The Problem Of Evil By John Hick | Analaysis

The Problem Of malign By John Hick AnalaysisIn this final paper I review the contemporary issue The Problem of villainy by John Hick on pages 143 to 147 of the Burr Goldfinger text. Hick has four main points in his expression. First, that within the Christian doctrine there is no predicament concern the population of Evil because Second, the concept of Evil is incumbent for the measuring of actions so that Third, kind souls can choose to trip nearer or farther from paragon, meaning that Fourth, our existence and world is a type of soul factory measuring and creating souls that are worthy to the presence of God.Some quick internet searches on John Hick reveals that he is a truly well respected and prolific writer on the topic of God, Philosophy, Theology, and the relationship of Religion and Science (http//www.johnhick.org.uk/jsite/). and he has several advanced degrees from approximately very prestigious universities to include a doctorate of philosophy from Oxford Uni versity and a doctorate in literature (or letter it is not clear) from the University of Edinburgh. Hicks clear writing style and excellent arguments have clearly earned him a place of prominence within high academic circles.This article is in the section concerning God Religion. What is particularly interesting, and suggests the overall quality of the thinking, is that Hick is qualified to turn the tables on an argument that at one time seemed to say a nail in the coffin of theology. Until reading this article, I did struggle with the dilemma of Evil against the existence of God. At first blush and even with some deeper inquiry they do seem to be at odds. These are reasonable questions If God is all powerful and all mature, why does Evil exist? why do bad things happen to good people? And so on. Through a well thought out argument Hick addresses this, and further suggests, modishly being able to stay within the theology and thinking of Christian doctrine, that a creator God g iven the goals and temperament of the Christian God, would see Evil as a necessary requirement for a world designed to create souls worthy of His presence.Summary of ArticleHick has written an extensive demonstrate outlining a philosophical argument suggesting that it is not a contradiction to believe in a Christian version of God while still acknowledging the existence of Evil in its m any(prenominal) forms. The dilemma he is arguing against is the idea that a perfectly loving creator God would not allow, or would remove Evil from his created world. Since we can see that Evil clearly exists, it is reasonable to assume that either there is no creator God, God is not Omni-powerful, or God must not be perfectly loving (Goldinger and Burr 143).Hick goes on to summarize Augustine, who defined Evil as a distortion of something price slight a movement away from God by humans (Goldinger and Burr 144). This is an important distinction because it suggests that Christian doctrine does not dismiss Evil, hardly identifies it as having meaning and purpose within the realm created by God. It identifies direction of the soul against actions, where good actions move a soul closer to God and evil actions move a soul farther away from God. Further, Hick summarizes the Christian viewpoint of the creation of the earth not of an absolute paradise created by God for his human creations to dwell in, but as a soul factory creating believers and preparing souls to enter the presence of God (Goldinger and Burr 146).To this end, Hick suggests that a perfect world would incomplete serve as a vehicle to produce souls worthy of Heaven, nor be a consistent and logical place for free-willed humans to dwell. Too much diversity would be necessary, for example should someone fall from a height that would break their back, gravity would have to change characteristics such that the fall would not hurt them, less they suffer the pain of the injury, and so on, several of these types of analog ys are offered. He further offers that without Evil there would be no measuring stick to understand good and Just actions. To that end Hick summarizes his argument by saying that the existence of Evil fits perfectly into a theological model that accepts both free will, and the talent to measure a persons soul against the actions and choices they make, where worthy souls choose good actions that move them closer to God and unworthy souls choose actions that are Evil and move past away from God.Philosophical CritiqueAs fine philosophy goes this article is actually one of the best explanations I have ever read concerning the hassle of evil within a Christian theological framework. Its underlying premise is that our world as created by God is a type of soul factory, and when viewed as such can only make logical sense is real choices can be made by us, many with the consequence of evil and disablement to others. Further, within these context natural disasters that convey evil upon people is necessary, for without itself sacrifice, heroism, and authentic goodwill could not be attempted or offered by people, thus denying any true measurement or preparedness of the human soul to be in the presence of God.Without evil human souls would not be able to escort from their actions, observe the actions of others, and make choices that allow them to either move nearer or farther from God. If the world we created such that any choice we made could never bring evil on another, and never provide a consequence to the choice we make, our souls would never develop beyond that of spoiled children. Touch choices and touch consequences are necessary in a world designed as a proving ground for the soul. Further, without the necessary context of evil we would not be able to contemplate the true divinity of God nor of our own existence. There would be no reason to attempt any endeavor or any type beyond pure self-gratification.Since evil is necessary for the measuring of our acti ons within the constructs of the world as a soul factory, the reality of Evil is necessary for a creator God looking at to produce real creations, and not simple automatons that are capable of evolving into something more. All of this does not justify evil actions, or provide any type of deterrent example platform for anyone to justify an evil action, it simply provides necessary context for us to understand the reasons for our choices and why it is important to make choices that move us closer to God.What is especially interesting about this argument is that it turns the dilemma concern the existence of Evil and the existence of God on its ear, and takes an argument that at one time was believed and held onto by anti-Christians as an absolute proof against the existence of God, and makes it a pretty good argument FOR the existence of God. Not only does it dispel the dilemma, it builds on it in a very interesting way and argues that no real creator God would even consider designin g a world without evil, given the other theological elements of Christianity.ConclusionUpon reviewing the arguments presented in The Problem of Evil by John Hick on pages 143 to 147 of the Burr Goldfinger text and Hicks has four main points, you discover a very well thought out and logical philosophical argument that seems to hold in both logical construct and keep its underlying assumption reasonable within the necessary area of Christian doctrine. The idea that God created the world as a soul factory is supported by the concept of voluntary and choice, and the measurement of choice within a reality with real choices and real consequences. Upon close examination this is not a dilemma concerning the existence and nature of God, but a reassurance that Christianity is in fact based upon a rational view of the world and that it can be defended using logic and sound reason.This article enkindle me very much and I will be going out and purchasing some other books by Hick to see if he is able to put together complete tombs that are as well thought out and as interesting as this article was. Given that he has published over 20 books and given his academic appointments, I suspect I am in for a fun bit of reading.