Presents the key ideas for Irenaeus' Theodicy.
Includes a critical assessment of the theodicy and the views of other philosophers.
Philosophers mentioned:
Irenaeus
Scleiermacher
John Hick
Peter Vardy
Voltaire
D.Z. Phillips
Ivan Karamazov
Richard Dawkins
Sam Harris
Karl Marx
Irenaeus – Free will is the key to his theodicy. o The concept of Heaven for all seems unjust, Irenaeus’ view
God’s aim when he created the world was to make that everyone will go to Heaven has attracted criticism
humans flawless, in His likeness. because it doesn’t seem fair and therefore calls God’s justice
Genuine human perfection cannot be ready-made, but into question.
must develop through free choice.
Since God had to give us free choice, He had to give us Religious People – Contradicts religious texts such as the Bible and
potential to disobey Him. Qur’an which promise punishment for the
There would be no such potential if there were never any unrighteous.
possibility of evil. If humans were made ready-perfected, It makes moral behaviour pointless; if everyone is to be
and if God policed His world continually, there would be rewarded with Heaven, what is the point of going out of
no free will. our way to do good?
Therefore, the natural order had to be designed with the Left with no incentive to make the development that
possibility of causing harm, humans had to be imperfect, Irenaeus regarded as so important because we know that
and God had to stand back from his creation. it will happen eventually.
Humans used their freedom to disobey God, causing Parable of the Prodigal Son – Those who have lived good
suffering. lives in obedience to God are like the elder son and those
God cannot compromise our freedom by removing evil. who have lived unfaithful and sinful are like the younger
Eventually, however, evil and suffering will be overcome son. The father in the story makes it clear that everything
and everyone will develop into God’s likeness, living in he has already belongs to the eldest son and he is not
glory in Heaven. This justifies temporary evil. losing out through the readmission of the younger son
Unlike Augustine he admitted that God is partly to blame back into the family, which is symbolic of Heaven.
for evil and his responsibility extends to creating humans
imperfectly and making it their task to develop into o Quantity and gravity of the suffering seems unfair; we might
perfection. accept from the counterfactual hypothesis that the process of
The idea is based upon Irenaeus’ interpretation of ‘soul making’ could not take place in paradise.
Genesis 1:26 – “Let us make man in our image after our o Does our world, however, need to contain the extent and
likeness.” severity of suffering found in events such as the Holocaust.
Irenaeus concluded that at first humans were made in o Voltaire argues that we should spend our lives eating,
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller orlac. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £2.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
