Traditional Philosophical Arguments About the Problem of Evil

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Traditional Philosophical Arguments About the
Problem of Evil
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Problem of Evil/Suffering and Contemporary Society

• The Problem of Evil remains one of the most cited
  reasons for skepticism about God in modern
  Western nations
• Rising standards of living and health have not
  reduced its influence (reverse, in fact)
• Growing human technological abilities perhaps
  highlights Gods failings (i.e if we can cure
  Polio, why didnt God?)

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The Free Will Defense

• First proposed by St. Augustine of Hippo in the
  3rd century CE
• God granted Adam and Eve free will so they would
  not just be robots and so they could love him
  freely (i.e authentically)
• Adam and Eve used it instead to disobey God
• Doctrine of the Fall -- Ever since then, human
  beings have used freedom to disobey God
• Evil is not Gods fault, it is the result of
  peoples free choices

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Irenaeus Theodicy

• Soul making/maturity requires the real
  possibility for growth development
• For a person to mature, they must face challenges
• The universe contains challenges so that there
  can be a real possibility for people to
  grow/mature
• The unfortunate result is that people can be
  harmed
• Universe with soul-making potential is better
  than one without it

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David Humes Attack On Irenaean Theodicy

• One can agree that challenge is an essential
  element of life, but still ask why so much?
• Couldnt God somehow achieve soul building
  using less severe challenges?
• What about those who seem to be simply crushed by
  lifes burdens?
• Are they just an obstacle necessary for someone
  elses growth? Is this fair?
• What about natural evil? (Great Lisbon
  Earthquake)

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Mackies Criticism of the Free Will Defense

• Freedom only requires the existence of some
  choice, not the existence of all possible choices
• Eg. we dont say we are not free because the
  state forbids us to murder or nature limits our
  ability to fly etc.
• All powerful being could design a world in which
  individuals were free, but only to choose between
  different good actions
• God should have made this world instead b/c one
  should always limit harm as much as one can