...Solving the Problem: Irenaean Theodicy Philosophy * Irenaean theodicy is often referred to as ‘soul-making’ as it is concerned with the development of human souls. * Like Augustine, Irenaeus argued that evil is the consequence of human free will and disobedience. * However, unlike Augustine, Irenaeus believed that God was partly responsible for evil and suffering. * Irenaeus argued that God created the world imperfectly so that imperfect immature beings could develop through a soul-making process into a ‘child of God,’ in his perfect likeness. * For Irenaeus, God could not have created humans in his perfect likeness of himself because attaining the likeness of God requires the willing co-operation of humans. * God thus had to give humans free will in order for them to be able to willingly co-operate. * Since freedom requires the ability to choose good over evil, God had to permit evil and suffering to occur * Irenaeus concluded that eventually evil and suffering will be overcome and humans will develop into a perfect likeness of God, and everyone will have eternal life in heaven. Hicks reformation of the Irenaean Theodicy * John Hick highlighted the importance of God allowing humans to develop themselves * He reasoned that if God made us perfect, then we would have the goodness of robot, which would love God automatically without any further deliberation. * God wants humans to be genuinely loving and therefore gives them free will. * If...
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...may be explained by the contrast theodicy that God may have reasons for evil in society. An example of a contrast theodicy would be that bad things happen to good people and is the connection between evil and God’s intent of good. People also question why God does not take away the suffering of people from the world. Again, a theodicy can give an explanation to this question. The big-plan theodicy explains that suffering may be part of God’s big plan and needs to happen for good of humanity. There are two...
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...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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...Pcantan2 Turabian Writing 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...
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...Name: Lauren Abbe Writing Style Used: MLA Course and Section Number: THEO 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...
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...LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SCHOOL OF 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....
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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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...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 God if all of his wealth is taken from him. God’s role throughout the narrative is one of an overseer or mediator. God sets the stage and all of the actions...
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...Pain and Pleasure:An Evidential for Theists Problem PAUL DRAPER FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY I. THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM I will argue in this paper that our knowledge about pain and pleasure creates an epistemic problem for theists. The problem is not that some proposition about pain and pleasure can be shown to be both true and logically inconsistent with theism. Rather, the problem is evidential. A statement reporting the observations and testimony upon which our knowledge about pain and pleasure is based bears a certain significant negative evidential relation to theism.' And because of this, we have a prima facie good epistemic reason to reject theism-that is, a reason that is sufficient for rejecting theism unless overridden by other reasons for not rejecting theism. By "theism" I mean the following statement: There exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person who created the Universe. I will use the word "God" as a title rather than as a proper name, and I will stipulate that necessary and sufficient conditions for bearing this title are that one be an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person who created the Universe. Given this (probably technical) use of the term "God," theism is the statement that God exists. Some philosophers believe that the evils we find in the world create an evidential problem for theists because theism fails to explain these evils (or most of what we know about them). (See, for example, (Hare 1968).) This position...
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... 201540 Fall 2015 THEO 202-B26 LUO The Problem of Evil Evil is profoundly immoral and malevolent. Most Christians have experienced, heard or seen various types of evils in the world today. As a matter of fact, some believers have difficulties watching bad news on television, such as a moral evil when a person killed another person and natural evil when an earthquake is experienced killing people. These evils are pains in the flesh of believers. Theodicy are getting confused and asking why God allow evil in the world when He is holy and all powerful. God speaks through his prophets as well as the Holy Bible and scripture verses to confirm his creation and relationship with mankind (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 5:2; Deut. 4:33; NKJV). God realized man should not be alone and made a companion called Eve. God gave man demeanor over all creatures and commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Life. God said to Adam in Genesis 3:16-20 that “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and...
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...world. First you must understand the difference between moral and natural evil. Moral evil is something one is responsible for; including crime, discrimination, slavery, genocide and other injustices. Whereas nature evil is evil that is unexpected or just happens. This could be destructive events, being diagnosed with a sickness or something as simple as a flat tire. When natural evil happens, that is usually when one asks God “Why me? What did I do to deserve this evil?” Hard to remember that God does not make evil happen to us, however; He may allow it to happen in order for us to grow stronger with Him. At times when evil has brought us down to our knees, all we can do is ask God for help, and that is why He allows evil to happen. THEODICY Everyday people are experience a form of personal evil which disturb their relationship with God. As I said previously majority of the time when evil happens to us we ask God “Why me? What did I do to deserve this evil?”. We have to remember that God has a plan for us and the evil can be for a couple different reasons. The evil may be to detour you to your future destination, show you your calling to help others, may seem evil to you but you are actually being protected from worse evil that may have happened if you were not in...
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...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 may also question believers to stop believing and question the existence of god, as they may believe that if evil exists, then God can not, as the God of classical theism would not allow evil to happen. A solution to the problem of evil is the Augustinian theodicy. Augustine begins by saying that the universe was created perfectly and all...
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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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...philosophers have tried to answer, each with their own set of ideas. These answers are known as theodicies. Augustine, Irenaeus, Leibniz, Plantinga and Hick are philosophers whose ideas or theodicies are popular. However upon deeper though of each answer, flaws and strengths can be found. Irenaeus was born in 130ce and died in 202ce. Irenaeus's theodicy states that humans were created in the image of God but not in his likeness. Thus, God allows evil and suffering in the world in order to develop our moral character (the ‘likeness’ of God). This theodicy has its strengths and weaknesses. It blames evil’s existence as a cause by humans and not something caused by God who is all-knowing, all-powerful and all mighty. This allows humans to decide their fate and therefore supports the idea of freedom. As another philosopher, John Hick (however originally thought of by John Keates), puts it, the world is a “vale of soul-making” . However is it justifiable to explain away evil with the concept of soul-making? Some, like Christians, might accept this, thinking that suffering is mitigated by the fact that it is only temporary and that, in the end, all will be well when “God shall wipe away all tears” (Rev. 21.4). This theodicy also brings along the question, why doesn't an all-knowing, all-powerful and all mighty God create humans morally right and not allow humans to go astray? Another famous theodicy is that of Saint Augustines. Saint Augustine was born in 354ce and died in 430 ce. Saint...
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...Theology Revision Plato Plato lived in Athens in the 5th and 4th Centuries BC He was the student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle He was a dualist- believed in the body and the soul He believed the soul was more perfect than the body He believed that societies should be run by philosophers He believed the physical world is a pale imitation of the world of the forms The allegory of the cave The prisoners- normal people of society The prisoner who escapes- philosophers, people that thirst to know the real truth The people casting the shadows- the leaders of society- shaping the world without knowing the truth The shadows/statues- what people believe is reality, what they are told to believe, things people deem to be important The cave- a world without knowledge, the physical world/the body The fire- controlled, dim light- limited knowledge. An imitation of the form of the good The journey outside- a difficult journey, acquisition of knowledge The sun- illuminates the true world- form of the good The journey back into the cave- the desire to educate and inform others of the truth The world of the Forms Forms Plato uses the word ‘form’ to describe the true essence of material objects in the world This idea of the ‘form’ exists in a non physical (yet more real) realm that can only be understood by the mind. This is called the world of the forms Plato believed that the forms were interrelated and hierarchical The highest form The ultimate principle...
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