Augustine's Theodicy and the Origin of Evil in Christianity
Augustinian Theodicy
Learning Objectives
•
Know biblical teachings on the origin of
evil
•
Explain where Christians believe evil
comes from
•
Explain the Augustinian Theodicy
A Theodicy:
Is, a philosophical theory that aims to
justify
the
existence of God despite evil in the world.
e.g. Suggesting evil and suffering are necessary.
1.
Read page 11 and the next slide
2.
Write a paragraph that explains the term
theodicy and what a theodicy needs
Theodicies
A theodicy is an attempt to justify God in spite of the existence of
evil and suffering.
Some theologians, like
Anders Nygren
have argued that it is wrong
for religious believers to attempt a theodicy because it is
irreligious to imagine that fallible human minds can understand
God.
Others, like
John Hick
, believe that Christians have to try to
understand evil, because it is central to other aspects of faith; such
as sin, redemption and Christ as the saviour.
Evil presents a particular problem for people who believe God to
be both loving and omnipotent. For some, such as
Bertrand
Russell
, the universe needs no explanation; it is just the way it is,
including evil and suffering – which just happen.
The Augustinian Theodicy
Start of a mind map
St
Augustine
of Hippo
13
November
354 – 28
August 430)
He was the
bishop of Hippo
Regius (modern-
day Annaba,
Algeria), located
in Numidia
(Roman province
of Africa).
Activities
1.
Read the account of creation and the Fall in the
Bible
Genesis 1-3
2.
Now write your own description and explanation of
these events
the
summary table on pages 11-12 of
booklet 1.
3.
Add a brief summary of the Fall to your mind map
4.
Make sure you have read up to pag
e 5 in the
booklet
5.
Extension – read pages 5 and 6
According to
Manichaeism
the
world was in a struggle
between the substance of light
and the substance of darkness.
•
Augustine's theodicy is based
on the Bible’s accounts of the
Creation and the Fall
•
Where, man abused God’s
gift of freewill, which led to
the existence of evil
Augustine was
influenced by
Manichaeism
-
see
diagram on next slide
Read, listen and add key points to your mind
map
Manichaeism
Good
Evil
1.God is perfect and created a perfect
world
•
The world was
created perfect and
‘good’
•
There was a garden
where humanity
spent time with
God
•
God also created
angels and humans
with capacity for
freewill
2. Fallen Angels
•
Fallen angels are those who were
cast out of heaven because they
turned against God (e.g. Satan)
•
This is because they were granted
freewill
•
They rebelled, doubted Gods plan
and motives and rejected the
system of heaven
•
They then went on to tempt Adam
and Eve in the garden
3. Humanities freewill …
•
Humanity
abused
God’s
gift of freedom
•
Evil came about
through humanity
having freedom /
freewill and choosing to
turn away from God
Augustine’s argument – complete the table using pages 13
and 14 of the booklet and Jordan
Watch the following summary
1.
God is
good
and created a perfect world Genesis
2.
Evil comes from angels and humans who turned
away from God –Free will
3.
God cannot be blamed for creating evil as it is a
privation/deprivation –
privatio boni
4.
Seminally present
5.
Cross overcomes evil
6.
Soul deciding
7.
This theodicy is
‘soul deciding’
because God gave
humans free will and each human decides their
own eternal fate by either obeying God’s will or
ignoring it.
God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for
humanity.
Many Christians refer to the Fall as
felix
culpa
– happy mistake, because if it had not
happened God would not have sent Jesus
into the world to save us from sin.
Those who freely choose Jesus will be
redeemed and spend eternity in heaven with
God – this demonstrates God’s mercy
So, humanities fate is decided on the basis of
Adam’s sin and the individuals response to
God’s offer of salvation in Christ
Review and recap
•
Could there be a reason for God allowing evil to
exist?
•
Might there even be a beneficial consequence of
evil?
•
Think about the earlier statements:
•
“The world was created perfect and good”
•
And, Augustine’s proposal that “evil came from
the world, not God”
•
Do you see any controversies in these TWO ideas
The notion of freewill plays a key role in
Augustine’s theodicy
F
R
E
E
W
I
L
L
E
V
I
L
A summary of Augustine’s theodicy
Explain the role of
freewill in the
Augustine Theodicy
Important Point
Think back to Aquinas’ cosmological argument, where he argued that ex nihilo, nihil
fit – nothing can come from nothing. Evil exists as a feature of the world, and
therefore must have come from somewhere.
Schleiermacher’s critique
Schleiermacher (1768-1834) argued that there
is a logical contradiction in holding that a
perfectly created world has gone wrong, since
this would mean that evil has created itself out
of nothing, which is logically impossible.
Even if evil is a privation, it is still a real feature
of the world, as is the suffering it produces. As
such, evil has to be attributed to God. Either
the world was not perfect to begin with or God
enabled it to go wrong.
Schleiermacher also thought it was
difficult to understand how, in a
perfect world where there is no
knowledge of good and evil, there
could possibly be freedom to obey or
disobey God, since good and evil
would be unknown. The fact that
God’s creature chose to disobey Him
suggests there was already knowledge
of good and evil, which could only
have come from God.
Augustine's Theodicy is a philosophical attempt to justify God's existence despite the presence of evil in the world, rooted in biblical teachings on the origin of evil and human free will. This theodicy explores how Christians perceive the existence of evil, how it relates to sin and redemption, and the complex relationship between God's love and omnipotence. The influence of Manichaeism, a belief system centered on a dualistic struggle between light and darkness, on Augustine's theodicy is also examined.
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Presentation Transcript
Augustinian Theodicy Learning Objectives Know biblical teachings on the origin of evil Explain where Christians believe evil comes from Explain the Augustinian Theodicy
A Theodicy: Is, a philosophical theory that aims to justify the existence of God despite evil in the world. e.g. Suggesting evil and suffering are necessary. 1. Read page 11 and the next slide 2. Write a paragraph that explains the term theodicy and what a theodicy needs
Theodicies A theodicy is an attempt to justify God in spite of the existence of evil and suffering. Some theologians, like Anders Nygren have argued that it is wrong for religious believers to attempt a theodicy because it is irreligious to imagine that fallible human minds can understand God. Others, like John Hick, believe that Christians have to try to understand evil, because it is central to other aspects of faith; such as sin, redemption and Christ as the saviour. Evil presents a particular problem for people who believe God to be both loving and omnipotent. For some, such as Bertrand Russell, the universe needs no explanation; it is just the way it is, including evil and suffering which just happen.
The Augustinian Theodicy Start of a mind map He was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern- day Annaba, Algeria), located in Numidia (Roman province of Africa). St Augustine of Hippo 13 November 354 28 August 430)
Activities 1. Read the account of creation and the Fall in the Bible Genesis 1-3 2. Now write your own description and explanation of these events the summary table on pages 11-12 of booklet 1. 3. Add a brief summary of the Fall to your mind map 4. Make sure you have read up to page 5 in the booklet 5. Extension read pages 5 and 6
Augustine was influenced by Manichaeism - see diagram on next slide Read, listen and add key points to your mind map According to Manichaeism the world was in a struggle between the substance of light and the substance of darkness. Augustine's theodicy is based on the Bible s accounts of the Creation and the Fall Where, man abused God s gift of freewill, which led to the existence of evil
Manichaeism Good Evil
1.God is perfect and created a perfect world The world was created perfect and good There was a garden where humanity spent time with God God also created angels and humans with capacity for freewill
2. Fallen Angels Fallen angels are those who were cast out of heaven because they turned against God (e.g. Satan) This is because they were granted freewill They rebelled, doubted Gods plan and motives and rejected the system of heaven They then went on to tempt Adam and Eve in the garden
3. Humanities freewill Humanity abused God s gift of freedom Evil came about through humanity having freedom / freewill and choosing to turn away from God
Augustines argument complete the table using pages 13 and 14 of the booklet and Jordan Watch the following summary 1. God is good and created a perfect world Genesis 2. Evil comes from angels and humans who turned away from God Free will 3. God cannot be blamed for creating evil as it is a privation/deprivation privatio boni 4. Seminally present 5. Cross overcomes evil 6. Soul deciding 7. This theodicy is soul deciding because God gave humans free will and each human decides their own eternal fate by either obeying God s will or ignoring it.
God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for humanity. Many Christians refer to the Fall as felix culpa happy mistake, because if it had not happened God would not have sent Jesus into the world to save us from sin. Those who freely choose Jesus will be redeemed and spend eternity in heaven with God this demonstrates God s mercy So, humanities fate is decided on the basis of Adam s sin and the individuals response to God s offer of salvation in Christ
Review and recap Could there be a reason for God allowing evil to exist? Might there even be a beneficial consequence of evil? Think about the earlier statements: The world was created perfect and good And, Augustine s proposal that evil came from the world, not God Do you see any controversies in these TWO ideas
A summary of Augustines theodicy The notion of freewill plays a key role in Augustine s theodicy FREEWILL EVIL
Explain the role of freewill in the Augustine Theodicy
Schleiermachers critique Schleiermacher also thought it was difficult to understand how, in a perfect world where there is no knowledge of good and evil, there could possibly be freedom to obey or disobey God, since good and evil would be unknown. The fact that God s creature chose to disobey Him suggests there was already knowledge of good and evil, which could only have come from God. Schleiermacher (1768-1834) argued that there is a logical contradiction in holding that a perfectly created world has gone wrong, since this would mean that evil has created itself out of nothing, which is logically impossible. Even if evil is a privation, it is still a real feature of the world, as is the suffering it produces. As such, evil has to be attributed to God. Either the world was not perfect to begin with or God enabled it to go wrong. Important Point Think back to Aquinas cosmological argument, where he argued that ex nihilo, nihil fit nothing can come from nothing. Evil exists as a feature of the world, and therefore must have come from somewhere.
