Evil and Suffering
What is evil?
There are 2 types of evil:
Natural Evil: evil caused by the natural world, evil which
humans have limited control over
Hurricanes, Tsunami, Earthquakes, Disease, Famine
Moral Evil: evil directly or indirectly caused by humans- usually
the result of immorality
Adultery, Neglect, Murder, Theft, Abuse, War
Sometimes evils are less defined and can be considered to
arch into both these categories.
Views of evil
The absence of Good- a privation
Original sin- a tendency towards evil
Satan “the accuser”- appears a number of times in scripture-
exorcisms held today
Spiritual forces: Ephesians 6:12 (Paul)
Damaged mind- a physiological phenomenon
Epicurus, Hume, Mackie, and Rowe
Epicurus outlined this problem in the “logical problem of evil
and Hume and Mackie in the “Inconsistent Triad” (Logical
Problem)- a deductive argument
Here they pointed out that either God does not have one of
these qualities or he simply does not exist since evil clearly
exists.
Rowe deals with the evidential problem- an inductive argument
The Atheist Response
There can be no God= there is evil
If there is a God = he is not worthy of worship
Evil is a brute fact
Evil is the net result of “survival of the fittest”
Evil can be partly defeated if we develop altruism and better
science
How do theists respond to this?
Theodicy: this is the defence for God/ apology despite the
presence of suffering.
There are three main theodicies:
i. Augustinian- soul deciding
ii. Irenaean- soul-making
What is evil?
There are 2 types of evil:
Natural Evil: evil caused by the natural world, evil which
humans have limited control over
Hurricanes, Tsunami, Earthquakes, Disease, Famine
Moral Evil: evil directly or indirectly caused by humans- usually
the result of immorality
Adultery, Neglect, Murder, Theft, Abuse, War
Sometimes evils are less defined and can be considered to
arch into both these categories.
Views of evil
The absence of Good- a privation
Original sin- a tendency towards evil
Satan “the accuser”- appears a number of times in scripture-
exorcisms held today
Spiritual forces: Ephesians 6:12 (Paul)
Damaged mind- a physiological phenomenon
Epicurus, Hume, Mackie, and Rowe
Epicurus outlined this problem in the “logical problem of evil
and Hume and Mackie in the “Inconsistent Triad” (Logical
Problem)- a deductive argument
Here they pointed out that either God does not have one of
these qualities or he simply does not exist since evil clearly
exists.
Rowe deals with the evidential problem- an inductive argument
The Atheist Response
There can be no God= there is evil
If there is a God = he is not worthy of worship
Evil is a brute fact
Evil is the net result of “survival of the fittest”
Evil can be partly defeated if we develop altruism and better
science
How do theists respond to this?
Theodicy: this is the defence for God/ apology despite the
presence of suffering.
There are three main theodicies:
i. Augustinian- soul deciding
ii. Irenaean- soul-making
