Augustine's book is called
Confessions
Augustine's quote
Either God cannot abolish evil, or he will not.
If he
cannot
then he is
not all powerful
If he
will not
then he is not
all good
Assumptions from Augustinian Quotes
An all powerful, all good God would
eliminate evil as far as possible
Greek philosopher Epicurus defined the problem of evil in the quote ...
1). Is God
willing
to prevent evil but
not able
then he is not
omnipotent
2). If God is
able
to prevent evil but
not willing
then he is
melevolent
3). If good is
able
to prevent evil then why is there evil?
logical
problem of evil
J. L. Mackie
Deductive argument
attempts to prove that God's existence is logically incomparable with Evil
1).
J. L. Mackie
What is a theist response to the argument put forward by J. L. Mackie
> what kind of choice do humans have if they cannot choose to do evil and only do good?
> It is dependant on how you
define free will
Sheer amount of evil outweigh the amount of good?
Murders - Hitler
Rapes
Even evil within the animal kingdom
Different types of evil
1).
Natural
evil
2).
Moral
evil:
- caused by human beings
- not animals as they can't think
rationally
Augustine's Theodicy
explaining evil
1). Evil is caused by creatures using their free will
2). Evil is necessary for people to develop more valuable qualities e.g. compassion
3). Developing a different understanding of the nature of God
What is a theocracies
Rational effort to explain how evil can exist in a world if God exists
Introduction
for Augustine paragraph for a essay
Augustine was heavily influenced by the
Creation Stories
Genesis 1-3
Outline Augustine's theodicy
1).
God is the Creator
- all good
- all powerful
2). Creation is
good
& it was harmonious
Genesis: "God saw all that he had made and it was good"
3). Evil is a privation of good - as it was not created
4). The
Fall
: Humans gave into their temptations thr
Importance of natural evil
Highlights the goodness of creation
because of the contrast between good & evil
What does Augustine think is the reason for natural evil?
Disharmony following the Fall
meant that angels turned away
leading to natural evil
Devils are sometimes described as fallen angels. Creation was perfect, bringing disharmony into the world and the actions of the devils cause natural evil.
Augustine: Is God responsible for the universe?
Solves the problem of God being responsible for evil in the world by defining evil as a privation
How did Augustine quote evil
'evil is not a substance' - confessions
Why did God create a world with evil in it?
(Augustine)
If evil continues and God continues to allow evil to happen, then God is keeping those people alive who are committing evil
Humans acting in an evil manner
Is just them not being up to the expectations of how a human should behave. It is the failure to be what you should do that is wrong
For example, if you are mean you lack the qualities of generosity and charity
Quote from Confessions (Augustine) about lacking good and causing evil
If there were no good in them then there would be nothing capable of being corrupted"
"All evil is sin... or punishment for sin
Inconsistent Triad
God is not omnipotent
God is not omnibenevolent
or evil does not exist
What is the analogy Augustine uses to explain the evil
'Privation of sight'
Evidential
problem of evil
Inductive
argument
Does not claim that God's existence is incompletely with the existence of evil but the existence of evil makes God's existence unlikely
MACKIE ARGUMENT
Premise 1
Evil and suffering exist
Premise 2
God is all loving and all powerful
Premise 3
An all powerful, all loving God would remove suffering
Conclusion:
God does not exist
Why is this deductive argument good?
If the
premises are true
then we have to
accept the conclusion
Why is this deductive argument bad?
It means that if we can show that any of the
premises is false
then we have
invalidated the argument
Evaluating Premise 1: Evil & suffering exist
Some thinkers don't think evil exists
- just the absence of good
- therefore doesn't exist
evil and suffering are just human illusions names given to situations when our own motivations are not satisfied
Evaluating Premise 2: God is all-loving & all powerful
Although theists, such as Jews, Christians and Muslims would agree
Deism - belief in a non personal god
God does not have these characteristics
Evaluating Premise 3: An all powerful, all loving God would remove suffering
Some argue God does not want to remove all suffering because he has legitimate reasons for it's existence - God has a
plan
Most commonly, through suffering God can bring about some
higher good
Some argue it is
logically impossible to remove evil
- it is l
Augusitine's 'Doctrine of Original Sin'
All humans share responsibility for evil as all are guilty of sin
God and forgiveness (Augustine)
God is forgiving - Jesus
Shows forgiveness for those who repent
Eternal happiness for those who repent
Criticisms of Augustine's theodicy
1 - Schiermacher
1). Augustine maintains that it is a perfect world but Schiermacher argued that It is a
logical contradiction
that God created a perfect world had gone wrong
Either it was not perfect to begin with or God enabled the world to go wrong
Criticisms of Augustine's theodicy
2 -
2). How could
perfect beings choose to do wrong?
- if it is a contradiction for a perfect world to go wrong, then it also seems to be a contradiction that perfectly created beings would choose to do wrong. If goodness is in our nature, why would we choose
Criticisms of Augustine's theodicy
3
Was the world
truly made perfect
?
Augustine relies heavily on the Creation Stories but it is a
contradiction evidence of science
.
Evolution
suggests that humans have risen above their
violent animal instincts
, rather than
fallen from some state of grac
Criticisms of Augustine's theodicy
4
Is it reasonable to say that suffering isn't real? By calling evil a 'privation of good' is Augustine not denying the reality of the problem.
Example - grieving parent - it is not real just a privation of good??
Irenaeus
Genesis 1:26
"Let us make mankind in
our image
in our
likeliness
"
Irenaeus interpreted this to mean that there are
two stages to the creation of human beings
1). Firstly humans are created in the
image of god
- this does not mean a physical image (since
Why did God not create humans perfect (Irenaeus)
Although God could have created humans to be perfect, the morality that has been developed through hard work and the
use of free will
is
intricately more valuable
than a morality that has been readily made or pre-programmed.
If we had a ready made moralit
Does Irenaeus think the world / humans are
made perfect
?
for humans to genuinely exercise their free in the persecute of moral development, then they need to live in a world where pain and suffering are real
Because in a world where pain and suffering are not real, then our actions could have
no real consequenc
Irenaeus quote about challenges
For in a paradise there would be no challenges
John Hick and 'Soul making'
the process to describe moral growth
According to John Hick why does God not intervene to prevent human suffering
> It would
undermine
human freedom
> Because God created us with an
epistemic distance
What is
epistemic distance
God deliberately created us so that his existence is uncertain. If we could see God looking down on us we would act morally out of a fear of punishment rather than seeking virtue for the sake of moral growth.
like constant 24 hour CCTV
What do Hick & Irenaeus say about the purpose of evil
Evil allows suffering in order to achieve a higher goal of moral development
What about the people who don't achieve moral development?
Belief in
universal salvation
- everyone makes it to Heaven
Criticisms of the Irenaeus Theology
1
1). Do the ends justify the means
Is it acceptable to so something bad in order to do something good.
Criticisms of the Irenaeus Theology
2
Does all suffering result in moral growth? Overly optimistic view of suffering. Often leads to moral degradation. Can indiscriminate suffering lead to moral development
example: does a still born or a high school shooting make the world a better place
Criticisms of the Irenaeus Theology
3
Is suffering the only way to grow morally? There are other events that can lead to an improvement In someone's character, e.g. participating in team sports.
Could God not have created a world without evil but with other challenges to help to create
Criticisms of the Irenaeus Theology
4
Is universal salvation fair?
What is the purpose of acting morally if eventually everyone goes to Heaven? Do my actions now have consequences?