Well - today was a day of evil.. I went to Cadbury College where I did three sessions with AS groups - all on the Problem of Evil.See more on Evil at http://www.rsweb.org.uk/phil/evil.html and also on the 'Irenaean theodicy' at http://www.philosophyonline.co.uk/pages/irenaean.htm
(or buy our 'Problem of Evil DVD'! Aimed at A level Religious Studies / Philosophy and Ethics: HERE )
I thought the discussions were very useful - and I liked the points made about the nature of God - indeed, all the questions today showed some real insight: and I hope to be back before too long.
Cheers,
Dave.
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I also found this YouTube video (with music - if you keep listening) that addresses Voltaire's reaction to the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, and the Problem of Evil - and it is well worth watching through...
An omniscient, benevolent God must not wish His creation to suffer; but His creation suffers, evil exists, disproportionately, it would seem, to God's goodness. Some may say that God's ways are incomprensible; we must just accept pain and suffering as it is for a future good which we cannot know. If we grow from adversity then surely we could still grow with a good deal less of the unfathomable suffering that is inflicted (John Hicks and David Hume - not an original idea of mine). Intellectually deciphering the problem of evil is cruel and heartless while observing the senseless pain of humanity. Voltaire says contemplation of the motivation behind God's actions is not available for speculation, but what is available is an opportunity to embrace humanity in an attempt to conquor evil. "To be or not to be ...." When to act, when not to act. Should I intervene when somebody chooses to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge? Or should I just film it? No the film crew should be sentenced to Alcatraz and learn to get used to vertical lines. And the rest of us should grab the person with brute strength and physically carry them away and buy them ice cream and check their medication - it may just have run out
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