Analysis Of John Hick's Theodicy

In 1996 John Hick, a British Philosopher, was able to trace the history of Theodicy also known as the question of why a benevolent god allows evil to exist. In his text Evil and the God of Love, Hick states that there are three major beliefs that exist; The Plotinian Theodicy, the Augustinian Theodicy, and the Irenaean Theodicy. John Hick however decides to focus a large part of his attention on the Augustinian and Irenaean Theodicy’s. While both have similar explanations to why God can exist with evil, Hick and other philosophers believe that Saint Irenaeus makes a more logical and better supported argument. Through analysis of the different theodicies and philosophers interpretation of these, one can see overall why these theodicies arose
He states that the idea that Adam and Eve fell from perfection due to their free will and created evil is a not an adequate explanation to the origin of Evil. He believes that the Augustinian Theodicy arose due to a narrow and literal reading of the part in Genesis when the fall occurs. His main argument however is the fact that it is a very small probability that Adam and Eve would make the decision to go against God. He states that with presented with Paradise and immortality, the choice to give that up due to slight desire is very unlikely. Another Theologian that comments on the origin of evil and continues the philosophical conversation after Augustinian is Thomas Aquinas. “It seems that God does not exist; because if one of two contraries be infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the name God means that He is infinite goodness. If, therefore, God existed, there would be no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world. Therefore God does not exist.”Aquinas presents this ontological argument to contradict what is believed in the Augustinian theodicy. He argues that even if free will exists, God created the universe and is “infinite goodness”; therefore it is impossible for evil to exist in Gods omni benevolent