Theodicies - 1464 Words

A theodicy is a defense of Gods goodness in light of the existence of evil. There are different ways of making an argument that constitutes a theodicy, and in this paper I would like to concentrate on three different styles, and analyze them in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. The first type of theodicy is known informally as the greater good argument: it suggests that the evil that is permitted by God is outweighed by his goodness, and is permitted in the course of establishing some greater good. The second type of theodicy is based on the concept of free will: to some extent it is a subset of the greater good argument, for it holds that God permits human free will (and therefore the possibility of evil being done) as a greater good. The third theodicy hinges upon the idea of a natural order: this posits that Gods goodness is manifest in the establishment of a natural order of things in which evil plays a role. Each of these styles of theodicy has its good and bad aspects, a nd it is worth examining them in some greater depth individually. The greater good style of theodicy hinges, to a large extent, upon our sense of Gods omniscience. If our intellectual capacity is infinitely less than that of God and the comparison of anything finite, such as human intelligence, to something infinite like the omniscience of God then it stands to reason that the existence of evil may be part of some larger scheme which eludes our understanding. Any Christian theodicyShow MoreRelatedTheodicies and Anti-theodicies in The Quarrel835 Words   |  3 Pagesevil that threatens our sense of meaning and purpose by exploring the major issues of theodicies and anti-theodicies in The Quarrel. Exploring these theodicies and anti-theodicies is important in understanding why evil exists rather than explaining the science behind what causes evil. The first theodicy to be discussed is the â€Å"theodicy of protest,† which contradicts itself making it an anti-theodicy. This theodicy is one that allows atheism to appear considering there is no logical explanation asRead MoreA comparison of Augustinian Theodicy and Irenaean Theodicy1499 Words   |  6 Pagesworld are incompatible with Gods omnipotence and perfect goodness, the wordtheodicy is coined to deal with the problem of evil. Usually it is an attempt to show that it is possible to affirm the omnipotence of God, the love of God, and the reality of evil without contradiction. Two of the most well-known and most frequently discussed theodicies are the Augustinian theodicy and the Irenaean theodicy. The Augustinian theodicy was constructed by Saint Augustine (345-430 AD) and is the main traditionalRead MoreThe Evil Problems Within Theodicy1369 Words   |  6 PagesThe Evil Problems Within Theodicy The problem with evil in the world can be a test of our faith in God or a higher power. For the most part, we as ordinary people in our society live our lives according to the premise that God is our savior and will lead us to eternal happiness upon our death in this world. As a Catholic, who can be considered more spiritual than religious, I use the belief system of Catholicism for my foundation of my behavior. If I adhere to the rules set out by my god,Read MoreGod And Natural Disasters : An Explanation Of Theodicy1072 Words   |  5 PagesElizabeth Carter Professor Fuller PHIL-1301-052 13 November 2015 God and Natural Disasters: An Explanation of Theodicy Each year there are a wide variety of natural disasters occur around the world. According to the website ReliefWeb, on average there are 388 natural disasters resulting in an average of 106,654 deaths and a total of 216 million victims per average year (ReliefWeb). These types of events have caused many people to question the existence of God. How can God be omnipotent and omnibenevolentRead MoreThe Problem Of Evil : The Free Will Defense And The Supralapsarian Theodicy1514 Words   |  7 PagesThe part that this argument did not take into account is that God may have not caused evil to exist or maybe he has but for a special purpose. The two solutions to what we call the problem of evil are: the free will defense and the Supralapsarian theodicy. The free will defense argues that evil and God are not incompatible because God didn’t create evil. According to this defense, human beings create evil with the free will that God given them. Since free will must be totally free, God cannot guideRead MoreOld Testament II : A Small Scale Treatment On Theodicy- From The Texts Of Ecclesiastes And Job1243 Words   |  5 PagesOld Testament II: A Small Scale Treatment on Theodicy- from the texts of Ecclesiastes and Job Thesis: Traditionally theodicy is expressed as the inability to reconcile the co-existence of a good God and the ever-present evil at work in the world. How could God and evil coexist? Does this mean that God is not stronger than the evil? If God is all-powerful, then is he not willing to save mankind from evil? These questions of theodicy are fundamental to the texts of Ecclesiastes and Job, yet bothRead MoreThe Problem Of Evil And Moral Evil1093 Words   |  5 Pagesof evil are in the form of a theodicy. A theodicy is an â€Å"attempt to offer different answers to the problem of evil.† Two of the theodicies discussed in this paper will be the Augustinian Theodicy and the Iranaean Theodicy. Both theodicies direct their explanations toward moral evil than natural evil. First, the Augustinian theodicy and the pros and cons associated with its attempt to explain the problem of evil will be discussed. The problem of evil and such theodicies â€Å"attempt to explain how theRead MoreEssay on The Problem with Evil in Religion1259 Words   |  6 PagesExistence of God that the omnipotence of God only relates to acts that actually make sense. I believe it is uncontroversial that Gods inability to make two plus two equal five, and God creating an, â€Å"unliftable† stone is impossible and incoherent. A theodicy is the desire to promote the notion that Gods goodness and justice is possibly compatible with the existence of evil. While it is relatively easy to defend against the logical problem of evil, the struggle with the overall problem of evil for manyRead MoreA Brief Note On The Problem Of Evil726 Words   |  3 Pagesfrom God. There are several theodicies that can be addressed regarding why God allowed moral evil into the world even though He is all-powerful and all-loving (Elwell, 1184). Leibniz’s theodicy is an extreme rationalistic system that states that God is obligated to create the best possible world and in doing so, included evil to balance the world. If God refused o create this world, then He would morally sinful, which is not possible (Elwell, 1185). Another theodicy is the Augustinian or a modifiedRead MoreLiterary Analysis on the Book of Job3072 Words   |  13 Pagesdifferent conclusions and interpretations of the book can be made. Theological complications due to the existence of evil in a world ruled by an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent god will be attempted to be reconciled by theodicy. As coined by Gottfried Leibniz, theodicy is a branch of apologetics which attempts to reconcile the apparent evil in the world with God’s benevolent nature. Job’s nature and wealth is described in the first three verses of the book. He is depicted as â€Å"perfect and