Job and Evil Bible as Literature

Theodicy Theodicy attempts to explain the evils of history, attempting a reconciliation with a benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent God. An attempt to reconcile the co-existence of evil and God is therefore called a “theodicy.” Theodicy comes from the Greek for god (theos) and justice (dike).

Polytheism In polytheistic religions gods are neither omnipotent nor omniscient Further, there are good gods and evil gods In Hinduism, the doctrines of samsarra and karma are used to explain the existence of evil

Dualism Dualistic religions posit two gods or forces, one good, one evil to explain evil in history Zoroastrianism—Ahura Mazda (creator) and Angra Mainyu (evil spirit) who use the world as their battleground, both of whom existed since the beginning of the world. Eventually, though Ahura Mazda will win out

Dualism, cont. Manicheanism: two natures that existed from the beginning—light and darkness. The realm of light lived in peace, realm of darkness in constant battle with itself. The universe is the result of an attack of darkness on the realm of light The human person is the battleground: the good part is the soul, the bad part is the body One achieves salvation through identification with the soul rather than the body

Dualism, cont. Marcionism: Marcion, a 1st century Christian posits two gods—the evil god of the Old Testament and the good god of the New Testament. The evil god was responsible for creating the world with all its evils, while the good god sent Jesus to save us from the evil world. Marcionism was condemned as heresy by the church and eventually died out

Atheism Atheists often use evil as a way of showing why they believe God doesn’t exist. Other more complicated formulas exist, but you get the idea: an omniscient, omnipotent God and evil cannot co-exist

Monotheism Monotheism has particular problems explaining evil and God Calvinism—TULIP Open theism or libertarian free will—God’s goodness is displayed in the creation of beings with free will Modified dualism—since the powers of good and evil are unequal, the evil power is tolerated by the good power

Monotheism, cont. Ontology: God “necessarily” exists, so the proposition that god doesn’t exist is refuted Soul-making: evil is necessary so that people can undergo spiritual growth through enacting their own free will God's ultimate purpose is to glorify himself (which, by definition, he alone is infinitely entitled to, without vanity). He allows evil to exist so that humanity will appreciate goodness all the more.

Monotheism, cont. God created perfect angels and humans with free will. Some of them began to sin and lost their perfection, which resulted in evildoing and death. For a while God will allow this to continue, so that it can be shown that his creations can not be happy while independent from God.

Monotheism, cont. God is a righteous judge; people get what they deserve. If someone suffers, that is because they committed a sin that merits such punishment. (This is also known as the just world hypothesis or retributive justice)

Monotheism, cont. God's divine plan is good. What we see as evil is not really evil; rather, it is part of a divine design that is actually good. Our limitations prevent us from seeing the big picture. A related posture holds that no theodicy is needed or even appropriate. God, if he exists, is so far superior to man, that he cannot be judged by man. Man's assumption that he can tell God what a benevolent and all-powerful god can or cannot do, is mere arrogance

Monotheism, cont. Human evil vs. natural evil—what is “evil” really? The paradox of omnipotence—can an omnipotent god make things he can subsequently not control or make rules that bind him and limit his future actions? Or is god not really omnipotent or omniscient?

Three Perspectives in Job Suffering as a recompense for sin (8:2-7) Suffering as a test of fidelity (1:8-12, 1:21, 2:10) Suffering as submission to the mystery of God’s sovereignty (31:25- 37; 38:2-7, 16-18; 40:7-8, 42:1-6)