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Problem of evil arguments against
Problem of evil arguments against
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The pervasive problem of evil in the world has pleagued the Christian faith that proclaim God as a good and perfect God. There has been a need for theist to address this issues as a disclaimer for those that use evil as an reason to disprove that God could be good, perfect or even exist. Therefore, theist theologians and philosophers have turned to theodicies to attempt to explain the problem of evil. Theodicy is an attempt to explain why God permits evil in the world. This essay will show the historical approach to theodicy, the opposition to said theodicies and why theodicies could still play an important role today.
Historical theodicy has been approached to answer evil. Theodicies have traditionally been a theistic response to atheistic
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objections based on the reality of evil in a wold that theist believe was created by a good and perfect God. Evil can be broken down into natural and moral evil. Natural evil results from natural forces. Moral evil results from conscious decisions make by people. Theodicy has evolved from arguing that evil was based on the fall to argue that people are created as spiritually immature, going through a maturation process to grow closer to God. These idea proposes that there is a created distance between God and humanity allowing humanity to freely and knowingly come to love God. One of the most famous approaches to the problem of evil has been the proposed by John Hick. John Hick argues that a world utterly devoid of evil would preclude the realization of the good that Hick postulates as justifying an omnipotent, omniscient being in permitting evil.
For Hick good could be defined in two ways. First, human develop themselves through free choices into moral beings. Second, beings enter into an eternal life with fellowship with God. The problem with this argument is that it fails to address what happens in the prevention of evil and the good that results from that. This opens the door to a opposition. Emmanuel Levinas argues that the end of theodicy has come with the close of the 20th century. The mass atrocities of the 20th century led Levinas to declare that there was no possible argument for a perfect God in the face of useless suffering. However, there is still a need for theodicy in today's world.
The need of theodicy in the ongoing face of suffering the world is ever apparent for Christians. The Christian faith being based on grace demands a response to evil in the world. However, the Christian response is that hope for the theist is based on the age to come. For that to happen God must be good and just. Theist must continue to deal with the difficult question of evil in the world to reach an understanding that address the attempts of atheist to dismiss God complete on this single issue. In the end, theodicy is the only path to possibly address the problem of evil from a theistic
approach.
Carus, Paul. "The Philosophical Problem of Good and Evil." The History of the Devil: With 350
In, “The Problem of Evil,” Eleonore Stump holds the belief that the existence of evil in our world does not automatically disprove God’s existence. The belief that God cannot live alongside evil is considered to be the Evidential Problem of evil and this is what Stump is arguing against in her paper. Stump argues, the ability to fix our defective free will makes Union with God possible, which overwrites all the un-absorbable evils in the world, showing both God and un-absorbable evils can coexist. In this paper I hope to show that God can exist, but also show that human free will is limited.
The problem of evil is a difficult objection to contend with for theists. Indeed, major crises of faith can occur after observing or experiencing the wide variety and depths of suffering in the world. It also stands that these “evils” of suffering call into question the existence of an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The “greater good defense” tries to account for some of the issues presented, but still has flaws of its own.
The problem of evil is inescapable in this fallen world. From worldwide terror like the Holocaust to individual evils like abuse, evil touches every life. However, evil is not a creation of God, nor was it in His perfect will. As Aleksandr
A foundational belief in Christianity is the idea that God is perfectly good. God is unable to do anything evil and all his actions are motives are completely pure. This principle, however, leads to many questions concerning the apparent suffering and wrong-doing that is prevalent in the world that this perfect being created. Where did evil come from? Also, how can evil exist when the only eternal entity is the perfect, sinless, ultimately good God? This question with the principle of God's sovereignty leads to even more difficult problems, including human responsibility and free will. These problems are not limited to our setting, as church fathers and Christian philosophers are the ones who proposed some of the solutions people believe today. As Christianity begins to spread and establish itself across Europe in the centuries after Jesus' resurrection, Augustine and Boethius provide answers, although wordy and complex, to this problem of evil and exactly how humans are responsible in the midst of God's sovereignty and Providence.
Throughout the world, most people believe in some type of god or gods, and the majority of them understand God as all-good, all-knowing (omniscient), and all-powerful (omnipotent). However, there is a major objection to the latter belief: the “problem of evil” (P.O.E.) argument. According to this theory, God’s existence is unlikely, if not illogical, because a good, omniscient, and omnipotent being would not allow unnecessary suffering, of which there are enormous amounts.
The existence of suffering and evil in the presence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent God has proved to be one of the most pressing concerns raised in arguments against the existence of God, since the beginning of Christian traditions and beliefs. In Dostoevsky’s work, The Grand Inquisitor, several chapters allude to thoughts on this topic. In chapter 5 of Dostoevsky 's book we see the link between freedom and human suffering. Older philosophers such as Epicurus also had arguments that resonated with Dostoevsky. The freedom bestowed upon us by this all powerful and all loving God has led to much of the suffering present in our world today. Dostoevsky’s argues not against the notion of suffering nor that of a God, but that of a just
The problem of reconciling an omnipotent, perfectly just, perfectly benevolent god with a world full of evil and suffering has plagued believers since the beginning of religious thought. Atheists often site this paradox in order to demonstrate that such a god cannot exist and, therefore, that theism is an invalid position. Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that seeks to defend religion by reconciling the supposed existence of an omnipotent, perfectly just God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. In fact, the word “theodicy” consists of the Greek words “theos,” or God, and “dike,” or justice (Knox 1981, 1). Thus, theodicy seeks to find a sense of divine justice in a world filled with suffering.
Even though Atheists pray that there is nothing after death, it will not provide an escape or any shelter from the coming wrath of The Holy God. Can man stand naked before the King of Kings, in the revealing light of all truth? Can he answer for every single one of his sins? When judgment comes, no man will ever be good enough. Therefore, Atheism is useless, in fact the only good thing Atheism displays is irony. It is ironic that the core philosophy of Atheism is “Think for yourself” (285) yet the majority of its followers, if not all, fail to do so completely; therefore Atheism is a fool’s religion with severe devotion to ignorance. It is ironic because it preaches tolerance yet is grossly intolerant of anyone who doesn’t accept the Atheist faith. Again, as Ehrenreich’s children revealed, “the world would be a better place” (285) without other religions. Lastly, it is ironic because Ehrenreich speaks of her family being “disillusioned with Christianity” (284) while she herself is enslaved to the deceitful illusion of Atheism. Atheists will find no hope in any other man’s help either, and the weight of their sins will drag them all helplessly into
It therefore appears evident that God must be the root of all evil, as He created all things. However, Augustine delves deeper in search for a true answer. This paper will follow ...
Slezak, P. "Gods of the State: Atheism, Enlightenment and Barbarity." Politics and Religion in the New Century: Philosophical Reflections (2009): 20. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
Theodicy, when it is stripped down to its base, is the human response to the question of the reasons a good God would permit the manifestation of evil. From the 1700s to the early 19th century, literary works of art in the form of novels have attempted to provide an answer to the complexity. With the turn of each century authors produced new and different rationales and viable solutions to the problem of evil. Two authors in particular, Rousseau and Flaubert attempted to tackle this topic in their renowned works of literature. Many cultural shifts were present at and during the time of these works, which had a significant impact on the theories and presentation within them.
In the beginning, God created the world. He created the earth, air, stars, trees and mortal animals, heaven above, the angels, every spiritual being. God looked at these things and said that they were good. However, if all that God created was good, from where does un-good come? How did evil creep into the universal picture? In Book VII of his Confessions, St. Augustine reflects on the existence of evil and the theological problem it poses. For evil to exist, the Creator God must have granted it existence. This fundamentally contradicts the Christian confession that God is Good. Logically, this leads one to conclude evil does not exist in a created sense. Augustine arrives at the conclusion that evil itself is not a formal thing, but the result of corruption away from the Supreme Good. (Augustine, Confessions 7.12.1.) This shift in understanding offers a solution to the problem of evil, but is not fully defended within Augustine’s text. This essay will illustrate how Augustine’s solution might stand up to other arguments within the context of Christian theology.
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world” (Lewis, 1994, p. 91). Throughout history man has had to struggle with the problem of evil. It is one of the greatest problems of the world. Unquestionably, there is no greater challenge to man’s faith then the existence of evil and a suffering world. The problem can be stated simply: If God is an all-knowing and all-loving God, how can He allow evil? If God is so good, how can He allow such bad things to happen?Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people? These are fundamental questions that many Christians and non-Christians set out to answer.
Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that attempts to solve the issue of evil with ideas of philosophy. The problem with Theodicy is that there is evil present in the world and