help from God) than others and became fallen. they then tempted Adam and Eve to commit the original sin - they both chose to turn their back on God, and abuse their free will - this is THE FALL

  - ever since humans have sin innate in them and "evil" was introduced into the world

  - moral evil is the fault of humanity, and natural evil is due to the disruption of natural order in original sin (transgression)

  - God's goodness/mercy can be seen in his opportunity for salvation and repentance - Jesus' death allowed humans the ability for salvation (to reunite with God an have a relationship with him) and allowed humans to enter heaven again

  - in the afterlife we will be sent to heaven/hell depending on whether we obeyed/disobeyed God
• what are some criticisms of the augustinian theodicy

  - evil isn't a lack of goodness (e.g. torture)

  - based on a biblical view of creation (myth, perhaps intended as metaphor), unscientific

  - contradiction to say world was created perfect and then it went wrong, God would've known consequence of free will and that the fall would happen, why would angels fall if world was perfect

  - existence of hell contradicts all loving God

  - the punishment of original sin (evil) is too extensive, outweighs the action of original sin itself

  - why should all of humanity continue to be punished for original sin
• what is the process theodicy (AN Whitehead)

  - reality is a continuous process that humans and God are involved in (ie God has limited power, he's limited by the laws of the universe). every happening is momentary and creates new happenings which is continous

  - sometimes the process produces harmony, and this creates good, and sometimes the process produces discord which creates evil - therefore evil is inevitable in the process

  - God's role in creation was to begin the evolutionary process, meaning he bears some responsibility as he began something he knew he couldn't control, he cannot stop evil

  - God suffers when evil occurs as he is a part of the universe and the process

  - God seeks to maximise the harmony in the universe so that good outweighs evil (he's still benevolent)

  - God created an ordered universe for a reason, because he is loving
• what are some criticisms of the process theodicy

  - challenges the attributes of the Abrahamic God as omnipotent and omniscient

  - unfair, as some suffer more than others and evil isn't necessarily outweighed by good overall

  - no guarantee of an afterlife in this theodicy, so there's nothing to work towards and no promise of something better

  - is this God worthy of worship?
• what is the free will defence theodicy

  - humans can only develop if they are free

  - this world is a necessary environment for this development as humans have to exercise their freedom and choose good or evil

  - evil is a logical consequence of free will

  - life must be limited for humans to take their responsibility of freedom seriously

  - no point in being puppets of God and having no free will
• what are some criticisms of the free will defence theodicy

  - doesn't account for the scale of evil in the world, or natural evil

  - if God is omniscient and we only have two choices (good and evil), are we really free or is freedom an illusion

  - God could've created a world in which we only choose the good

  - some Bible quotes suggest a plan is set out
• what is the Buddhist view on problem of evil

  - evil stems from the 3 fires (human nature)

  - elements of suffering are natural to the human condition but some are self-caused (when we have incorrect perceptions of reality) and are therefore an illusion, which we see in Dukkha and Tanha of the 4 Noble truths

  - can minimise suffering by accepting the realities of life, e.g. sickness, aging, death (4 sights)

  - suffering can cease, evil = psychological and can be extinguished by living the eightfold path, practising the virtues and showing compassion and Ahimsa

  - we cannot fix the world's issues or 'natural evil', but we can have inner transformation

  - suffering isn't soul-making as there is no soul, but we must learn from the events of life

  - we are free, morally autonomous agents

  - e.g. Thich Nhat Hanh told us to listen deeply with compassion