THE PROBLEM OF EVIL AND SUFFERING

Mackie’s Inconsistent Triad ESSENTIAL IDEAS Natural Evil Things that happen naturally such as natural disasters, eg earthquakes Moral Evil Things that happen as a result of human choice, eg murder Mackie’s Inconsistent Triad The idea that an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God does not work with the existence of evil Christianity Evil is a punishment for sin – Augustine Moral evil is the result of human free will - Ireneaus Islam Evil is either a test or punishment from Allah Hinduism Evil is not God’s fault, it is the result of a person’s own karma from a previous life Augustine Evil is a punishment for sin Strength Removes the blame from God Weakness Why do the innocent suffer? Ireneaus Evil and suffering exist to help make us better people Evil and suffering don’t necessarily make someone a better person Process God did not create the world but he did set evolution in motion Not dependent on the God of classical theism so we don’t need to rationalise the existence of evil with an all loving and powerful God. Removes the promise of reward for those who have suffered

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – THE PROBLEM OF EVIL Explain what is meant by natural evil and give an example Explain what is meant by moral evil and give an example Explain how Mackie’s inconsistent triad works

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – RELIGIOUS VIEWS Explain the two main Christian views on evil Explain the Islamic view of evil Explain the Hindu view of evil

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – AUGUSTINE What does Augustine mean by the idea that evil is ‘a privation of good’? Where does Augustine say that evil comes from and why is God justified in allowing it? Why does Augustine think that people who suffer deserve it? Under this theodicy, how is God still all loving?

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – AUGUSTINE Give 3 strengths of Augustine’s theodicy What are the 3 problems with Augustine describing that God created the world as perfect? What is contradictory to the Bible as regards evil only being the privation of good? What are the 2 problems with describing suffering as a punishment for sin?

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – IRENEAUS Why did Ireneaus believe that God allowed evil and suffering to exist? Why did Ireneaus believe that free will was important? What did Hick say about ‘soul making’? Why shouldn’t God interfere with the laws of science and nature according to this theodicy?

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – IRENEAUS Give the 3 strengths of the Irenean theodicy What is problematic about the claim that suffering makes someone a better person? How does the Holocaust challenge the Irenean theodicy How does the suffering of babies and young children challenge the Irenean theodicy?

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – PROCESS THEODICY What are the major differences between Process Theodicy and the Augustinian and Irenean Theodicies? How is God limited in Process Theodicy? How does Process Theodicy argue that God is partly responsible for evil? How could God be vindicated (excused) for his supposed part in creating evil?

ESSENTIAL IDEAS – PROCESS THEODICY Give 2 strengths of Process Theodicy What are the implications of saying that God is not all loving and all powerful? What is problematic about saying that evil is justified because, overall, the amount of good outweighs the amount of evil? What is problematic about removing the promise of a reward in the afterlife?