Evil and Suffering

Quote from Epicurus

"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?"

Natural Evil

Evil that results from the works of nature, God designed the natural world which makes God responsible for the evil and suffering that occurs due to natural evil.

Moral Evil

Actions done by humans which cause suffering, This is a problem for God's existence because why doesn't God intervene to prevent these things?

Logical Problem of Evil

The existence of evil makes God's existence logically impossible

Inconsistant Triad

God cannot be both omni-powerful and omni-loving as evil would not exist therefore god can either be all-loving or all-powerful

Example of Evil

7 million people died due to covid-19

What type of argument is the logical problem of evil

Its a deductive and priori argument

The Evidential problem of evil

The existence of evil makes God's existence unlikely.

Weaknesses of the Evidential problem of evil

it is an inductive argument. It regards evil as evidence against God's existence. But doesnt claim that evil logically proves God's non-existence. It makes the lesser

What type of argument is the Evidental problem of evil

its a posteriori and inductive argument

Humes example of an evidental problem of evil

Hume uses animal suffering as an example arguing that god could of created a world where animals dont get hurt and he questions the extremes within nature

Plantinga's "Free Will Defense"

-An argument to justify both the existence of a loving God and the existence of evil.

-It's based on the idea that the world is more valuable when humans can choose either right or wrong

-God has given up control to bring about a greater good.

What does Plantinga free will defense say about natural evil

Natural evil results from either the free will of demons and satan or its a punishment from god from when adam and eve disobeyed him.

What did plantinga say to this question: "Why did God give us free will. Wouldn't it have been better for us to live in a perfectly good world yet not have free will?"

Plantinga says if God didn't give us free will, our universe would have no value. Therefore, value itself would not be possible without evil.

Quote for free will defense

"a runaway horse is better than a stone" - Augustine

a creature (horse) is more excellent than that which sins by free will than that which does not sin only because it has no free will.

why does God allow evil?

Teaches us moral responsiblity

Mackies's rejection of the free will defense

1) It is logically possible for a person to make free, good choices all the time.

2) God could of created humans so that they could only make those choices

3) God did not do so

Therefore;

1) Either god lacks the power to do so or

2) Gods not loving enough

3) Either way the free will defence fails.

Mackie's conculsion

4) God doesn't exist

Stengths of Free Will Defense

1. A world with genuine free will is more valuble than one without where humans are in effect robots.

2. It is consistent with St Augustines teachings on the cause of natural evil.

3. Crimal justice system works on the bases that we have free will.

Hick's "Soul Making Theodicy"

-Hick rejected Augustine's argument about the fall

-Hicks argues god made us imperfect on purpose because

God wants us to attain true happiness through suffering ("soul-making"), and that evil is a by-product of where we are in the development of the soul

-we are made in the image of God but must grow in life into his likeness, with maturity and control

Why did Hick reject Augustines argument about the Fall

• Hick claims that Augustine's argument is no longer credible as it places the origin of evil and suffering in the mythological story of Adam and Eve, he even says its "utterly unacceptable"