Theodicies 1

Augustinian Theodicy

Augustine of Hippo conceived this theodicy based on his readings of the Bible and his own philosophical ideas.
It is based on the doctrine of original sin, arguing that all humans are innately sinful due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.
God is justified in allowing evil and suffering, as it serves as a punishment for human sin.
According to Augustine, God’s creation was originally perfect, but was corrupted by free-willed creatures.

Irenaeus proposed a theodicy focused on the development of humans into the likeness of God.
Evil and suffering are necessary parts of human moral and spiritual development, termed as soul-making.
The process of becoming perfect and achieving union with God is understood as theosis, which is achievable through experiencing evil and suffering.

Developed by Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, process theodicy views God not as all-powerful, but as a being who constantly changes and develops in response to the world.
Evil is not created or condoned by God, but is an unavoidable part of the creative process.
They suggest God suffers with creation, and thus mitigates the problem of evil by sharing in the world’s pain.

Developed by the philosopher John Hick, it builds upon Irenaean theodicy by incorporating aspects of 20th-century humanism.
Hick proposes a concept called epistemic distance, which suggests God stays hidden to allow humans the choice to develop towards his likeness.
It places importance on the role of free will and suggests that evil and suffering are necessary to make moral choices and self-improvement.

Many philosophers and theologians argue that free will is the cause of evil and suffering.
This argument explains that God made humans with the ability to choose between good and evil, and it is this free will that leads to immoral actions and the presence of evil in the world.
The free-will defence asserts that it is better to live in a world with freedom and evil than in a world with neither.