evil & suffering

• Theodicy is the specific term given to a vindication (defence) of God against accusations of evil and suffering
• Types of evil


  • Moral Evil: evil actions deliberately carried out by people that bring suffering to others (e.g., murder, theft, the Holocaust, slavery)
  • Natural Evil: evil that is beyond the control of humans (e.g., famine, natural disasters, disease, the Black Death)
• Eschatology


  Theology concerned with death, judgment, and the afterlife
• The Fall


  Relating to the fall of mankind with Adam and Eve's disobedience
• The Inconsistent Triad: Evil exists, God is all-powerful, God is all-loving - all three cannot co-exist
• Epicurean Paradox: '"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" - Epicurus (Ancient Greek Philosopher)'
• J.L. Mackie phrased the logical problem of evil using the inconsistent triad, suggesting a flaw in the beliefs of theists
• Augustine argued that evil is privatio boni, the absence of good, and evil does not exist in its own right
• John Hick rejected Augustine's traditional explanation of evil and proposed an eschatological solution and the vale of soul-making
• John Hick's belief


  • Humans have the capacity to become closer to God through suffering and challenges, similar to how responsible parents allow children to make mistakes to learn and mature
• John Hick's belief


  • The existence of heaven acts as a reward for humans once they have developed the ability to deal with suffering, rejecting the doctrine of hell
• John Hick's belief


  • The world and the evil within it exist for soul-making, and there is an epistemic distance where God keeps himself hidden to allow free moral choices
• John Hick's belief


  The world and the evil within it exist for soul-making
• John Hick's belief


  God keeps himself hidden to allow free moral choices
• John Hick's theodicy fits within theific theory
• Any form of evil including animal/natural suffering can be justified
• The ends justify the means: 'Heaven assigns a purpose to suffering where eternal joy is worth the price'
• We all know that humans learn from challenges/mistakes
• Perhaps morality is developed in the same way
• His theodicy fits within theories of moral and human development
• Arguments regarding hell remove the criticism of God as being a malevolent ruler unfairly punishing his children
• Weakness: The epistemic distance between God and humans does not explain animal suffering
• If heaven is the reward, the contractual reward for humans to approve of suffering - then is it worth it and did we consent to this contract?
• If all humans exist to develop their character and being saved, then what was the point of Jesus' sacrifice?
• If God wanted a Kingdom of spiritually mature people deserving of heaven, could he not have made them in this way?
• The evidential problem of evil is that if God is omniscient, then at the point of creation, surely God would have known about the sheer volume of evil in the future
• There are two types of evil which supply evidence: 1) evil that is overwhelming in quantity and quality, 2) evil that is pointless because it serves no useful purpose
• Overwhelming evil is where evil is so great in quantity and power that we question its necessity
• Pointless evil is suffering for suffering's sake, where no good comes from it
• Rowe suggested a scenario where a fawn is trapped, forcibly burned, and lies in agony days before death provides relief, with no human knowing about it or any good coming from it
• If God knew that overwhelming and pointless evil would occur, why create a universe where his children would experience it?
• If God's will includes overwhelming and pointless evil, then he asks too high a price to get into heaven
• Stephen Fry's quote questions if one would want to get into heaven on God's terms
• The Free Will Defence: 1. God gave up control over human beings to bring about a greater good. 2. Human wills are free to develop characteristics through good actions. 3. Pain and suffering help stimulate situations where decisions have to be made. 4. Evil is the price to pay for free will, but free will is worth it because of the positive qualities we develop
• Explained by Mackie: First-order goods are pleas
• Pain and suffering helps stimulate situations where decisions have to be made
• Evil is the price to pay for free will, but free will is worth it because of the positive qualities we develop
• Explained by Mackie


  1. First order goods are pleasure and happiness individual goods

  2. Second order goods are sympathy, kindness, honesty

  3. Third order goods involve the freedom to choose to do the Second Order Goods instead of evil

  4. Fourth order goods permit freedom
• Mackie's Rejection:
• If we have free will, it is logically possible that a person could choose to do good all of the time