Theodicies that justify divine action or inaction in the face of evil

Augustine's use of original perfection and the Fall

Augustine works on the premise that if a perfect God creates a good world, this world can only be without flaws, Eden was a state of perfection, without defects. At the time of creation evil and suffering did not exist. Augustine states that evil did not come from God as it is not a substance (a physical thing) but rather a privation (a state of lacking) of goodness, known as privatio boni. He compares this to illness being the absence of health. As health is a substance whereas illness is a reduction in the substance. Through this example, Augustine is showing that privation is falling short of something's true nature.

So if the world was created perfect, why is it now imperfect?

Augustine traced evil in the world to those things that have free will: Angels and humans. As evil is not a substance they do not choose to do an evil thing, but rather to turn their attention away from God, the supreme good, to things that are of lesser goodness, resulting in the privation of good.

The fall of the angels then resulted in the fall of humans found in Genesis 3 whereby Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent (the animal manifestation of Lucifer, now known as Satan) to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Succumbing to the temptation Adam and Eve have acted in direct contradiction to the instruction given by God. This act of disobedience resulted in punishment from God and they were evicted from the Garden of Eden. This misuse of free will unbalances the harmony in creation, leaving God's perfect world in 'disharmony', leading to a privation of goodness in the world, which we call evil.

The punishment for their sins led to the epistemic distance from God as Adam and Eve were removed from God's presence. As all humans are 'seminally present in the loins of Adam' all humans share in his sinful nature known as 'original sin'. This causes humans to make wrong choices whereby they cause moral evil, that is seen within the world.

Augustine and natural evil

This idea is not unique to Augustine as we can see it presented within the Pauline Epistle of Romans which states:

'Therefore, sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned'

Defending Augustine against criticism of the fall

One of the common criticisms of Augustine's argument is that if God had truly created the world perfect it should not have been possible for it to go wrong. Almost foreseeing the criticisms that may be raised Augustine can explain this through the principle of plenitude. This is the idea that a perfect world would contain every possible variety of creature. Coupling this understanding with the previously discussed passage 'it is good' Augustine can a priori deduce that we live in a world containing variety.

From this conclusion, it is clear to see that the fall of the angels and subsequent fall of man is a necessary part of a perfect world, because if they were not able to have a varied response to God the world simply would not be perfect. Showing that the fall, contrary to the view that it should not have been able to take place, is evidence of a perfect world.

Augustines' defence of an omnibenevolent God in the face of evil

Understandably, some humans find it difficult to reconcile the existence of evil within the world with an omnibenevolent God.

However, Augustine can skillfully explain why that difficulty in comprehension exists through his aesthetic argument. Within this argument, Augustine points to the idea that humans only see and experience the world in part. We see the suffering experienced through evil but fail to see the bigger picture of God's grace offered through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Depending on his exegesis of passages like

'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.'(John 3: 16-17)

Augustine offers a hermeneutic about the 'bigger picture' of this world and the way it should be viewed.

Arguments against Augustine's theodicy

• The logical problem of evil
• The evidential problem of evil
• Schleiermacher – states it is a logical contradiction for a perfect world to go wrong, as either the world would be perfect and therefore the fall could not have happened because disobedience would not occur in a perfect world. Or, the world was not created perfect

Dostoevsky's "Brothers of Karamazov" novel

• Within Dostoevsky's novel 'Brothers of Karamazov', Dostoevsky highlights that even if we removed all adult suffering and focused only on child suffering, (as we cannot accuse them of 'eating the apple' as they are innocent), there is still too much suffering to justify the existence of a loving God.
• He uses the example of a cruel mother causing needless suffering to her 5-year-old child and a serfdom guard having a small child ripped to pieces by his hunting dogs for no reason other than throwing a stone at his dog's paw, as examples of suffering in this world. In the story, Dvoresky highlights the outrage that imperfect humans feel in response to needless suffering, through the character of one of the brothers who is the novice monk.
• Dostoevsky uses this story to highlight the view that any justification for such horror acts is too great a price for what he calls the 'ticket' of harmony. In his reference to 'eating the apple' and 'harmony,' it can be seen that he is drawing the reader's attention to the irrational arguments that he believes Augustine has made, as no loving person would allow such suffering, never mind an omnibenevolent God.

Hick's reworking of the Irenaean theodicy

Hick gives some purpose to natural evil in enabling human beings to reach the divine likeness. Hick's vale of soul-making theodicy is a modern presentation of the Irenaean theodicy which posits that both natural and moral evil are essential components of 'soul-making' allowing humans to morally and spiritually develop into the likeness of God.

Like Augustine, Irenaeus also traced evil back to human free will, arguing that the existence of suffering plays a valuable role in God's plan for humans. Building on the Irenaean tradition, Hick postulates that rather than creating perfect humans from the outset, God instead purposefully left them imperfect to enable them to complete the process of creation themselves. Echoing Irenaeas' reliance on the scripture that humans are "made in the image and likeness of God", Hick asserts that humans have been made in the 'image' of God with the potential to achieve perfection in the future, at which point they will have moved into the 'likeness' of him. As a means to move into the likeness of God then, Hick propounds the notion that God has purposefully provided humans with opportunities to grow, through the experience of suffering. Whilst at first glance to many the existence of suffering in the world may seem at odds with an omnibenevolent God, Hick argues to the contrary.

Hick and epistemic distance

Taking inspiration from British poet John Keats, Hick encapsulates the purpose of living in a world with suffering even though for those such as Rowe the world may seem a "vale of tears" it is instead best understood as a "place of soul-making". In this, Hick is arguing that through the experience of evil and suffering, people learn grow and develop: it is a purposeful tool. Whilst Hick acknowledges that an omnipotent God could have created humans in both his image and likeness, therefore negating the need for suffering, he contests the value in this. He puts forward the idea that if God had done this then, humans would not have the ability to act freely. From this comes an integral element of Hick's theodicy: the epistemic distance (the distance in knowledge between humans and God). In his work Encountering Evil,

"Humanity is created at an epistemic distance from God to come freely to know and love their maker; and that they are at the same time created as morally immature and imperfect beings to attain through freedom the most valuable quality of goodness." - Hick

Critique of Irenaean Theodicy

One of the common criticisms of the Irenaean theodicy, & Hick's reworking of it, is that an omnipotent God should have been able to create a world whereby people could move into the likeness of God through another means other than suffering however, Hick contests this idea, explicitly explaining why evil and suffering is the only way that humans can genuinely move into God's likeness. Like Swinburne, Hick argues that without evil and suffering qualities such as courage, honour and love would be impossible and subsequently, it would not be possible to grow into the likeness of God. Since these qualities are essential elements of soul making it would not be possible for the world to be devoid of suffering since suffering creates opportunities to develop these virtues. This notion builds upon principles found in the Pauline epistles whereby he states "We glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character and hope" (Romans 5:3). In this, Hick, and Paul, are emphasising the benefits of suffering serving as a vessel to salvation and that the suggestion that we could learn values without suffering is mere speculation.

Arguments against the Vale of Soul making

• The logical problem of evil
• The evidential problem of evil
• Dostoevsky in his novel 'Brothers of Karamazov', chooses to highlight that even just looking at children's suffering and ignoring adult suffering there is enough evidence to question an omnibenevolent God
• It is in line with the scientific theory of evolution as humans are developing from one stage into another and there is no insistence on a former period of perfection. While Augustine's literal approach is in direct contrast to science
• D.Z Philips 'Suffering cannot be seen as an expression of love' it will never be acceptable to hurt someone to make a point, so the evidence of evil in the world causes a greater problem to the theist.
• Hume asks whether our world could be a little more hospitable and still teach us and allow us to develop various characteristics. Moral character can be developed through pleasure as well as through pain, so perhaps we don't need the amount of suffering to learn