...Style THEO 202-B17 Hamartiology: The Problem of Evil (Theodicy) You would have to ask yourself, why does a God who is all-loving and all-powerful, allow evil to exist in a world that was divinely created by Him? Because when you ponder the problem of evil, it is the most obvious and serious challenge to belief (Faith) in God and His existence, which is why religious scholars have dedicated so much effort towards resolving it. Elwell states, “The phrase ‘the problem of evil’ is a label for a series of such problems involving good and evil.”[1] But the problem with evil is if an omnipotent and omniscient God exists, then there should be no reason God would tolerate such pain and suffering. Evil acts, thoughts, and words will always separate us from God, which was established from the beginning with Adam and Eve. Isaiah 59:2 says “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”[2] This is the only thing that separates us from God and causes Him to turn His face away from men. However, evil would have never existed had Adam and Eve not sinned and opened the door for it to enter the world upon all men (Romans 5:12).[3] The resolution then is to be united back to God, who is the source of eternal life, through His Son Jesus, (1 Jn.5:20; Jn.17:2-3). The biggest problem today, among believers and non-believers, is that they are blinded to what evil is and what it does (2 Cor.4:4). And according...
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...Short Essay #1 Hamartiology: The Problem of Evil (Theodicy) The problem with evil is that it is hard to believe that in a world created by a God that is supposed to be an all loving all power full God then why would he allow evil to be in the world. Why would he allow for killings and cancer and natural disasters? Evil is a byproduct of free will, because we are free to choose between doing the right thing, that equates to good, and doing the wrong thing, equating to evil. If God didn't give us our own free will to choose right and wrong we would be like robots being controlled and told what to do. God then did give a gift that was good we as humans misused it and therefore have to suffer the consciences of the evil in this world. Now there are two types of evil in this world moral and natural. These two evils are distinct but not separate.[1] Natural sin the result of moral sin. For example, we are told to obey our mother and father and not pay in the road, but if we disobey and play in the road we are committing moral sin. Now by playing in the road you get hit by a car and become paralyzed that is natural evil. The reason you are paralyzed is because of your moral sin of disobeying. There are a couple of ways you can look at why there is evil in the world, one being the theodicy of Gottfried Leibniz. Leibniz believes that God is obligated to create the best.[2] I believe this to be a true statement for God did create the best when he created humans in his image which...
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...202: B16 Essay on Hamartiology: The Problem of Evil (Theodicy) Evil is something that has existed since the beginning of time and is hard to understand its depths because we are so immune to it. God gave us free will and the power to choose, but we continue to choose sin. This paper will seek to explain why there is sin and what the real root of it is. It will help explain why bad things happen and how it might affect one’s relationship with God. The problem of evil happened when Eve believed Satan and ate the fruit from the tree. God does not cause evil and never will. This problem has caused many people to think that our God would want us to suffer and go through pain, but that in fact is not the case. God hates to see us in these types of states, but there is nothing He can do when we choose it for ourselves. We are a selfish and independent world that thinks we can survive and live a blessed life without God or the help of someone greater than ourselves. Without God and without listening to the Holy Spirit, there is no way the problem of evil will get any better; yet it will continue to decline. There are two different types of evil: moral and natural. Natural evil is the consequence of moral evil. Moral evil would be something deliberate such as stealing or murder. Because of these deliberate acts of evil, natural evil occurs. A form of natural evil would be something like hurricanes, poverty, etc. Natural evil is not specifically caused by someone...
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...THEOLOGY THEODICY/ THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: A RESULT OF GOD’S DIVINE PLAN OR AN ACT OF MAN’S FREE WILL A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. TODD S. BUCK IN PARTIAL FULFILLLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CLASS SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY I THEO 525 BY JOHN S. POPE JR LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA May 11, 2013 Table of Contents Introduction Definition of Theodicy……………………………………………………………………….2 Divine Providence..............…………………………………………………………………..3 God’s Sovereignty/Man’s Free Will………………………………………………………...5 Conclusion…...………………......……………………………………………………….....10 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………...12 The human race is afflicted by kidnappings, poverty, murder and oppression. The question men have struggled with is how can a good God allow such evil to continue? On a moral level, an even better question would be is the evil man experiences at the hands of other men, a result of God’s divine plan or the effect of man’s free will? Answering these questions is important because uncovering the reason for ongoing evil has challenged some to the point, they have denied their faith and joined a corps of atheists who promote the idea that the presence of suffering, pain and evil are the best testament to a non-existent God. When arguing against the existence of God, one might be presented with attempts to use His divine attributes of omnipotence (all powerful), omniscience (all knowing) and omnibenevolence (all good) against Him. The dilemma of the presence of evil in the midst...
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...What is meant by the problem of suffering for religious believers? Examine two solutions to this problem. The concept of evil and suffering is generally seen as a serious problem for religious believers. Evil and suffering can be seen to pose strong challenges against the existence of a God, more specifically an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. Whilst John Hick describes evil and suffering as “physical pain, mental suffering and moral wickedness”, the problem is widely seen to refer to the existence of both natural evil, such as natural disasters, and moral evil, heartless actions such as murder, along with the suffering that is often a result of these. Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the problem of suffering, the issue suggests that only two of the three features of the God of classical theism can be possible. If God is omniscient, he is all knowing and is knowledgeable of the suffering that exists. If God is omnipotent, then he must have the power to stop this suffering, and if he is an omnibenevolent, all-loving God, he must wish to stop this suffering. The existence of suffering suggests that God cannot be omniscient and omnipotent and still be omnibenevolent in agreement. As David Hume describes, God must be either malevolent or powerless for the other two features to remain applicable. Aquinas also argued this case, but referred to the idea that “the name of God means that He is infinite goodness”, which signifies that a God that did not meet...
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...Hamartiology: The Problem of Evil (Theodicy) – Your neighbor Sam greets you outside as you return home from church one Sunday. After the usual chitchat, he confides in you that he has been troubled with the news, recent reports of natural catastrophes, wars, disease, and so on. He asks if you could help him make sense of the presence of evil in the world - if indeed God exists. Keeping this scenario in mind, answer the following questions in your essay: • What is the problem of evil? • Define moral evil and natural evil, and illustrate them with examples. • Seek to explain why there is sin among mankind (the philosophical problem of moral evil) and why bad things happen in nature (the philosophical problem of natural evil). Consider the various theodicies presented in the reading, and address the merits and faults of each one. • Briefly explain why a theodicy must be internally consistent, and defend the internal consistency of your explanation of evil’s existence. • Consider how personal experience of evil may affect one’s relationship with God (the religious problem of evil). Do you believe someone can dispute a certain belief about God without actually attacking God Himself? Sam, evil in the world is a problem that exists. Even someone, like yourself, who is unsure of the existence of God recognizes a problem with a blemish in what seems to be an otherwise perfect world. I think you could agree that if evil was removed from the world, it would be near perfect...
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...An Essay about the Problem of Evil The problem of evil is a question that inevitably arises as people begin to argue the existence of a God, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omni-benevolent when the world is filled with undesirable state of affairs (evil). Atheistic proponents, in particular, argue that a perfect God would not be able to withstand such existence of evil. Therefore, they contend that God could not possibly exist. The responses against the problem of evil are generally divided as theodicies or defenses. While defenses only aim to prove that it is logical for God and evil to exist together, theodicies have a higher intention of finding a plausible justification of the existence of evil to support the premise that God is ultimately...
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...The Problem of Evil (Theodicy) An age-old question that has been and is being asked from various religions, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds is how can a loving and good God allow evil to come into the world? It is a problem that has come up several times by mostly atheists and non-believers, but few Christians are asking it as well. This paper is going to address the problem of evil, why bad things happen to good people, and state the theodicies that explain and answer the problem. The problem of evil has been brought up and used as an argument by non-believers for a long time. How can a loving and good God allow evil to come into the world? They claim that these two Christian beliefs are self-contradictory and that nothing can make sense of it. They state that Christians believe that God is all-powerful, that God is good and loves His people, and that an all-powerful God is capable of doing anything and everything. They say that This question has been used to unjustifiably contradict the Christian worldview in its attempt to prove that it is flawed. They are biased and desire to convince other people and themselves that their worldview is correct by discrediting the Christian religion and/or the Bible. (Feinberg, 414). The deductive reasoning that atheists have are that if God is all powerful, kind and generous, humans are the cause of evil, an all powerful God is fully capable of doing anything and everything, then God should be able to remove evil and...
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...everything exists within Brahman, they teach that suffering and evil become part of the diversity of the cosmos united in Brahman. They agree with Buddhism and say that suffering is brought by becoming attached to wealth and status. Suffering is seen as evidence of bad karma from previous lives in Samsara and is inevitably part of existence and not a problem for Hindu beliefs, as they can gain good karma again. Buddhism teaches that suffering is usually caused by the way humans become attached to material objects and their status in life. Suffering in their religion is placed at the core of...
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...seen as a problem for a religious believer? Give an account of two solutions to this problem. (21) (ii) To what extent is one of these solutions more convincing than the other? (9) i) Suffering may be seen as a problem for religious believers because it may make them question the existence or qualities of the God of classical theism. For example, the inconsistent triad as proposed by J.L. Mackie has three different corners, where it is impossible for all three corners to be true at the same time. The corners of the triangle are “god is omnibenevolent”, “God is omnipotent” and “evil exists”. If God was omnibenevolent he would not want evil to happen, and if he was omnipotent he would have the power to stop evil from happening. Therefore, as evil exists, one of these qualities must be false which means the God of classical theism cannot exist. This is known as the theological problem. If God is not all powerful or perfectly good, it forces the question of whether he is worthy of worship. If God does not possess the qualities that define him as God what is the purpose of worshipping him as a God. Another problem for religious believers is that if God is omniscient he knows everything that has happened and that will happen. Therefore, he knows when evil is about to happen and yet does not do anything to prevent it. This presents another problem that God may also not be omniscient, which again, brings us to question whether he should be worshipped at all. Evil and suffering...
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...Book of Job is one of the most compelling due to its unique literary style and the complex treatment of the issue of suffering. Unlike other books of the Bible, The Book of Job details a conflict between man and God within a poetic structure, and is the only book in the Bible to take on the problem of suffering as its main purpose. Throughout the book, Job pleads to God for all of the misfortunes that have befallen him. This type of discourse found in Job cannot be found anywhere else in scripture. Upon examination of the roles of protagonist and antagonist, it becomes apparent that the roles may be alternated between Job and Satan. Moreover, different conclusions and interpretations of the book can be made. Theological complications due to the existence of evil in a world ruled by an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent god will be attempted to be reconciled by theodicy. As coined by Gottfried Leibniz, theodicy is a branch of apologetics which attempts to reconcile the apparent evil in the world with God’s benevolent nature. Job’s nature and wealth is described in the first three verses of the book. He is depicted as “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). It would seem unlikely that Job would ever find himself on the negative side of God, but this seems to be exactly what has happened. In the dialogue between God and Satan (Job 1:7-12), a contest is put forth to test Job’s devotion to God. Satan argues that Job will turn from...
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...The problem of evil and suffering is that it challenges the existence of God. J.L Mackie argued that the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God was not compatible because of the existence of evil, this created the inconsistent triad. Mackie said that “if God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent how can there be evil and suffering in the world”. An all powerful God could stop evil, yet it exists. An all loving God would want to stop evil, yet it exists. Evil doesn’t exist as an entity on its own. As evil is the absence of good, it is the darkness in our lives. God has the power and inclination to stop suffering, yet evil exists. There are two types of evil that cause suffering, these being natural evil and moral evil. Natural evil is that of the natural world such as, floods, diseases and earthquakes. Moral evil is humans doing immoral actions, such as 9/11 bombings or the Holocaust. These horrific events were carried out by humans. God allowed us to have free will so moral evil challenges God’s nature as God allowed these incidents to occur which caused many innocent people to suffer and die. If God was all loving then surely God would want to put an end to evil and suffering? Incidents like these bring about questions about God’s goodness and causes some people to believe that God is not all good. As an imperfect God is not of classical theism, some believers could say this God is not worth worshipping if that God isn't omnibenevolent. A solution to the problem...
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...Short Essay on the Hamartiology: Problem of Evil The question of evil is a common hot button topic among atheists and non-Christians who attempt to disprove Christianity. They argue that an omnipotent and omniscient God cannot exist in a world with so much evil. The argument is used by them to prove that Christianity is “internally self-contradictory and thereby to be rejected” (Feinberg, 413). So, the problem of evil is explaining that a perfect, all-powerful, and all-loving God can exist in a world with so evil. First, natural and moral evil need to be distinguished. Natural evil is defined as “evil which occurs in the process of the functioning of the natural order” (Feinberg, 414). People are not responsible for these happenings; they are simply victims and no one is to blame. The devastation that resulted from Hurricane Sandy is a perfect example of such evil, along with afflictions such as cancer and earthquakes. Moral evil, on the other hand, is defined as “evil produced by activities of moral agents” (Feinberg, 414). This evil stems from intentional action, such as murder, stealing, and adultery. Natural evil is part of the consequences of moral evil that resulted from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The vast amount of evil that exists in the world is not because God created it, but because man allowed it. Man was not created with a built-in evil nature; he was created with a free will that was exercised to purposefully sin. God gave Adam a choice to do...
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...of the existence of the Universe, and all of its constituents. One of the constituents is the existence of evil. The problem that theists face is, an argument that both atheists and anti-theists use to criticise religion, and question against God; How come Omni-potent God and Omni-Benevolent God, can exist alongside the existence of both Natural and Moral Evil, or at least tolerate it’s occurrence. This comes in the form of the ‘inconsistent triad’ in which , if one were take out either one of the 2 tributes of God, could solve the existence of Evil. To elaborate, if God was omnipotent, though not Omni-benevolent, it would explain, that this God is either Tyrannical, or in a way at the least Sadistic, resembling the God of the Old Testament. On the other hand, if God is Omni-benevolent, he would love humanity, yet does not have the power, to directly prevent it from happening to humanity. Many scholars and theologians, have attempted at solving the problem of evil using theodicies (Justifying the existence of God in the face of evil), two of which were concocted by Irenaean and Leibniz, but include theodicies by St. Augustine and Alfred Whiteheads’ Process theodicy. Irenaeus’ theodicy, argued (like St. Augustine) that moral evil, is the doing of man, by being deviant in their belief in God and faith. However, he argued that God is at least partly to blame for the evil and suffering in this world, by creating the world imperfectly deliberately. Iranaeus; reasoning was that so...
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...Hamartiology: The Problem of Evil (Theodicy)] [Write your essay here, which must contain 600–800 words for the first 3 Short Essays.] Word count: [Post the word count of just your actual essay, not including title.] The problem of evil is perceived to be portrayed by the following propositions: 1, God is omnipotent; 2, God is wholly benevolent; 3, evil consequences that result from the actions and events befall mankind; 4, the omnipotent being of 1 and 2 eliminates all the evil that he can; 5, there are no nonlogical limits to what an omnipotent being can do; 6, so God will therefore eliminate every evil that is logically possible for him to remove (Elwell, pg. 413). The prepositions 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 would mean that 3 is negated making the six points self-contradictory. In the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, we find two types of evil; the bad (or moral evil) and the harmful (natural evil). These two evils are distinct from eachother but, you cannot seperate them. Natural evil is the consequence of moral evil. Moral evil is when man breaks God's law and natural evil is a result of mankind's sinful nature. Adam brought on God's curse on mankind and the world when he willfuly disobeyed God. With this disobedience, man invited sin and corruption into God's perfect creation. A theodicy is a defensive position on the goodness and omnipotence of God in view of the existence of evil. Many such theodicies exist with scientists, philosophers, and theist. One theodicy, from Gottfried...
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