SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
A common theodicy in the ancient world was that suffering and disasters were sent by the gods as a punishment for humans being wicked or impious (such as "getting above themselves").
In many myths, when the gods are angered, they send monsters to destroy human cities or cause natural disasters to do the same job: Poseidon is associated with earthquakes, floods and tsunamis, Zeus with storms, Vulcan with volcanoes (hence the name). The ancient gods were a prickly bunch and were easily offended, sometimes by fairly trivial things. The solution was to keep worshiping them and offering them sacrifices to appease them (keep them happy). |
"Release the Kraken!" - problem of suffering solved
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In the story of Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar all advance the penitential theodicy that Job must have committed some sin to deserve his sufferings. Job rejects this, asserting that he is entirely innocent. When God appears in the storm, he supports Job's view but demands that Job worships him rather than try to understand him.
Job's story contains what might be called a practical or spiritual theodicy: evil and suffering are not to be understood, they are to be embraced. In extreme suffering there is an encounter with God and a deepening of faith. |
Jesus also seems to reject penitential theodicy. When Jesus meets a man who was born blind, he rejects the view that the man's blindness is a punishment either for his own sins or for his parents' sins. Instead, the man's blindness is an opportunity for God to show his power and mercy by healing him.
This is another spiritual theodicy that raises philosophical problems. If God causes or permits suffering in order for there to be the opportunity for miracle healing, why isn't there more miracle healing? God seems to be "using" sufferers to show off his power, which counts against his moral goodness.
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