Explanations

• Problem of Evil

  • challenge is that the presence of evil and suffering in the world, a lot of it is innocent suffering
  • contradicts the belief of an omnipotent and omni benevolent God - God of classical theism
• Premise 1 God is omnipotent

  Premise 2 God is omnibenevolent

  Premise 3 God opposes evil

  Conclusion Therefore evil does not exist in the world
• Valid argument - theist agree with the premises of the argument

  • however most would admit that evil does not exist
• Epicurus

  • first formulated the Problem of Evil
• JL Mackie's argument that the three propositions compromising the problem of evil form an inconsistent triad

  • triangle highlights that if you combine any two then you have to deny the third
• Leads us to suggest

  • God is not perfectly good/loving - he is morally imperfect and therefore not worthy of our worship
  • led to the development of 'protest theodicy' as demonstrated by Elie Wiesel
  • tells us story of 3 rabis in Auschwitz who put God on trial and found him guilty
  • Seen in scriptures when Moses, Abraham and Job contend with God
• God is not all powerful

  • he is incapable of destroying evil
  • dualists see good and evil in constant conflict in the universe and that God represents the good side
  • however this view limits God's power and he is not in control of events, only being able to lead them towards good
• Does evil exist

  • there is no evil - Monists claim that the universe is a single harmonious unity that is good so evil is a mere illusion in our minds
  • evil causes a feeling of suffering because we cannot see the whole picture
  • However this raises problems because we have real experience of evil and suffering
• • there is no God - for atheists evil is convincing evidence that God does not exist
  • our view of evil is distorted - hindus thought evil is an illusion brought about by human greed - can be overcome through good karma
• The reality of evil

  • for monotheistic religions there is no suggestion that evil is an illustration
  • scriptures tell of the mixture of good and evil in human experience
  • eg. New Testament shows suffering as an important part of Jesus' ministry
• Does evil have a purpose

  1. evil is a punishment - original sin, adam and eve sent to earth
  2. evil is a test - story of Job
  3. evil is inevitable - natural evil eg earth quakes
  4. evil allows god's love to be displayed - Job was rewarded
• Theodicies

  • an attempt at a solution to the problem of evil
• Rules of theodicies

  1. does not deny the existence of evil
  2. does not qualify the nature of God
  3. does not advocate giving up faith when faced with evil and suffering