Introduction toThe Problem of Suffering and Evil What
Introduction to…The Problem of Suffering and Evil
What is suffering?
Four types of suffering • Physical- • Emotional- • Mental- • Spiritual-
What is Evil?
Describing Evil • A Force- Like the ‘dark side’ in Star Wars. Negative energy. Evil can be personified in the Devil or demons as the cause of evil. This force is believed to have an opposite in Good forces. (This battle between the forces of good and evil is the main running theme of most stories, books and movies made. ) • A Concept- Not a physical entity but more an idea or concept that helps us make sense of the absence of good. • Actions- For some, evil is an action linked to intention, motivation and action. Evil thoughts. Evil Actions. Are they the same thing? • Consequences, Human and natural. Evil has a range of causes and it is down to the way we experience and interpret it. Morally neutral?
Human Evil v Nature Evil Human Evil Natural Evil • Which are cause by both?
Suffering and evil. Who is responsible? • Suffering and evil clearly exist. They harm people and make our world a less pleasant place to live. • There is no one on earth who has not experienced and/ or evil at some point in their existence. • At the same time, many people believe in God, or Gods and say that they have certain qualities which seem at odds with the existence of suffering and evil.
God’s Qualities • God is said to be: • Omnipotent- All powerful • Omniscient- All knowing • Omnibenevolent- All loving. • He could put an end to evil and suffering right away. • He knows about evil and suffering. • If he is loving and good he would want to bring it to an end.
The challenge to Omnipotence • Omnipotence means being allpowerful is the idea that God is without limits in his power. He can do anything he chooses to do. • The challenge therefore is: Why does he do nothing about suffering and evil? • Either he chooses to do nothing and we just have to suffer- which seems wrong- or he can do nothing about itwhich means he is not all powerful. • Surly an all-powerful being would remove suffering and evil. If he does nothing then this calls into question his very existence.
The challenge to Omniscience • Omniscience is the idea that God is all-knowing. He knows the past, present and future, and everything which has and will ever happen. • If he is all-knowing you would think he has a solution to evil and suffering- so why does he not do anything? • Also if he does know everything then in what way are we really free? If all our choices in life are already known, are they really our choices to make?
The challenge to Omni-benevolent • This means that God is good and incapable of doing anything bad and wrong, and at all times- and in all situations- acts in a good way. • Therefore if God is good, why does he allow suffering and evil? • This is not the action of a good being, therefore he is either not perfectly good or does not exist.
Where does this leave us? • For religious people, this leaves them with the task of proving that God can exist along side suffering and evil, and even justify it. • For non-religious people this leaves them with the task of proving that there are other reasons for evil and suffering that prove God does not exist. • These are the arguments we shall discuss next…
Task • Draw a mind map that explains the qualities of God and the problems with it.
- Slides: 13