Theodicy

  • Thread starter Thread starter servus
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

servus

Guest
Right now I am taking a summer class at the University I attend called, “The Question of God”, and one statement that the Professor made recently really captured my attention. He said that the problem of Theodicy is the timeless, and paramount problem in Theology.

Theodicy is this: how can evil and suffering exist if God is all powerfull and all good? Or, as the MS Word Encarta Dictionary defines it “the argument in defense of God’s goodness despite the existence of evil”

I don’t think Theodicy is such a big problem. Some have proposed dualism as the answer. Others have said God is evil. Or evil and good when He wants to be.

Why does evil exist? C.S. Lewis answered this beautifully in “God in the Docket”. Evil is a parasite of Good. Evil relies on Good for its existence. Why?

The Bible says that God is good. But compared to what? There can be no such thing as evil unless there is a reference point to measure it by.

The Bible says that God is love. What is love? Love can only exist in an environment where there is the choice not to love, else there is just submission. If there was only one couple in the world, they could not claim to be faithful to eachohter, could they? Of course not because there is no opportunity to invoke choice, making faithfullness meaningful.

We can apply this same concept to the situation of good and evil. God is good. Deviation from God is defined as evil. Did God therefore create evil? No, but evil is shown to be a by-product of good.

Does this make sense?
 
The evil chose to not love God but to place himself above God. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, the devil told him he would give Him all the kingdoms of the earth if He bowed down and worshipped him.

When Adam and Eve sinned, evil entered the world and God allowed it, but sent His prophets. Then He sent His only Son to die as a perfect sacrifice so that men could follow God and live as He intended. Our free will was not taken away. As a friend of mine who briefly dabbled with atheism said, “You can’t force someone to love you.” And Jesus told His followers that He will return to judge the living and the dead. God is just and good, and when we do not realize that He made us and loved us first as a parent loves their own children, then we might reject Him. But when we realize that He is our Father, we choose Him just as a child chooses his biological father.

God bless,
Ed
 
You have both added important elements to my statement. Thank you.
 
servus said:
Right now I am taking a summer class at the University I attend called, “The Question of God”, and one statement that the Professor made recently really captured my attention. He said that the problem of Theodicy is the timeless, and paramount problem in Theology.

Theodicy is this: how can evil and suffering exist if God is all powerfull and all good? Or, as the MS Word Encarta Dictionary defines it “the argument in defense of God’s goodness despite the existence of evil”

I don’t think Theodicy is such a big problem. Some have proposed dualism as the answer. Others have said God is evil. Or evil and good when He wants to be.

Why does evil exist? C.S. Lewis answered this beautifully in “God in the Docket”. Evil is a parasite of Good. Evil relies on Good for its existence. Why?

The Bible says that God is good. But compared to what? There can be no such thing as evil unless there is a reference point to measure it by.

The Bible says that God is love. What is love? Love can only exist in an environment where there is the choice not to love, else there is just submission. If there was only one couple in the world, they could not claim to be faithful to eachohter, could they? Of course not because there is no opportunity to invoke choice, making faithfullness meaningful.

We can apply this same concept to the situation of good and evil. God is good. Deviation from God is defined as evil. Did God therefore create evil? No, but evil is shown to be a by-product of good.

Does this make sense?
Click to expand...
I recommend some good books:

Why Does God Permit Evil by Dom Bruno Webb
Making Sense Out Of Suffering by Peter Kreeft
Arise From Darkness by Father Benedict Groeschel
 
thistle said:
I recommend some good books:

Why Does God Permit Evil by Dom Bruno Webb
Making Sense Out Of Suffering by Peter Kreeft
Arise From Darkness by Father Benedict Groeschel
Click to expand...
I especially like the Peter Kreeft book.
 
God is pure good, pure love. He created the earth, and man in his image. Man brought evil into this world with his choice in the garden, and man must endure evil until the end when Jesus restores the kingdom of heaven on earth. God is good, God is love, but man brought evil onto himself. If God wasn’t pure good and love, He wouldn’t have sent His Son to die for us.

It’s pretty simple, I don’t understand why people have such problems with this.
 
How can one measure darkness? You cannot. You can only measure light. The intensity of light can be measured. Darkness is simply less light.

How can one measure coldness? You cannot. You can only measure heat. Heat is measured in 3 ways: fahrenheit, celsius, and kelvins. Coldness is simply less heat.

How can one measure evil? You cannot. You can only measure good. Evil is simply less good.

Albert Einstein gave the above argument for the existence of God. However, St. Augustine gave the same argument titled “Privation of Good”. Evil is simply the privation of good. Evil does not exist in and of itself. Evil can only exist when good does not.
 
I think that the main reason the problem of evil poses such a problem for people is that it confronts people on more than just an intellectual level. When people are hurting, it’s easy to take that pain and lash out at God, especially when (as even John Paul noted in Salvifici Doloris) our explanations don’t fully explain suffering. The best theodicy I’ve ever encountered is Christ on the cross. He doesn’t explain why we suffer, but he shows us that He, too, knows what it is to suffer, and that He is not blind to our pain.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top