Problem of Evil (POE) Famous Quotes. Is the world full of evil? Moral Design/ Teleological Argument

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1 Moral Design/ Teleological Argument Mr. A Problem of Evil (POE) df - If God is all good and all powerful, why is there evil in the world? also known as - Theodicy Theo - God dicy - justify Famous Quotes Darwin - I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars. Hutchins - If god really wanted people to be free of [wicked thoughts], he should have taken more care to invent a different species. Alfred Lord Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H - Who trusted God was love indeed, And love Creation's final law, Tho Nature, red in tooth and claw, With ravine, shriek'd against his creed 1. Nature vs. Nature lion eating a lamb/horse fly laying eggs in the eye of a horse 2. Nature vs. Man Earthquakes, Tsunamis, drought, diseases, AIDS, Black Plague, famine 3. Man vs. Man rich/poor, war, slavery, racism 4. Man vs. Woman starts as true love, ends as true hate 5. Man vs. Self Mental illness/lack of self-esteem

2 6. Bad attitude - It s just how you look at it. R: that doesn t change that these things are happening 7. Ignorance is Bliss R: you can only ignore suffering so long until it effects you 8. Island of Bliss R: then you don t have compassion for others not on your island 9. Suicide - it s not that bad R: People don t commit suicide because of fear on the other side 10. Hope? - Things will get better (mistakes/older/retirement) R1: mistakes - how many decisions have you not made yet? R2: older - 2nd half of a marathon is worse R3: retirement - save for golden years but how golden when you re broken,deaf,and sick? 11. Culture - God bless America R: Egypt/Persia/Greek/Roman empires mean anything to you? 12. Family (Spouse/children) R1: remember Man vs. Woman? R2: will children live forever? what about teen years? 13. Nature is Beautiful R: if nature is so great, why do you come back into town? remember Man vs. Nature? 14. Knowledge - makes it all worth it R1: to share with others? who many people actually will listen to you? R2: the more you know, the more suffering and meaninglessness you know about 15. If you were good then you wouldn t die If you going to die, what does that say about you? 16. Deicide What is Good? killing God is the worst evil man can do 17. Spiritual Death NARDing Reason You are destroying the image of God within you. Is there anything worse for an individual than that? It goes on forever. Meaninglessness, Bordem,and Guilt, unendingly Is it possible you ve killed yourself Spiritually? Have you acted against your nature? df Good - to act according to one s nature Horse acting like a horse Cat acting like a cat Human acting like a human Have you failed to use your reason? To act contrary to your nature is an act of self destruction Spiritual suicide is worse than physical suicide

3 What is Good for Man? The Good for man is to act according to his nature Human beings by nature are rational beings So the good for man as a rational being is to use his reason So the good for man as a rational being is to use his reason to the utmost So the good for man as a rational being is to use his reason to the utmost to understand the things that have been made By understanding the things that have been made, man understands the maker The maker of all things is God Therefore the Good for man is the knowledge of God Types of Evil There are 2 types of evil: Natural Evil (NE) - evil found in nature toil, strife, old age, sickness, and physical death Moral Evil (ME) - evil found in humans acting against your human nature, not thinking leads to meaninglessness, boredom, guilt and excess Hume s 5 solutions- Fideistic Is there hope? 1. God's goodness is perfect but incomprehensible God loves you but, you can't know why it happens. R: If Incomprehensible religion ends - WHY PRAY? 2. Appeal to the future You ll know when you die and go to heaven. R1: How do you know that? R2: There is no essential difference between now and the future, why can t I know now? WHY PRAY? 3. There is more good than evil in the world. R1: how do you measure that? remember the world is full of evil (17 pts) Hume s 5 solutions- Fideistic 4. God is finite in power God is doing the best he can with what he has. R: Can God be the creator and finite in power? 5. God is indifferent God doesn t bother with this stuff. He doesn t care. R: Can God be the creator and be indifferent? R2: even if true, why is there any evil at all?

4 Freewill Solution Many think suffering is because of Freewill Here is the line of thinking: NE is due to ME ME is due to Freewill Freewill is due to Human Dignity discuss.do you want to be robots? how can you love if you re a robot? Freewill Solution is not a solution 1. Possible is not actual Can you not sin for 5 seconds? (Married man and a single woman) freewill can make sin possible but not actual Besides, how FREE are you if given enough time you are BOUND to sin? 2. Actual is not necessary things could turn out another way (failing a test - could ve studied) 3. Not necessarily possible Freewill does not have to make sin possible Does God have freewill? Will God ever sin? In heaven will you have freewill? Will you ever sin? 4. Virtue without evil I can gain virtues without having to fall into sin Any Other Solutions? Why is there Moral Evil (ME)? 1. Moral Evil serves to deepen the revelation Maybe the answer is easier then we think Prodigal Son Story 2. If ME is removed quickly, the revelation is not deepened 3. If ME is never removed the revelation is not seen at all 4. Therefore, ME is removed gradually

5 Why is there Natural Evil (NE)? 1. df - Natural Evil - toil, strife, old age, sickness, and death - suffering Why is there Natural Evil (NE)? Maximized into: War, famine, plague 2. Summary: a. NE is not original bc of the Could, Would, Must, Did Argument b. NE is not inherent - there is no direct connection between ME and physical death c. NE is imposed by God 3. Purpose of NE (RRR) Restrains acts of ME Recalls to stop and think about ME Removes ME d. NE is imposed by God because of ME not as a punishment e. NE is imposed by God as a CALLBACK to STOP and THINK Ironic Solution 1. Because of all the evil in the world, I cannot see how you can say that God is all good and all powerful. 2. Because of all the unbelief in the world I cannot see how you can say that God is all good and all powerful. 3. Because of all the unbelief in me I cannot see how you can say God is all good and all powerful. 4. Because I have shut my eyes I cannot see how you can say God is all good and all powerful. Solution: Open your eyes! Think!