What is the theodicy of evil?
What is the theodicy of evil?
A theodicy is an attempt to justify or defend God in the face of evil by answering the following problem, which in its most basic form involves these assumptions: God is all good and all powerful (and, therefore, all knowing). The universe/creation was made by God and/or exists in a contingent relationship to God.
What is the ontological problem of evil?
The ontological problem of evil suggests that we change our focus from the provinciality of this world to the whole scope of metaphysical possibility: if there is a God, his existence must be consistent with all of it.
How does Augustine’s theodicy respond to the problem of evil?
Augustine proposed that evil could not exist within God, nor be created by God, and is instead a by-product of God’s creativity. He rejected the notion that evil exists in itself, proposing instead that it is a privation of (or falling away from) good, and a corruption of nature.
What is the solution to the problem of evil?
From an atheistic viewpoint, the problem of evil is solved trivially and thereby in accordance with the principle of Occam’s razor: the existence of evil and suffering is reconciled with the assumption that an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God exists by assuming that no God exists.
Is the problem of Evil a theological problem?
As a theological problem, there are three assertions which a theist has to hold: God is omnipotent, God is omnibenevolent and that evil exists.
How does Augustinian theodicy explain the problem of evil?
Thus, Augustinian theodicy argues that God created the world and it was perfect, without the existence of evil or suffering. This idea is supported in Genesis 1:31, where the Bible states that “God saw all that he had made and saw that it was very good.” So if the world was made perfect and good, then where did evil originate from?
Which is harder to justify, evil or theodicy?
A theodicy is harder to justify: it must show how evil fits into God’s plan. Most theologians think that the best we can do is to show that evil and the the existence of God are compatible, but they don’t believe they can completely explain evil.
How is evil evidence against the existence of God?
b) The evidentiary problem of evil – evil counts as evidence against the existence of God. Response to the problem – Theists have articulated defences, but generally dismiss theodicies (complete explanations for evil.) A defence is easy, you just need to show that it is rational to believe in God and evil simultaneously.