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Flashcards in RS Problem Of Evil Deck (27)
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1
Q

Ireneaou argued against Gnosticism who said?

A

God was imperfect

2
Q

Ireneaous based his theory on

A

The original sin in genesis

Genesis 3:21 ‘so The Lord god banished him from the garden of Eden’

3
Q

Against heresies book 3 quote ?

A

Man who had been captured was loosened from the bonds of condemnation
- advocated free will- if god had created us perfectly it wouldn’t eb our choice to develop into his likenes

4
Q

Childlike beings to children of god allows our souls to?

A

2-stage process 1)created in the likeness of God but spiritualy/morally immauture
Souls ahve to become noble
2) Immature state to develop grow mature to potential fulfillment of God

5
Q

Swinburnes quote on the problem of evil

A

We would never learn the art of goodness designed as a paradise

6
Q

Why does god not interfere with evil according to john hick in

A

Evil and the god of love
God purposefully distances himself an epistemic distance (gap of knowledge) from humanity to allow us to character build- choose to fulfill his wishes- shown by God’s absence in the empirial world’ religious ambuigitty’
Virtues are Better hard earned than ready made- can’t morally grow woithout making our own decsions

7
Q

John Keats compares the universe to

A

A vale of soul-making

8
Q

Suffering works on 3 levels?- justifying natural evil

A

Best possible world- wouldn’t challenge us to make the right decisions

1) humans have a physical pain to feed
2) prompts desire to feed
3) forces us to help others (moral growth)

Evil gives humans liberty to ascertain their own moral goods while also enabling a predictable environment with natural lawsthat are nothing to do with human needs but are indepdnmant- that humasn ahve to folow to aviouid danger and devlop human intelelct
Hick’s coutner-factual hypothesis- argues if we lived in a paradise state- no earthquakes/shooting people didn’t hurt them- we would never learn whatactions are right and what aren’t, no-oen got hurt- we would never feel the need to help people
Why do people suffer more than others- Hick used CE hypotheis- if good acts were rewarded and bad oens punished, peope would onyl act out fo goodwill to be rewarded/ avoid punishement- wouldn’t be becuase they want to fulfill god’s purpsoe

9
Q

Irenaous belived your soul could only be completely made noble in?

A

Heaven- afterlife with god
Humans are directed towards it by bible Jesus reincarnation and Old Testament prophets
‘makign peace and freidnship with thsoe who repent and turn to him’
since justification for evil si universeal, salvation msut be universal too

10
Q

Strengths of ireanous?

A

Provides an explanation for evil and why innocnet people suffer
Keeps with the theistic view of god
Explanation for free will

11
Q

Weaknesses of ireanous

A

No biblical support for thodice/universal salvation

1) sontag- argues some evil is too intense to eb called a ‘training ground’ e.g Pakistan Tsunami (2004)
2) Griffin- human developemnt doesn’t take into account animal/environment suffering
3) Dostoyesky- through his charcter Ivan- argues heaven isn’t worht the price of innnocent lives- ‘returns his ticket’
4) Dawkins argue its arrogant to think of humans as hgihest point in creation (greater purpsoe?)

12
Q

Inconsistent triad
God is not omnipotent
Descartes said of could do literally anything- why didn’t he program us to do good
Mackie said although this would contradict our free will- doesn’t amtter since god is omnipotent
Modfications to the cocept of God ato answer the problm of evil: God ISN’T omnipotent
Aquinas- God can do anything logically possible- easy to confuse greek god of philos (plato and Aristotl belived) with the perosnal god of theism
Greek god - he didn’t feel pain (immutable)
Bible- Jesus became human and weak through the crucifixion Juergen moltmann- Jesus was the sacrificial lamb ‘dies to take away the sin of the world’ john 1:29
Consequently human beings are genuinely free
Keith Ward agreed that God suffers with humans

A

God acts though persuasion not force- tries to convince us to dright but repsects autonomy of every individual
No guarantee of will come over evil
Swinburne ‘this is not a toy world’

13
Q

Quote for where does evil come from

A

If god us willing and able what source is evil from

14
Q

Hume’s problem of evil/Epicurean problem/hypothesis is..

A

If God is both omnipotent and omibenevolent how can evil exist in the world (question that Ireanous and Augustine [and process theodicy] try to answetr

15
Q

Modifications tot he problem of God: God ISN’T omnisicent- everlasting or timeless?- keith ward

A

Keith Ward argues that God isn’t imeless- 1500 discoveries fo science and empiriism- proved that evrythign real is within time and space
God is evelastign but withi tuime ans space
He knws the past presnet but can’t know the future- since it is not logically ossible for a god within tim to know the future it si not a slef-contradiction

16
Q

God isn’t timeless- Issac Newton?

A

rejects God of Bible- God is a ‘divine creator’
God is not personal- didn;t createpeopel to aghve a loving realariobsip with them
Doesn’t fit with the od of theism- isn’t arguing for God’s eprfect attributes
Hue ‘draftn world’

17
Q

Don Cupitt- anti-realsim?

A

agaisnt relasit view that God has to be ‘incorperated into reality’-
‘God is just a cocept wihtin the language of the believing community
nothing more than wish fulfillemt from belivers
agreed swith Freubacj’ theology is anthropology’
re-interpreted John 1:48’ God is Love >Love is God (agaisnt theistic view of God)

18
Q

Augustine childhohod significance?

A

Him and freidns stole some pears- but ended up givign thwem to some pgis- Augustine wonder not about the act of theft but why they chose to do it

19
Q

what was augustine’s backgroud and hwo did he rebel agaisnt it?

A

grew up as a dualist
rjected the view that evil was an opposite force, indpendant of God but though it ws a pivation of good
belived God created the world creato ex nihilo- perfect- no evil

20
Q

what was plotinus infleucne on augustine?

A

He belived in a hierachial code tretching down from God
priniple fo plenitude- where evything is good accoridng to its being
hjigher and lower beings
hierachy- animals are above plants>humans are abopve animals (we ahve intellgince)>angel are above humans

21
Q

Why did Augusitne bleive in the privation of evil?

A

evil can’t eb an opposite force
it si the ‘malfunction of somehtig that is in itself good’
because creation is mutable (hanging)- at any point part fo creation can fall into diorder (becoeme evil)
It occured when soemthign int he create dorder removes itself from tis right place inthe hierarchy(agaisnt God’s intention)
So its not a seprate force but just the lack of proper being (goodness) ina aprt fo creation

22
Q

what causes evil?

A

-always the resutl of freewill from rational beings

‘the cause of evil is a delfection fo freewill’

23
Q

What did Augstine belive about Original Sin?

A

God created the world perfect>gave angels freewill and some misused it and tunred from God> Augustine saus there is ‘deficient cuase of evil (no efficent cause)- although pride is a motive>God expelled Satan>He soght revenge by trying to temp Adam and Eve>He couldnt force them to committ evil onyl tempt them becuase they lived ina eprfect world>They chose to sin due to freewill>codemned all of future huamnity becuase we ‘all came from hsi loins’

24
Q

What is felixa culpa?

A

‘happy fall’- becuase God chse to reveal himslelf through the incrantin of Jesus andrise us to ‘a new state’- which we never would ahve experianced if not for the Fall so God always makes good come out of evil

25
Q

Conflict with Pelagius (monk)

A

He said we could have salvation though good acions
Augustine sadi onyl from grace of God- already chosen from moment of creation about who gets saved>we don’t knwo so we ahve to assume we are saved>prove ourselves worthy

26
Q

Natural evil is a .?

A

penal consequence of sin- due to misuse of freewill>creates disharmony in the world>natural evil

27
Q

weaknesses of Augusitne’s Theodicy?

A

Schelichmacher- why woukd perfect Angle fall
Augustine response: deficient cuase- too vague
Divine Fore-Knowledge- fi God knew what Adama dnEve would do-why didn’t eh stop it
Augustine repsonse: God ahs no obligation- sperates Hod knowing to him haviogn responsibility
Eternal damnation- Pelgaius idea that God will condemn most people seems unfair- predestination- that God knows he is onyl goingto save a few- what is the point in creation?
Shoudln’t it be more about people doing moral actions to try and earn salvation, similairly Knat: ‘Godliness is ot surragote for virtue’- it shoud eb about goodwill not jus in faith of being “saved”
HIck- [roblem with the disporoprtion of eternal punishment with sins of humans- isn’t muich point in distingushing differne types of evil>idea of eternal damnation due to eating forbidden fruit e..g all baies that aren’t baptized goignt o hell- doens’t fit with a loving God
Hick- adovate for encorperatign science- liberal meaning of Gensis but doesn’t think it holds any literal truths/ msot people think creatinonism (Bishop Ussher) is politically incorrect
Hick- augusitne sues inductive reasonigng to assuem perfect God exists- Hick thinks it smore realsitic to argue we are imperfecta dn work our way to prefection than be perfect and fall from perfection
- Eve tempting Adam is seen as misgynistic (unfair to women)
-reasonf ro antiral sin- geolgoy has proved earthquakes happnedn beofre evidanc of human life
Euthrypro Dilema ‘God is good’ reject Augusitne’s idea of predestination
emphiss on freewill goes against predestination

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