Augustinian theodicy
Encyclopedia
The Augustinian theodicy is a theodicy
, a response to the problem of evil
. As such, it justifies the existence of an omnibenevolent
and omnipotent
God
in the face of evil and suffering in the world.
The theodicy was developed by Augustine of Hippo
in his works, Confessions
and City of God. He argued that suffering is not caused by God, nor is it his responsibility; rather, it is the free will of humans has led to suffering in the world. This position was supported by Thomas Aquinas
, who also suggested that evil is necessary for the appreciation of good. John Calvin
was also inspired by Augustine in developing his theology.
The theodicy differs from the Irenaean theodicy
in respect to where evil comes from, and its purpose. The various forms of the Irenaean theodicy has suggested that evil comes from God in order to allow humans to develop morally and spiritually. There is contrast with process theology
too: process theology teaches that God is not omnipotent, while the Augustinian theodicy argues that he is. Finally, the theodicy differs from Alvin Plantinga's free will defence in its purpose. Plantinga attempts to solve the logical problem of evil, while Augustine is considering the evidential problem of evil.
In criticism, Friedrich Schleiermacher has argued that it would be illogical for a perfect creation to go wrong, as Augustine suggests. The claim that evil is a privation of good has also been challenged by the suggestion that suffering felt by humanity can seem to be more than just a lacking of goodness. In addition, even if evil is a privation, it has been argued that humans still perceive suffering, so God is still responsible. The development of the theory of evolution
has presented a number of problems regarding Augustine's view of the beginning of the world. Finally, some have suggested that God's creation of Hell demonstrates an acceptance that the world would go wrong.
in the face of evil and suffering in the world. The theodicy is therefore one of a number of attempts to demonstrate that the existence of God is still probable, despite evil and suffering.
The concept of privation
is central to the theodicy. Evil is described as the privation of good, that is the going wrong of God's good creation and the falling away from perfection. Sin, therefore, exists because a perfect world has gone wrong. The theodicy also focuses on the concept of free will, leaving humans – rather than God – responsible for suffering. The theodicy suggests that God is good and thus created the world to be good.
during his early life, but converted to Christianity in 386. His two major works, Confessions and City of God, develop his key ideas regarding his response to suffering. In his Confessions, Augustine writes that his previous work was dominated by materialism; reading Plato's
works enabled him to consider the existence of a non-physical substance
. This helped him to develop a response to the problem of evil from a theological (and non-Manichean) perspective.
Augustine believed that God, being omnipotent and benevolent, could not have created a world with evil in it. He therefore concluded that evil is not an entity in itself, but a privation
of (or falling away from) goodness. His argument is that God's perfection requires that his creation (as described in the book of Genesis) is also perfect. Augustine suggested that all of creation was given free will
; this was abused and, as a result, evil and suffering entered the world. This began when angels rebelled against God and continued with the fall of man. Though God has the power to intervene, to do so would be to remove the free will has given to humans. Consequently, God is justified in not intervening when humans use their free will to commit evil. Suffering, Augustine therefore believed, is a just punishment for the sin and disobedience of humans. In addition, he suggested that humanity was seminally present in the loins of Adam so inherited the sin and its just punishment.
Augistine argued that the just punishment for humanity would be to spend eternity in Hell
. However, as well as believing him to be just, Augustine saw God as loving and gracious. Because of this, Jesus Christ
was sent to die so that those who believed in him could have redemption. This view is based on a passage in the book of Romans
, in which Paul writes that the death of Jesus overruled the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
philosopher and theologian, agreed that evil is the privation of goodness. He furthered the idea, suggesting that evil is necessary in order for good to be expressed and appreciated. He suggested that, if there is no suffering in the world, freedom from suffering cannot truly be appreciated. Aquinas recognised the occurrence of what seems to be evil, but did not attribute it the same level of existence that he attributes to spirituality. Like Augustine, Aquinas asserted that humans hold responsibility for evil due to their abuse of free will.
. Calvin proposed that humanity is predestined
in regard to its ultimate destination. He argued that humanity is divided into those who are elect and those who are not. The elect are those God has chosen to save - they are the only ones who will be saved. Here he differed from Augustine: Augustine proposed that the crucifixion of Jesus was enough to atone for all sins; Calvin suggested that Jesus' death was only ever supposed to be sufficient for a small group of elect. Calvin then proposed that those who are elect are elect unconditionally, in that there is nothing they can do to prevent them from receiving salvation. He argues that God's grace is irresistible
and will consequently be accepted and persevered in
by those he chooses to give it to. Therefore, those who become Christians do so because they are elect; those who do not become Christian are not elect. Though influenced by Augustine, Calvin differed in his approach: Augustine believed that anyone and everyone can be saved, whereas Calvin argued that only those who are elect will be.
argued that the world serves as a "vale of soul-making", which allows humans to achieve the likeness of God in moral and spiritual maturity. In contrast, the Augustinian theodicy argues that evil does not come from God but from the abuse of free will exhibited by humans and angels. In addition, the Augustinian theodicy attaches no fundamental purpose to the existence of evil, whereas the Irenaean theodicy does. Hick saw Augustine's view of creation as too literal an interpretation of Genesis and then argued that, if humans existed in the perfect closeness to God which Augustine suggested, rebellion would have been an impossibility. This led him to believe that human beings were created at a distance from God.
(as Augustine proposed), God did not create the universe, but is a part of it.
presented his version of the free will defence in response to the logical problem of evil – his argument attempts to demonstrate that the coexistence of God and of evil is not a logical contradiction. The Augustinian theodicy, on the other hand, is a response to the evidential problem of evil. Plantinga is arguing that evil does not make God's existence impossible; Augustine attempts to show that God's existence is probable.
by humans. Therefore, God is still responsible for the suffering in the world. Some have suggested that Augustine's justification for suffering as punishment for sin is flawed. Attention is drawn to those who suffer having committed no sin (children, for example) and it is suggested that the suffering of these people is unjustified.
Theodicy
Theodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
, a response to the problem of evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
. As such, it justifies the existence of an omnibenevolent
Omnibenevolence
Omnibenevolence is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "unlimited or infinite benevolence". It is often held to be impossible, or at least improbable, for a deity to exhibit such property along side omniscience and omnipotence as a result of the problem of evil...
and omnipotent
Omnipotence
Omnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
in the face of evil and suffering in the world.
The theodicy was developed by Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
in his works, Confessions
Confessions (St. Augustine)
Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St...
and City of God. He argued that suffering is not caused by God, nor is it his responsibility; rather, it is the free will of humans has led to suffering in the world. This position was supported by Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
, who also suggested that evil is necessary for the appreciation of good. John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
was also inspired by Augustine in developing his theology.
The theodicy differs from the Irenaean theodicy
Irenaean theodicy
The Irenaean theodicy is a theodicy designed to respond to the problem of evil. The purpose of the theodicy is to justify the existence of an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God in the face of evil and suffering in the world...
in respect to where evil comes from, and its purpose. The various forms of the Irenaean theodicy has suggested that evil comes from God in order to allow humans to develop morally and spiritually. There is contrast with process theology
Process theology
Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead and further developed by Charles Hartshorne . While there are process theologies that are similar, but unrelated to the work of Whitehead the term is generally applied to the...
too: process theology teaches that God is not omnipotent, while the Augustinian theodicy argues that he is. Finally, the theodicy differs from Alvin Plantinga's free will defence in its purpose. Plantinga attempts to solve the logical problem of evil, while Augustine is considering the evidential problem of evil.
In criticism, Friedrich Schleiermacher has argued that it would be illogical for a perfect creation to go wrong, as Augustine suggests. The claim that evil is a privation of good has also been challenged by the suggestion that suffering felt by humanity can seem to be more than just a lacking of goodness. In addition, even if evil is a privation, it has been argued that humans still perceive suffering, so God is still responsible. The development of the theory of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
has presented a number of problems regarding Augustine's view of the beginning of the world. Finally, some have suggested that God's creation of Hell demonstrates an acceptance that the world would go wrong.
Outline
The Augustinian theodicy is a response to the evidential problem of evil – the question of how to explain or justify an omnipotent and benevolent deityDeity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
in the face of evil and suffering in the world. The theodicy is therefore one of a number of attempts to demonstrate that the existence of God is still probable, despite evil and suffering.
The concept of privation
Privation
In psychology and philosophy, privation is the absence or lack of basic necessities. The term can be used in a psychological context, often referring to a lack of relationships, or a philosophical context, where vital concepts are absent....
is central to the theodicy. Evil is described as the privation of good, that is the going wrong of God's good creation and the falling away from perfection. Sin, therefore, exists because a perfect world has gone wrong. The theodicy also focuses on the concept of free will, leaving humans – rather than God – responsible for suffering. The theodicy suggests that God is good and thus created the world to be good.
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo was a philosopher and theologian who lived from 354 to 430 AD. He followed the Manichaen religionManichaeism
Manichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
during his early life, but converted to Christianity in 386. His two major works, Confessions and City of God, develop his key ideas regarding his response to suffering. In his Confessions, Augustine writes that his previous work was dominated by materialism; reading Plato's
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
works enabled him to consider the existence of a non-physical substance
Substance theory
Substance theory, or substance attribute theory, is an ontological theory about objecthood, positing that a substance is distinct from its properties. A thing-in-itself is a property-bearer that must be distinguished from the properties it bears....
. This helped him to develop a response to the problem of evil from a theological (and non-Manichean) perspective.
Augustine believed that God, being omnipotent and benevolent, could not have created a world with evil in it. He therefore concluded that evil is not an entity in itself, but a privation
Privation
In psychology and philosophy, privation is the absence or lack of basic necessities. The term can be used in a psychological context, often referring to a lack of relationships, or a philosophical context, where vital concepts are absent....
of (or falling away from) goodness. His argument is that God's perfection requires that his creation (as described in the book of Genesis) is also perfect. Augustine suggested that all of creation was given free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
; this was abused and, as a result, evil and suffering entered the world. This began when angels rebelled against God and continued with the fall of man. Though God has the power to intervene, to do so would be to remove the free will has given to humans. Consequently, God is justified in not intervening when humans use their free will to commit evil. Suffering, Augustine therefore believed, is a just punishment for the sin and disobedience of humans. In addition, he suggested that humanity was seminally present in the loins of Adam so inherited the sin and its just punishment.
Augistine argued that the just punishment for humanity would be to spend eternity in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. However, as well as believing him to be just, Augustine saw God as loving and gracious. Because of this, Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was sent to die so that those who believed in him could have redemption. This view is based on a passage in the book of Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
, in which Paul writes that the death of Jesus overruled the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century scholasticScholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
philosopher and theologian, agreed that evil is the privation of goodness. He furthered the idea, suggesting that evil is necessary in order for good to be expressed and appreciated. He suggested that, if there is no suffering in the world, freedom from suffering cannot truly be appreciated. Aquinas recognised the occurrence of what seems to be evil, but did not attribute it the same level of existence that he attributes to spirituality. Like Augustine, Aquinas asserted that humans hold responsibility for evil due to their abuse of free will.
John Calvin
John Calvin, a 16th-century French theologian, was influenced by the works of Augustine. Like Augustine, Calvin argued that sin is the result of the Fall of Man. He suggested that, as a result, humans have a natural tendency to sin and, therefore, can do nothing themselves to achieve salvationSalvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
. Calvin proposed that humanity is predestined
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
in regard to its ultimate destination. He argued that humanity is divided into those who are elect and those who are not. The elect are those God has chosen to save - they are the only ones who will be saved. Here he differed from Augustine: Augustine proposed that the crucifixion of Jesus was enough to atone for all sins; Calvin suggested that Jesus' death was only ever supposed to be sufficient for a small group of elect. Calvin then proposed that those who are elect are elect unconditionally, in that there is nothing they can do to prevent them from receiving salvation. He argues that God's grace is irresistible
Irresistible grace
Irresistible Grace is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing...
and will consequently be accepted and persevered in
Perseverance of the saints
Perseverance of the saints, as well as the corollary—though distinct—doctrine known as "Once Saved, Always Saved", is a Calvinist teaching that once persons are truly saved they can never lose their salvation....
by those he chooses to give it to. Therefore, those who become Christians do so because they are elect; those who do not become Christian are not elect. Though influenced by Augustine, Calvin differed in his approach: Augustine believed that anyone and everyone can be saved, whereas Calvin argued that only those who are elect will be.
Irenaean
The Irenaean theodicy and the Augustinian theodicy differ in where they claim evil comes from. Irenaeus argued that evil ultimately comes from God and is required for human beings to achieve full development. John HickJohn Hick
Professor John Harwood Hick is a philosopher of religion and theologian. In philosophical theology, he has made contributions in the areas of theodicy, eschatology, and Christology, and in the philosophy of religion he has contributed to the areas of epistemology of religion and religious...
argued that the world serves as a "vale of soul-making", which allows humans to achieve the likeness of God in moral and spiritual maturity. In contrast, the Augustinian theodicy argues that evil does not come from God but from the abuse of free will exhibited by humans and angels. In addition, the Augustinian theodicy attaches no fundamental purpose to the existence of evil, whereas the Irenaean theodicy does. Hick saw Augustine's view of creation as too literal an interpretation of Genesis and then argued that, if humans existed in the perfect closeness to God which Augustine suggested, rebellion would have been an impossibility. This led him to believe that human beings were created at a distance from God.
Process theology
Process theology argues that God is not omnipotent. Rather than coercion, he has the power of divine persuasion, but cannot force his will. Process theologians argue that God does everything within his power to bring about good; however, he cannot force beings to be good. The theology argues that God feels the pain of the world (both physically and emotionally) and, while he wishes to prevent it, he cannot because he does not have a coercive role in the world. This contrasts with the Augustinian view of the nature of God: proponents of the Augustinian theodicy suggest that God is omnipotent, an attribute which is not ascribed to God by process theologians. Process theology also argues that, rather than creating the world ex nihiloEx nihilo
Ex nihilo is a Latin phrase meaning "out of nothing". It often appears in conjunction with the concept of creation, as in creatio ex nihilo, meaning "creation out of nothing"—chiefly in philosophical or theological contexts, but also occurs in other fields.In theology, the common phrase creatio ex...
(as Augustine proposed), God did not create the universe, but is a part of it.
Alvin Plantinga's free will defence
Alvin PlantingaAlvin Plantinga
Alvin Carl Plantinga is an American analytic philosopher and the emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and Christian apologetics...
presented his version of the free will defence in response to the logical problem of evil – his argument attempts to demonstrate that the coexistence of God and of evil is not a logical contradiction. The Augustinian theodicy, on the other hand, is a response to the evidential problem of evil. Plantinga is arguing that evil does not make God's existence impossible; Augustine attempts to show that God's existence is probable.
Criticisms
Friedrich Schleiermacher
Friedrich Schleiermacher proposed that it is illogical for a perfect creation to go wrong. He argued that if creation can go wrong, it is not perfect. In addition, he argued that it would be impossible to find a motive for perfectly created angels to sin, unless they were imperfect. If evil was not created by God (as Augustine proposes), then it must have created itself out of nothing – a logical impossibility.Evil as a privation of good
Augustine's claim that evil is a non-entity has been criticised. To some, deliberate cruelty is more than just a lack of goodness, providing evidence that evil exists in itself. Furthermore, Adam and Eve's ability to choose to disobey God suggests prior knowledge of good and evil. Even with free will, Adam and Eve would have required knowledge of good and evil in order to choose disobedience to God. Thus, knowledge of evil seemed to exist prior to Adam and Eve's disobedience. It has also been argued that, whether or not evil actually exists, it is still perceivedPerception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
by humans. Therefore, God is still responsible for the suffering in the world. Some have suggested that Augustine's justification for suffering as punishment for sin is flawed. Attention is drawn to those who suffer having committed no sin (children, for example) and it is suggested that the suffering of these people is unjustified.