Privation theory

Privation theory

this theory was propagated by Clement of Alexandria as a way of denying evil in reconciling Gods dominion and sin, he stated that “since God is perfect, He could not have created evil; but if God did not create evil, then it cannot exist” according to him evil does not exist positively, but negatively due to lack of good.

In explaining the suffering in the world, Clement opted for ontology through dualism by presenting two realities, one of God and Truth, other of human and perceived experience, an idea found in Platonic school.

According to Augustine of Hippo evil exists only as absence of good whose vices are nothing but the privations of natural right, and sin is not a substance, and it’s more than loos of sound and therefore God does not participate in evil because He is perfect and His creation is complete, thus absence of good explains sin and moral depravity.

1. Soul-making/ Irenaean theodicy

Named after French theologian Irenaeus after the 2nd century whose teachings were adopted in Eastern Christianity and discussed by John Hick. The Irenaean theodicy affirms that evil and suffering are essential for spiritual growth, for man to reveal his soul, and God allows evil for the spiritual growth of human beings. This theodicy is challenged with the affirmances that not all evils seem to promote spiritual growth as some can be destructive to the human spirit. According to Kane, a human character can be developed directly or in constructive and nurturing ways, and it is unclear why God would allow evil and suffering to be preferred way to spiritual growth. Creegan refutes this reconciliation by stating that it fails to explain the need for evil inflicted on animals resulting in their suffering since there is no evidence that the pain improves the character of the animals or soul-making in them.

1. Free will

Free will is an ability granted by God, which results in both good and evil and which comes as a potential abuse when people act immorally. According to Boyd, people with free will ‘decide to cause suffering and act in other evil ways,’ it is the people who make a choice and not God. It would be logically incompatible for God to outdo evil by coercion and restrict and limit free will since that would cease from being free will.

Alvin Plantinga suggested two phases of free will defense whereby in the first phase moral evil is as a result of human actions with free will, and the second version asserts that logical possibility of a “mighty non-human spirit” (non-God supernatural beings and fallen angels) whose free will is accorded with ‘natural evils’ such as earthquakes, floods and deadly diseases.

Alvin Plantinga, following Augustine of Hippo and others argued that moral evil results from human action, but natural evil is a result of natural processes that causes natural disasters. They also argued that natural evils are caused by the free choices of supernatural beings like demons.

Other arguments have been made to reconcile God and evil. They include;

• Natural evils resulted to the fall of man leading to corrupting the perfect world created by God and that the natural evils lead to natural laws.
• Natural evils equip us with basis knowledge of evil leading to our free choices more important than they would otherwise be making our free will be more valuable.
• Natural laws are mechanisms of divine punishment for moral evils that humans have committed, and so the natural evil is justified.

1. Afterlife theodicy

It was suggested by Thomas Aquinas in addressing and justifying the existence of evil. According to him afterlife is termless human life is short and so God allows evil and suffering in order to judge and bestow everlasting heaven or hell based on human moral actions and human suffering. According to Acquinas afterlife is the “greater good” that justifies the evil and suffering in current life. Randy Alcorn, Christian author posts that the joys of heaven will be reward for the suffering.

1. Evil as illusory

This is a modern Christian science version of privation theory that affirms that evils like; suffering and diseases only appear to be real though they are illusions in true situation, and in reality, evil does not exist.

According to Stephen Gottschalk a Christian science theologist, spirit is of infinite might and its mortal human beings who fail to comprehend this and instead focus on evil and suffering that has no real existence as “a power, person or principle opposed to God”

1. Previous lives and karma

This theory of karma directs to the spiritual tenet of cause and effect whereby actions of an individual influences his/her future. According to many religions God cannot of suffering in the world since there exists moral evil, inequality, cruelty and suffering.

1. Skeptical theism

This theism defuses the problem of evil by propagating that God allows evil to occur as a mechanism of preventing a greater evil or as a way of encouraging a response that will influence a greater good. This argument aims at motivating self-skepticism by either trying to rationalize Gods possible hidden motives, or by explaining it as a limitation of human ability to know. Most scholars have had critique on skeptical theism since is “disvalued the suffering” and not addressing that God is all-benevolent and should be in a position to stop all suffering and evil, other than being neutral.