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John Hick Problem Of Evil Essay

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For years, many have questioned G-d’s role when it comes to addressing the problem of evil. Why is it that bad things always happen to the best of people? Oftentimes, we find ourselves wondering how an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good divinity could allow for such atrocities to occur, such as the Holocaust and the enslavement of millions. G-d’s role and existence surrounding the problem of evil is most often debated by philosophers and theologians alike such as English philosopher, John Hick. Hick introduces a consoling outlook to why such atrocities exist, framing G-d’s role and reasoning for evil's existence as a way for us to learn, grow, and better our souls. Through overcoming our most grueling battles G-d has to offer, we are becoming …show more content…

It is simply impossible to truly appreciate all the good that life has to offer without recognizing and overcoming the bad. Pleasure cannot exist without pain and vice versa. If G-d were to create a world without pain and suffering, one would be unable to value and recognize what has been given to us, eternal happiness and prosperity. Hick characterizes ones coming to consciousness of the development of goodness after immense hardship as a step towards becoming virtuous and worthy of creation (Hick 323). Life is simply too precious to be hyper focused on the bad without hope of bettering oneself. Hick furthers this idea of self betterment and fulfillment through portraying one's struggles and hardships as a reason for us to grow as individuals and enjoy what life has to offer. Overcoming the evils in our world teaches us to have more empathy towards those around us, and to help those who happen to be less fortunate than us. It is not until we struggle that we begin to notice the true beauty life has to offer and all the potential we as human beings …show more content…

Hick’s perspective allows one to believe in G-d’s existence while emphasizing individuality and growth. While there are clearly some logistical and moral fallacies that need to be addressed, through employing Hick’s approach, one is accepting the importance learning from our previous mistakes has on our lives. Through overcoming our darkest times, we are coming into the light to see all that the world has to offer while also working towards bettering ourselves. Not only are we becoming stronger spiritually, but also mentally as we begin to see that we are capable of overcoming any adversity that comes our

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In the Old Testament Book of Job tries to answer the question, why is there evil, when God exists? Job endures intolerable misery by Satan, Job eventually does not curse God and is in the course of time, awarded twice of the blessings he had in the beginning of these trials. However, the main question is still left answered: why did God grant Job to suffer if he did nothing wrong? In Night, Elie Wiesel lost his faith throughout the trials of the concentration camp, Auschwitz. Wiesel and the Jewish community was and still are perplexed on what could have they done for millions of families were separated, children murdered, and thousands of souls lost.

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“How could anything good come from something as evil as the holocaust?” This is the question that kept me up at night when I first read Night by Elie Wiesel. God promises us that for those who love God all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). How could the mass genocide of God’s beloved people work together for good? After reading Night in the mindset of PCA’s Portrait of a Graduate, I now realize the reason Elie became so angry towards God is because he failed to keep a “big picture perspective”.

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In addition, how can humans treat each other as though another human is just a bug that needs to be exterminated? Through the shocking stories, the reader also begins to question where God is; however, there needs to be a separation of blame. Human’s evil actions are not the responsibility of God. It must be recognized that humans have freewill to choose to do good or evil. Evil is of the world, but since God is not of the world, God is not responsible for the evil in the world.

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In this book, Hick holds the position that God allows for certain kinds of suffering to allow for the possibility of overcoming for his creation. In other words, God allows for pain and suffering. Furthermore, the allowance of pain, according to Hick, allows for the process of “soul-making”. By the way of an indeterminate future and the possibility of pain, humans are left with the choice as to how much unnecessary suffering they are willing to restrict. By the way of making these allowances, however, Hick’s God seems to have limited Himself to not understanding the world in its entirety and, therefore, engaging with the world in a temporal way that is at least very conceptually similar to that of process

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Elie Wiesel strongly answered “What is Evil?” in detail within his experienced text as he addresses about the memories of the death of his family. My whole life I have heard it said that evil is Man itself: the cruelest animal. In Elie Wiesel’s memoir, he illustrates the true definition of “What is Evil” by explaining the horrors his eyes witnessed, the death of his own innocence, and the horrific memories that scorch in the back of his mind still to this day.

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Questions of Suffering Many people tend to ask the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Perhaps the question people are actually getting at is, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” Suffering occurs to each and every one of us, in different severities and in various ways. Think of the Jews in the Holocaust, a murder of an innocent person, people effected by natural disasters, or a child not knowing when their next meal will be.

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In John Hicks argument on the problem of evil openly claims that the Irenaean Tradition is the most logical and most accurate in terms why God allows “evil” on earth. For a very long time the Irenaean tradition was unpopular compared to the Augustinian tradition until recently. People who believe in the Irenaean tradition believe that mans sinful nature is not because they are trying to intentionally displease God, but because man is going through an imperfect world in which evil exists as a process to become more like what God envisioned them to be. Hick states that when God made humans he made them like himself but they are an unfinished product. In which the rigors of life would help mold man into God’s ideal “child”.

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