The problem of evil and suffering for religious believers is God. Many theists believe that god has many attributes, which form the basic characteristics of God. It is these attributes that many atheists use to show that there is no God. For believers to believe in god they must overcome these problems to carry on with their religion. The main attributes of God are; Omnipotent, this is God as being all-powerful. God is Omniscient; this is God as all knowing. God as Benevolent, all good / all loving. This is a philosophical approach because it is questioning whether God id good or is he evil? Although there are many attributes of God, not all of them are good. If God was omnipotent then he would be able to stop evil and suffering, if he is that powerful. The second characteristic of God is omniscient. If he knew everything, like how to create the world then he would have known that evil and suffering is going to occur. The third characteristic is Benevolent. If God truly loved us then why would he want people to suffer and experience evil things?
Whatever the problem is for theists, it must be understood that God exists, yet so does evil. If God does exist then it is hard for theists to comprehend the fact that their God may not be what they thought of at the beginning. Many religious believers do not want to believe that evil may exist through God, although it is hard for them to deal with the fact that the thing they worship the most may produce evil and suffering in the world.
Natasha Swain
Examine and comment on the success or otherwise of any TWO theodicies
There are two important theodicies, which discuss the problem of Evil and Suffering. These theodicies are; The Augustinian Theodicy and The Irenaean Theodicy. I will be focusing on these theodicies and see if they are a success or a failure for supporting the theodicies of evil and suffering. These theodicies challenge the existence of God because he is all-powerful and all loving so why does evil and suffering occur?
The Augustine theodicy is the soul-deciding theodicy. There are many points about evil and suffering and how God is not part of the equation. This is an historical view with, lots of variation. Augustine said that God has created a perfect world, a world that is made out of nothing. ‘Ex-Nihilo’ Therefore the world God created is changeable and corruptible. God has given all of us freewill so the excuse of moral and natural evil comes from the fact that people have abused the freewill God has given us. He also said that as a substance evil does not exist because otherwise God created it- as God created a perfect world. Evil is an absence of good. There is also a point about the fallen – angels. This was the people who sinned against God and has abused freewill e.g. Adam. He also said that everyone was present in Adam therefore everyone has sinned, not God. We live in a world of plenitude.
“The very reason why some things are inferior is that although the parts may be imperfect the world is perfect… the black colour in a picture may very well be beautiful if you take the picture as a whole.” Therefore we live in a world of variety
The second theodicy is the Irenaean thoedicy. This thoedicy is the soul-making theodicy. As humans are developing towards perfection there are two parts. The first phase is the image and likeness of God. Adam and Eve were the raw material of God’s creative work. He was intrigued by the fact that God created man in his own image. The second phase was the pilgrimage. The journey from birth to death (development through life) He used the idea of the Greater Good. This was without evil good cannot be recognised. So Irenaeus is saying that evil does not exist in the world so we can acknowledge that there is good in the world.
“Being allowed to suffer to make possible a greater good is a privilege, even if the privilege is forced upon you.” He also describes us to live in a world in which people are free to choose evil, rather than not being free at all.
There are many criticisms of the Augustinian thoedicy. Although it is quite a successful theodicy there are many points about it, which make it hard for people to understand the concept of evil and suffering. One of the main points was about the fall. If God was all-knowing then he would have known that Adam would have resisted temptation and sinned against him-God was going to create someone who would ‘fall’ Also evil could not be created by nothing, someone had to create it. That was God because God as created everything. It is possible that freewill does not exist otherwise how do humans choose between good and bad? Why is there so much dying and talk about hell? If God was Benevolent then why has he created these things?
Natasha Swain
In comparison the Irenaean theodicy also has many weaknesses. What is the point of a pilgrimage? If God determines our end result what is the point of a pilgrimage, so if you are evil how can it be justified when it is not already realised? Creation was not done in an instant, so God made people suffer a long, slow, painful process. This thoedicy is unfair to good people. Everyone therefore has to follow a moral code so they do not end up in hell. If suffering is not through God, then why is there so much suffering? Many people have been ruined or destroyed. This is a painful process- even though it leads to an infinite good how can he express the term to be divine goodness?
“Was such a divine sledgehammer really necessary to crack the human nut?”
In conclusion to this essay one may argue that evil and suffering is portrayed through God-especially atheists. However for many religious believers is shows problems because many of the reasons are shown through God and his attributes. If God were not described as omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent then how would people be able to judge God? However there are many good things in the world and good must come at a cost so we must encounter some evil through our lives-even theists.
“And no attempt to give an overall view of the meaning and purpose of life can be credible if it overlooks them.”
