chapter 11: theodicy

Chapter 11: Theodicy

The Problem of Evil

Theos =God dikos = justice“Justifying the ways of God”

term coined in 1710 by the German philosopher

Gottfried Leibniz in his book Theodicy: Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil. The purpose of the essay was to show that the evil in the world does not conflict with the goodness of God and thatthe world is the best of all possible worlds, despite the evil in it.

Reactions to tragedyFatedness, meaninglessness, despair…..

Religion counters that by offering a sense of control of a more positive future, meaningfulness and hope. How?

Compensation:the near future will fix it

Explanation:Its because of….karma,

God’s will…. Etc.

Communal Support:Wakes, funerals, burials, support groups, listening, prayer, hand-holding….

Healing:Hospitals, disaster aid, food, water, medicine, hospices, prayer, financial support.

The Most Violent Century?20th century: wars and starvation killed about

70 million people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_anthropogenic_disasters_by_death_

toll

Mystical Participation in something greater than one’s selfA Chinese father can die happily knowing he

lives on in his well-raised sons.A soldier can face death knowing he lives on

in his unit, tribe or nation.A Christian endures persecution believing he

or she is sharing in the suffering of Christ.

A future, this-world theodicy*Compensation for present suffering

is coming:God will set his people free and

establish a new Zion, where the Jewish people can prosper in freedom .

The Son of Man will come (or return) and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

Hussite reform in Bohemia leads to millenarian revolt of the Taborites in 1419 (Czech) see p. 241

*a.k.a “millenarianism”

Shi’a Islam: the hidden Imam will return at some point to begin 1000 years of justice and peace. (Iran’s 1979 revolution lead by the imam Khomeini).

The Millerites in New England believed the world would end in 1843.

Marxism: the classless workers’ paradise is coming once the revolution succeeds

Other-worldy theodiciesSomething better awaits you at death.HeavenParadisethe Pure Land NirvanaMoksha

Dualistic TheodiciesZoroastrianism : light will

defeat darknessGnosticism: you will leave your

earthly body behind and escape into the spiritual world. (see Mandeans, p.244)

Karma-Samsara TheodicySamsara; the wheel of rebirth (reincarnation).People have self-consiousness, freedom and responsibilty.

We have total responsibility for our own future and total accountability for our own past actions. We have reason and free will. Good and evil realities can only come from good and evil actions freely chosen in the past or present (karma).

Fulfilling your duty (dharma) in life is the ultimate good. To go against your dharma as assigned by caste and gender, would be evil and ultimately self-destructive.

Tragedy is not a mystery or seen as unfair, and theodicy is not really a problem to be solved. Evil always has a rational understandable cause….. you brought it on yourself (see p. 245)

Monotheistic TheodicyThe problem: there’s only one God to blame,

and he is supposed to be good, fair, just, all-powerful and merciful.

Does God allow evil? Can’t he prevent it? Does he cause it? (David Hume’s argument: p.247)

Terms;Moral evil Natural evilGod’s sovereignty, benevolence, providence. Can these characteristics of God and evil be

true at the same time without contradictions?

The Hebrew Bible’s

book of Job has 4 theodicies to explain why the good may suffer

Suffering as punishment for sinSuffering as a test or character building.Suffering as a mystery: God has his reasons.

Submit. Anti-theodicy: don’t try to justify or explain

evil. Be angry at God.

The Free Will DefenseGod chooses to gives us free

willDoing evil has to be an option

for man, or he is not truly free to do good.

John Hick’s negative theodicy, p. 254.

Process TheodicyAlfred North Whitehead and Charles HartshorneMaybe God isn’t omnipotent. Maybe he is still

“in process” and can’t really control absolutely everything. He is maybe as good and all knowing as possible, but he’s not yet perfect.

Upside: takes God off the hook for the problem of evil

Downside: Why trust God if he can’t defeat evil? Is such a being really what the West knows as God at all?

Albert Camus (1948) The Plague

:Theodicy concerning the death of Algerians in a plague from the 1840s