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To get you thinking...

Delve into the philosophical dilemma of the existence of evil in a world created by a good and all-powerful God. Discover St. Augustine's theodicy and the biblical basis for his defense of God.

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To get you thinking...

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  1. To get you thinking... Look carefully at the following statements: what issues or problems do you think they highlight? • God made the world and it was GOOD • God is omnipotent – there is nothing / no being more powerful than God • Human freewill means God has no means of controlling human action

  2. God made the world and it was GOOD This means that God cannot have created anything that is not GOOD – ie, EVIL cannot have been created by God. It is philosophically absurd for a perfect God to produce something that is imperfect. • God is omnipotent – there is nothing / no being more powerful than God This means that we can’t blame the devil for the evil that happens – it is not possible for the devil to act outside the will of God (as seen in the story of Job) It also implies that God must have pretty good reason for letting evil remain – as he is omnipotent, he could get rid of evil if he wanted to • Human freewill means God has no means of controlling human action God must have had good reason for granting humans freewill – the suffering that we encounter is brought on by ourselves. An omniscient God would have known this when he created humans so there must be good justification for it.

  3. Augustine’s Theodicy “Calamity has come upon you my brethren and, my brethren, you deserved it!” (Fr Panneloux in Albert Camus’ “The Plague”) An explanation for the existence of Evil in God’s creation A depiction of Job with his lamenting friends by William Blake Key word: Theodicy = a justification of God

  4. Theodicy • A theodicy literally means “justification of God” • Philosophers over the centuries have attempted to address the Problem of Evil and offer a defence of God. • St Augustine (354-430) set out his theodicy based on Biblical teaching, in particular The Fall. What key ideas can we identify in the Biblical teachings that were so influential to St Augustine?

  5. The Biblical Basis • These 3 extracts from the Bible form the basis of Augustine’s theodicy • Genesis 3 (The Fall of Man) shows that the original sin of Adam and Eve was due to free choice and led to the corruption of the natural order (destruction of paradise) • Romans 5:12 is an indication that all humans are seminally present in Adam – ie, all humans descend from Adam & Eve and so all are tainted with Original Sin • Romans 5:18 is an expression of God’s ultimate grace and mercy. As all have sinned, all should rightfully go to Hell. St Paul draws a parallel between Adam (through whom all are condemned) and Jesus (through whom all are saved).

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