In-depth and critical A01 + A02 A* notes and model paragraph structures for the Problem of Evil topic, for the Philosophy of Religion unit for OCR Religious Studies.
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
What is Evil? “physical pain, mental suffering and moral
wickedness”-John Hick
The most recurrent survey answer to asking God one question was:
“Why is there pain and suffering in the world?”
Peterson “the problem of evil is a moral protest”
The question is “why did God let this happen and not intervene”
Hans Kung-Rock of Atheism
God is morally bad as suffering exists. His apparent nature is
problematic.
Natural Evil
Malfunctioning of the natural world that causes suffering- Hick
More objective evil
Example: Natural disasters and disease
Vardy’s Five Types of Natural Evil:
i) Natural disasters
ii) Diseases
iii) Psychological illness
iv) Human frailty
v) Animal suffering
Hebblethwaite’s Natural Evil:
All moral evil is natural evil, as it is just a manifestation of
something evil from our minds.
Therefore, all moral evil can be accounted back to God, who created
us like this.
Moral Evil
Evil caused deliberately by humans or negligently- Swinburne
More subjective evil
Example: Murder, abuse, and racism
Biblical example: Cain killing Abel
Does God exist if Evil exists?
Hick: “Evil is a perpetual burden of doubt for the believer and an
obstacle to the commitment for the unbeliever”
Swinburne “If the theist does not have a satisfactory answer to it,
then his belief in God is less than rational and there is no reason the
atheist should share it”
The Logical Problem of God existing and Evil existing
A priori: Attributes of God are previously acknowledged.
, Denounces the God of Classical theism (omnibenevolent,
omnipotent etc.)
St Augustine of Hippo (Confessions)
“Either God cannot abolish evil, or he will not; if he cannot he is not
all-powerful, if he will not he is not all good”
Accumulated in Hume’s Epicurean Problem, calling a God that
allows Evil either “impotent” and “malevolent”
St Aquinas in Summa Theologica: “But the name of God means that
He is “infinite goodness”. If God existed there would be no Evil.
Therefore, God does not exist.
J.L Mackie and the Inconsistent Triad:
Only two can exist at once:
Evil
exists
The
Inconsistent
Triad
God is omnipotent God is
omnibenevolent
The Evidential Problem of God existing and Evil existing
A posteriori argument: What we observe in the world.
The sheer amount of evil and suffering we see in the world cannot
reconcile with the idea of a good God
We need a little bit of evil to discern from right and wrong
It is argued that God should not permit unnecessary amounts of
pain in the world, natural disaster, and genocide
J. S Mill: A posteriori evidence simply points towards a sadistic
creator.
Mill says the evil in the natural world (“nature is evil in tooth and
claw”) cannot be the work of a Kind God
Dawkins follows up with the example of the Digger Wasp.
The Augustinian Theodicy (Confessions- St Augustine of Hippo)
Metaphysical argument (no evidence)
Based off Genesis passage: God saw everything that had made,
and indeed, it was very good
Explanation: Everything is made good individually, and taken
together they are incredibly good
In the beginning:
(1)The world is a perfect place
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