Philosophy of
Religion: The problem
of evil (Theodicy)
by Kamal
Answer for the problem of evil!
The problem of evil!
Theodicy
The term theodicy comes from the Greek
(thes, "god") and (dk, "justice"), meaning
literally "the justice of God".
An attempt to reconcile the co-existence of evil
and God or a vindication of God's goodness and
justice in the face of the existence of evil
Argument for the justification of God, concerned
with reconciling God's goodness and justice with
the observable facts of evil and suffering in the
world.
Theism & Evil
Most such arguments are a necessary
component of theism. Under polytheism, the
problem is solved by attributing evil to a conflict
of wills between deities. The solution is less
simple in monotheism, and it can take several
forms. In some approaches, the perfect world
created by God was spoiled by human
disobedience or sin. In others, God withdrew
after creating the world, which then fell into
decay (Deism holds that God is wholly
transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene
in the world beyond what was necessary to
create it)
Theodicy
Theodicy
Pro
Against
Human rebellion
Evil God
Free-will
Imperfect God
Complete God
Contrast Theodicy
Beyond
anthropomorphism
Theodicy: humans rebellion
Some of his creations chose independence and lost their
perfection: they began to sin, which resulted in evil doing
and death. For a while God will allow this to continue, so
that it can be proven that his creations can not be happy
while independent from God because this was the
challenge which caused the rebellion in the first place. In
due time God will restore the people who choose to
depend on God to perfection and so bring an end to sin
and with it an end to evil.
Therefore, evil is a consequence of that rebellion,
descendant from those who chose to act against God.
God, in his justice, allows humans to experience the
result of their rebellion, for a limited time, to establish
their inability to eliminate evil on their own, as well as
their 'need' for God and his superior sovereignty
Theodicy: Human free will
Evil is the consequence of God permitting
humans to have free will, or God may
intend evil and suffering as a test for
humanity. Without the possibility to choose
to do good or evil acts humanity would be
nothing but robots. Therefore, free
creatures may commit evil actions, but
God's gift of freedom is still good
Theodicy: Perfect & Complete
God
Monistic philosophies such as Advaita, or
pantheism. A perfect God is not only good
but also evil, since perfection implies no
lacking, including not lacking that which is
evil. A lacking of evil would imply that
there is something external to his allencompassing perfection.
Theodicy: contrast theodicy
Evil was only privatio boni, or a privation (need)
of good. An evil thing can only be referred to as
a negative form of a good thing, such as discord,
injustice, and loss of life or liberty. If a being is
not totally pure, evil will fill in any gaps in that
being's purity. This is commonly called the
Contrast Theodicy that evil only exists as a
"contrast" with good.
Against Theodicy: Evil God
Either God wants to abolish evil, and
cannot; or he can, but does not want to. ...
If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent.
If he can, but does not want to, he is
wicked. ... If, as they say, God can abolish
evil, and God really wants to do it, why is
there evil in the world?" (Epicurus, as
quoted in 2000 Years of Disbelief)
Against Theodicy: imperfect God
All evil in the kinds of created entities are the result of
the fallibility of one or more of its creators. (Premise)
The universe is a created entity. (Premise)
The universe contains evil. (Premise)
Evil is the result of the actions of a fallible creator(s) or is
not the result of any creator(s). (From 1, 2 and 3 by
predictive inference)
If god created the universe, then he is fallible. (From 4)
Therefore, god did not create the universe, is
imperfect, or does not exist.
Beyond Theodicy! (J.H.Yoder)
Where do you get the criteria by which you
evaluate God? Why are the criteria you
use the right ones? Why do you think you
are qualified for the business of
accrediting Gods? If you think you are
qualified for that business, how does the
adjudication proceed? What are the lexical
rules?
Humans limited thought
Problem of Anthropomorphism God (the
showing or treating of animals, gods and
objects as if they are human in
appearance, character or behavior)
Supernatural God or beyond human
thinking or non-rational (being or existence
which nothing greater-than can be
conceived)
Al-Ikhlas 112: 1-4
reference
Kessler, G.E. 1992. Voices of wisdom:
multi-cultural philosophy reader. California:
Wadsworth Publishing Company (p. 346369)
