What is your answer?
St. Augustine claimed that God permits evil to exist because
{ 1 } - some good things (like courage in the face of suffering) require evil things (like suffering).
{ 2 } - God could take eliminate evil only by taking away our free will, and thus our ability to do evil, and this would result in a less-good universe.
{ 3 } - of some mysterious reason that we'll never know.
<= back | menu | forward =>
Directions: Click on a number from 1 to 3.
1 is wrong. Please try again.
St. Augustine claimed that God permits evil to exist because
{ 1 } - some good things (like courage in the face of suffering) require evil things (like suffering).
{ 2 } - God could take eliminate evil only by taking away our free will, and thus our ability to do evil, and this would result in a less-good universe.
{ 3 } - of some mysterious reason that we'll never know.
This is the explanation of Iraneus, an early Christian thinker. Augustine's explanation stressed free will.
It's quite possible to combine both answers -- that of Iraneus and that of Augustine -- and to say that God permits evil to exist for both reasons.
<= back | menu | forward =>
2 is correct!
St. Augustine claimed that God permits evil to exist because
{ 1 } - some good things (like courage in the face of suffering) require evil things (like suffering).
{ 2 } - God could take eliminate evil only by taking away our free will, and thus our ability to do evil, and this would result in a less-good universe.
{ 3 } - of some mysterious reason that we'll never know.
Augustine thought that all evil came from creatures who freely chose to do wrong; these creatures included Adam and Eve and the devil.
Augustine is trying to explain why God in general permits evil to exist; he isn't trying to explain every specific evil. Nor is he trying to solve the pastoral problem of helping people to deal with specific evils (like the death of a loved one). Instead, he's trying to answer some general objections to belief in an all-good and all-powerful God.
<= back | menu | forward =>
Before continuing, you might try some wrong answers.
3 is wrong. Please try again.
St. Augustine claimed that God permits evil to exist because
{ 1 } - some good things (like courage in the face of suffering) require evil things (like suffering).
{ 2 } - God could take eliminate evil only by taking away our free will, and thus our ability to do evil, and this would result in a less-good universe.
{ 3 } - of some mysterious reason that we'll never know.
Augustine thought that we could know the answer, at least in general terms.
<= back | menu | forward =>
the end