Theodicies are attempts by believers to explain why God allows suffering
Augustine’s theodicy:
God made everything perfect ‘God saw all that he had made and it was very good‘
Evil is not real, what we know to be evil is actually (privatio boni)the privation of good
Evil first came into the world through the fall of the angles, angels were created perfect but fell away from god due to the miss use of their free will, choosing not to worship but rival God
This was repeated in the fall of Adam and eve
“Free will is the cause of our doing evil“-St. Augustine confessions
Augustines theodicy strengths:
Biblically based meaning it will appeal to the Christians with conservative/creationist beliefs
By claiming evil doesn’t exist it can solve the inconsistent triad
Augustine’s theodicyweaknesses:
Seems counterintuitive to suggest to someone suffering that evil and suffering doesn’t exist
Concept of original sin seems unfair and undermines Gods omnibenevolence
Augustine theory lack coherence as he suggests evil doesn’t exist but then he says it does and acts as a punishment
Gods omniscience is threatened as why knowingly would he allow for Adam and eves mistake if he knew all the evil that would follow it
Mackie says it could be logical for God to create free being who wouldn't fall or choose evil. Choose being good and a lesser good
The irenaus theodicy:
Does not believe that humans/world was made perfect
To develop we need to live in a world with challenges
We need evil in the world to develop as free individuals who can make moral decisions
we were made in Gods image and we have to grow into his likeness
This likeness has to be earned
Humaninty is not capable in this world of being in the likeness of Gods, only happens after death
John hick ‘soul making‘ theodicy:
Took influence from Irenaeus Theodicy
Describes the world as a ‘vale for soul making‘
God deliberately gave us free will give choose a loving relationship with him
This comes with struggles and hardships and includes the epistemic distance
Meaning a distance in knowledge and understanding between us and God
This epistemically distance and free will allows humans to misuse it and commit human evil
Strengths of Irenaeus/Hick:
Peter Vardy analogy of peasant girl and king, the king could have commanded the peasent girl to marry him but instead makes her fall in love with him, this is a good use of his free will
Richard swinburne suggests that without evil we would not mature and God intervening all the time would make him an ‘over protective parent‘ and therefore we cannot develop our souls
Gill edwareds says that qualities such as courage and trust can only come about through suffering
Weaknesses of Irenaeus/Hick:
The extent and severity of suffering
The challenges of the world do not always result in genuine human development
Pointless evil- minority may develop but the majority have gone through pointless suffering
D.Z Phillips argued that allowing suffering can never be regarded as a loving plan, also argues that Gods plan is flawed as allowing so many people to suffer for free will doesn’t seem right
Animal suffering, they are not going to develop
Hicks view of salvation undermines Jesus sacrifice