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Can God Answer Evil?
Can God answer evil and the problems caused by suffering? That is what a theodicy attempts to do. It provides a justification for why suffering and evil exist and that God exists as presented. This is a reason why one has to stake a claim in a specific God like the biblical, Christian God rather than some generic deity. The consistent worldview that comes from the God of the Bible has a larger set of implications and is more than just a thought experiment dreamed up by a philosopher.
There isn’t just one problem of evil but many including the logical problem, the evidential problem, and the emotional problem. And like we mentioned last episode, it’s not that these problems mean that it defeats the idea of God but that they are issues in need of a solution.
Here we look at how some in the past have found solutions to a problem. We also look at what an answer to the problem of evil, a theodicy, must have in order for the answer to satisfy the questions. And like all good math questions, we must stay in the confines of a specific nature such as the character and revealed nature of who God is.
Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction
03:26 – The Logical Problem Of Evil Presented
08:47 – Maybe God Just Isn’t Powerful Enough To Overcome Evil
10:00 – Maybe God Just Isn’t Good Enough To Overcome Evil
11:06 – Maybe God Has Good Reasons To Not Prevent All Evil
13:17 – Alvin Plantinga Destroys The Logical Problem Of Evil
15:11 – The Evidential Problem Of Evil Presented
16:30 – Is There So Much Big Evil That Shows There Is No God?
18:02 – The Emotional Problem Of Evil Presented
20:44 – Is A Theodicy Still Possible?
23:08 – Two Criteria A Theodicy Must Have
24:31 – All Evil Must Have A Good Reason To Exist
28:16 – All The Good Accomplished Must Be Worth It
29:51 – Theodicy Vs. A Defense
36:12 – Conclusion
The episode link is cavetothecross.com/ep145/
Links:
20:00 – Dr. James Anderson On The Metaphysical Proof Of God From Morality
36:34 – Ep.17 What About Free Will? Interview
Books mentioned in this episode:
What about Evil? A Defense of God’s Sovereign Glory by Scott Christensen
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2UeV3tt
Hardcover – https://amzn.to/3xGsxP6
Logos Link
ChristianBook Link
God and Other Minds: A Study of the Rational Justification of Belief in God by Alvin Plantinga
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2ZZNt8l
Hardcover – https://amzn.to/2ZZNCbT
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