08 Sep '06 18:37>
This is outline I have come up with on my own. It is not something I cut and pasted from some great philosopher or anything. I know it is long, but I am posting this for those who wish to see a complete, alternative answer to the problem(s) of evil from the Christian perspective.
THE PROBLEM(S) OF EVIL
I. Introduction
A. This problem is unique and important.
- It is emotional, personal, and immediate.
- Because it actually, if true, necessitates that God does not exist,
according to point B.
B. The Classic Syllogism:
Premise 1) If God is all good, He would destroy evil.
Premise 2) If God is all powerful, He could destroy evil.
Premise 3) Evil exists.
Conclusion) An all good, all powerful God doesn't exist.
II. Options
A. Atheism
- This denies premise 1 & 2: since there is no God, there is no
problem of evil.(The problem of evil is reconciling evil with God.)
- It doesn't take the evidence for God seriously.
- It doesn't take my personal problem (of evil) seriously. It
leaves me with no answer or hope.
B. Pantheism
- This denies premise 1 & 3: God is beyond good and evil; there
is no such thing as evil; it is an illusion.
- Evil is an illusion of unenlightened human consciousness: This
has bad implications, in that rape and murder are equal with
love, life is equal to death, praise to cursing, cruelty to
noncruelty.
- In short, pantheism doesn't take evil, my problem, seriously.
C. Polytheism
- This denies premise 1 and 2: whether there is no supreme,
reigning, omnipotent, all-good God above other gods, or that
there is no God near that level of perfection at all.
- This can't even attempt to answer, because the conclusion
clearly states a singular God.
D. Theism
- This falsifies the premises, but lets see how it fairs, because
this is the only logical option to be dealt with.
III. Theism
- Forms of the problem.
A) Any evil.
B) Any amount of evil.
C) Unjust distribution of evil.
B) Any amount of evil
- Logical standpoint: This is a gratuitous problem.
Premise 1) If God exists, then evil has a justifiable reason.
Premise 2) But not all evil has a justifyable reason.
Conclusion) God does not exist.
- Practical standpoint: There is too much pointless evil.
~ Answer: How much evil is too much?
~ We (as Christians) can't explain all the instances of evil, but
we can explain why we can't explain them: The finite can't
comprehend the infinite.
~ In other words, "We don't know why, but we know why we
don't know why, and we know the One who knows why, and
that's better than just not knowing why!" (further explained)
C) Unjust distribution of evil
- The actions of some often undeservedly affect another.
- But the question is not why do bad things happen to good
people, because there are no good people.
~ Ex. Compare a sheep's white wool to the grass it stands next
to. Wow! it sure looks white! Then compare its white wool to
white snow. Hmm, doesn't look so nice and white anymore:
It's all who you compare yourself as being "good" to. There
are too many varying standards of goodness, without
putting God into the equation (discussed later).
- The better question is why good things happen to bad people.
- We have to remember that throughout all of this, that just
because we don't see the end result, doesn't mean it isn't
resolved justly: Justice delayed isn't justice denied.
A) Any evil: this is the only logical option to be dealt with.
IV. The Problem of Evil.
- Let's look at the 3 premise's points: evil, omnipotence, and
goodness.
- The Classic Syllogism:
Premise 1) If God is all good, He would destroy evil.
Premise 2) If God is all powerful, He could destroy evil.
Premise 3) Evil exists.
Conclusion) An all good, all powerful God doesn't exist.
- However what is the assumption in this objection? It is noteworthy
that the problem of evil assumes that God exists! How do we know
what evil is unless we know what good is? And how do we know what
good is unless there is an objective standard beyond ourselves?
V. Is Evil a Problem?
A) What is evil?
- The problem of evil's origin:
Premise 1) God is the author of everything.
Premise 2) Evil is something.
Conclusion) God is the author of evil.
- If evil is a thing, then God made it, or worse he didn't: resulting
in dualism. But to deny the reality of evil is the incompetent
pantheistic attempt.
B) Did God create evil?
- The nature of evil:
~ Evil is not a thing; rather it is the privation of a good thing.
~ Evil is a corruption - the worst things are the best things
corrupted.
~ Ex. Blindness or a moth-eaten garment: Sight is an amazing
wonder, but it being damaged results in blindness. A new
shirt can be worn in pride, but a moth-eaten shirt is thrown
away in disgust because of its corruption.
C) Is the existence of suffering from nature a problem?
- There's a psychosomatic unity of man’s evil with nature’s evil.
~ From the Christian standpoint, at the point of the Fall (as
told in the Bible) the curse of sin, pain, and death not only
fell on humanity, but all of nature as well.
- It can be described in the following diagram: Imagine a circle
with a slightly larger one around it, and a third circle slightly
larger around the second and first. The inner circle is the
spirit of man, the second is the body of man, the third is the
realm of nature. When the first circle is disconnected from
God and cursed with sin, pain, and death, it is a chain
reaction to the rest, because the spirit is the innermost. The
spirit of a man affects his whole being, and the corrupted
humanity affects the realm of nature.
D) Why is there evil, suffering, and pain?
- The answer is free will.
~ Objection to that Christian standpoint:
Premise 1) Every creature God made is perfect.
Premise 2) Perfect creatures can't do what is imperfect.
Conclusion) Every creature God made can't do what is
imperfect.
~ Answer to that objection:
Premise 1) God made everything perfect.
Premise 2) One of those things God made was free
creatures.
Premise 3) Free will can cause evil.
Conclusion) Imperfection can arise from perfection.
E) Summary
- God is not responsible for evil. He made it possible, but we
make it actual.
- Ex. We do not blame Henry Ford for the accidents that happen
today, do we? Just because by building cars, Ford made it
possible for car accidents to happen, doesn't mean that he is
responsible for the actual car accidents that happen today.
VI. Is God's Omnipotence a Problem?
A) Why can't God destroy evil?
- He can't destroy evil without destroying freedom.
- Think of the implications: He wouldn't destroy freedom
without destroying man, because that is the core of our being,
which can't be taken away without extremely altering us. So
what if He starts this destruction of evil by destroying you? I
don’t think that's what we want as humans - death - especially
since many of us aren't ready to face it.
B) If God can do anything possible, did He do His best?
- Did God create the best world? What other worlds could He
have created?
- He could have:
~ 1. Not created at all.
~ 2. Created a world without freedom.
~ 3. Created a world with free creatures that wouldn’t sin.
~ 4. Created a world with free creatures that would sin, but
could not all be saved.
~ 5. Created a world with free creatures that would sin, but
could all be saved.
- Since God could have avoided evil or hell or both, did He do His
best?
- Well, here’s the answers to the other possibilities:
~ 1. Nothing is not better than something.
~ 2. A nonmoral world cannot be morally better than a moral
world.
~ 3. This is a contradiction; it's conceivable but not achievable.
~ 4. This would automatically condemn some, while saving
saving others, which would contradict His just, merciful, and
gracious nature.
~ 5. God would respect our choices, but compromise His
immediate justice, by allowing all the possibility of being
saved.
- So is this the best possible world in number 5?
~ Answer: This world is not the best, but it is the best way to
the best possible world.
~ From the Christian perspective, imagine this diagram:
A dirt road, which represents the journey of humanity. At the
very beginning of the road there is a line that represents
Creation, while slightly farther there is a line in the dirt that
represents ...
THE PROBLEM(S) OF EVIL
I. Introduction
A. This problem is unique and important.
- It is emotional, personal, and immediate.
- Because it actually, if true, necessitates that God does not exist,
according to point B.
B. The Classic Syllogism:
Premise 1) If God is all good, He would destroy evil.
Premise 2) If God is all powerful, He could destroy evil.
Premise 3) Evil exists.
Conclusion) An all good, all powerful God doesn't exist.
II. Options
A. Atheism
- This denies premise 1 & 2: since there is no God, there is no
problem of evil.(The problem of evil is reconciling evil with God.)
- It doesn't take the evidence for God seriously.
- It doesn't take my personal problem (of evil) seriously. It
leaves me with no answer or hope.
B. Pantheism
- This denies premise 1 & 3: God is beyond good and evil; there
is no such thing as evil; it is an illusion.
- Evil is an illusion of unenlightened human consciousness: This
has bad implications, in that rape and murder are equal with
love, life is equal to death, praise to cursing, cruelty to
noncruelty.
- In short, pantheism doesn't take evil, my problem, seriously.
C. Polytheism
- This denies premise 1 and 2: whether there is no supreme,
reigning, omnipotent, all-good God above other gods, or that
there is no God near that level of perfection at all.
- This can't even attempt to answer, because the conclusion
clearly states a singular God.
D. Theism
- This falsifies the premises, but lets see how it fairs, because
this is the only logical option to be dealt with.
III. Theism
- Forms of the problem.
A) Any evil.
B) Any amount of evil.
C) Unjust distribution of evil.
B) Any amount of evil
- Logical standpoint: This is a gratuitous problem.
Premise 1) If God exists, then evil has a justifiable reason.
Premise 2) But not all evil has a justifyable reason.
Conclusion) God does not exist.
- Practical standpoint: There is too much pointless evil.
~ Answer: How much evil is too much?
~ We (as Christians) can't explain all the instances of evil, but
we can explain why we can't explain them: The finite can't
comprehend the infinite.
~ In other words, "We don't know why, but we know why we
don't know why, and we know the One who knows why, and
that's better than just not knowing why!" (further explained)
C) Unjust distribution of evil
- The actions of some often undeservedly affect another.
- But the question is not why do bad things happen to good
people, because there are no good people.
~ Ex. Compare a sheep's white wool to the grass it stands next
to. Wow! it sure looks white! Then compare its white wool to
white snow. Hmm, doesn't look so nice and white anymore:
It's all who you compare yourself as being "good" to. There
are too many varying standards of goodness, without
putting God into the equation (discussed later).
- The better question is why good things happen to bad people.
- We have to remember that throughout all of this, that just
because we don't see the end result, doesn't mean it isn't
resolved justly: Justice delayed isn't justice denied.
A) Any evil: this is the only logical option to be dealt with.
IV. The Problem of Evil.
- Let's look at the 3 premise's points: evil, omnipotence, and
goodness.
- The Classic Syllogism:
Premise 1) If God is all good, He would destroy evil.
Premise 2) If God is all powerful, He could destroy evil.
Premise 3) Evil exists.
Conclusion) An all good, all powerful God doesn't exist.
- However what is the assumption in this objection? It is noteworthy
that the problem of evil assumes that God exists! How do we know
what evil is unless we know what good is? And how do we know what
good is unless there is an objective standard beyond ourselves?
V. Is Evil a Problem?
A) What is evil?
- The problem of evil's origin:
Premise 1) God is the author of everything.
Premise 2) Evil is something.
Conclusion) God is the author of evil.
- If evil is a thing, then God made it, or worse he didn't: resulting
in dualism. But to deny the reality of evil is the incompetent
pantheistic attempt.
B) Did God create evil?
- The nature of evil:
~ Evil is not a thing; rather it is the privation of a good thing.
~ Evil is a corruption - the worst things are the best things
corrupted.
~ Ex. Blindness or a moth-eaten garment: Sight is an amazing
wonder, but it being damaged results in blindness. A new
shirt can be worn in pride, but a moth-eaten shirt is thrown
away in disgust because of its corruption.
C) Is the existence of suffering from nature a problem?
- There's a psychosomatic unity of man’s evil with nature’s evil.
~ From the Christian standpoint, at the point of the Fall (as
told in the Bible) the curse of sin, pain, and death not only
fell on humanity, but all of nature as well.
- It can be described in the following diagram: Imagine a circle
with a slightly larger one around it, and a third circle slightly
larger around the second and first. The inner circle is the
spirit of man, the second is the body of man, the third is the
realm of nature. When the first circle is disconnected from
God and cursed with sin, pain, and death, it is a chain
reaction to the rest, because the spirit is the innermost. The
spirit of a man affects his whole being, and the corrupted
humanity affects the realm of nature.
D) Why is there evil, suffering, and pain?
- The answer is free will.
~ Objection to that Christian standpoint:
Premise 1) Every creature God made is perfect.
Premise 2) Perfect creatures can't do what is imperfect.
Conclusion) Every creature God made can't do what is
imperfect.
~ Answer to that objection:
Premise 1) God made everything perfect.
Premise 2) One of those things God made was free
creatures.
Premise 3) Free will can cause evil.
Conclusion) Imperfection can arise from perfection.
E) Summary
- God is not responsible for evil. He made it possible, but we
make it actual.
- Ex. We do not blame Henry Ford for the accidents that happen
today, do we? Just because by building cars, Ford made it
possible for car accidents to happen, doesn't mean that he is
responsible for the actual car accidents that happen today.
VI. Is God's Omnipotence a Problem?
A) Why can't God destroy evil?
- He can't destroy evil without destroying freedom.
- Think of the implications: He wouldn't destroy freedom
without destroying man, because that is the core of our being,
which can't be taken away without extremely altering us. So
what if He starts this destruction of evil by destroying you? I
don’t think that's what we want as humans - death - especially
since many of us aren't ready to face it.
B) If God can do anything possible, did He do His best?
- Did God create the best world? What other worlds could He
have created?
- He could have:
~ 1. Not created at all.
~ 2. Created a world without freedom.
~ 3. Created a world with free creatures that wouldn’t sin.
~ 4. Created a world with free creatures that would sin, but
could not all be saved.
~ 5. Created a world with free creatures that would sin, but
could all be saved.
- Since God could have avoided evil or hell or both, did He do His
best?
- Well, here’s the answers to the other possibilities:
~ 1. Nothing is not better than something.
~ 2. A nonmoral world cannot be morally better than a moral
world.
~ 3. This is a contradiction; it's conceivable but not achievable.
~ 4. This would automatically condemn some, while saving
saving others, which would contradict His just, merciful, and
gracious nature.
~ 5. God would respect our choices, but compromise His
immediate justice, by allowing all the possibility of being
saved.
- So is this the best possible world in number 5?
~ Answer: This world is not the best, but it is the best way to
the best possible world.
~ From the Christian perspective, imagine this diagram:
A dirt road, which represents the journey of humanity. At the
very beginning of the road there is a line that represents
Creation, while slightly farther there is a line in the dirt that
represents ...