The question of the justice of God's decisions has long been of interest to scientists and philosophers. So theodicy appeared - theological teaching, which sought to justify the Lord, despite the existence of Evil. Various versions were cited, all sorts of hypotheses were put forward, but finally the points over "e" were not yet set.
What is theodicy?
There are several definitions of this concept, the main two remain. Theodicy is this:
- Justification, justice.
- A complex of spiritual and philosophical theories, which are designed to justify the leadership of the world on the part of God.
The first to introduce this term was Leibniz in the 18th century, although the materialists, and the Stoics, and Christians, and Buddhists, and Muslims addressed him to this doctrine. But only Leibniz interpreted Evil in theodicy, as a blessing for people, because it brings up humility and a willingness to overcome this evil. The famous philosopher Kant believed that theodicy was the defense of the highest wisdom of God from accusations of the human mind. Origen derived his theory, which reads as follows: God gave man freedom, but man misused this gift, which became the source of Evil.
Theodicy in philosophy
What is theodicy in philosophy? This name was given to the spiritual and philosophical scientific works that set the goal at all costs to justify the disagreement between faith in the merciful God and the existence in the world of injustice. Theodicy in philosophy is:
- Freedom in choosing your path, life and spiritual.
- The branch of general philosophical literature, which appeared in the 17-18 centuries.
- Religious-philosophical theory, which argued that the existence of evil can not undermine faith in God.
Theodicy in Orthodoxy
Theodicy in Christianity acquired the features of teaching, which proved the logic of the New Testament. To the question: "Why does evil happen in the name of God?" St. Augustine answered thus: "Evil comes from the choice of a person when he renounces the good." And Saint Anthony was sure that the person makes a choice in the direction of evil, succumbing to the temptations of demons, so this is not the fault of God. Therefore, asking: "Who punishes for sins?", We get the answer: the man himself, by his wrong choice.
In Christianity several postulates of theodicy arose:
- Religion does not romanticise evil;
- A person lives in a fallen world, so evil became part of his experience;
- The true god is the one whom the sovereign orders to worship, and to him - the confessors. And their will is already the will of God Himself.
God and man - the problem of theodicy
The theodicy problem was formulated not for one year by different scientists and philosophers, they all put forth their postulates. The most famous of them are:
- compassion helps to heal and unite the souls of people.
- a person seeks freedom in wealth and status, and it is within the personality , it can only be found through faith.
- if someone is in trouble, he needs help to achieve justice.
What is the problem of theodicy? Its essence is how to connect the presence in the world of evil with the forgiveness that God professes? Why does the Lord allow the death of children and innocent people? Why is suicide a mortal sin ? The positions were different, but their essence boiled down to such answers:
- God gives everyone the test by force.
- Suicide is the interruption of life against the will of the Lord, it is up to Him to decide how much to whom to live in this world.
Theodicy in the modern world
Philosophers sought the justification of God for centuries, but is the problem of theodicy in the modern world relevant? More common 2 positions:
- Modernists are sure that the theodicy, taking into account the manifestation of that evil, which bears both technological progress and the social development of people, is called upon to push society to common efforts in affirming important values.
- Esotericists believe that logical theodicy can not be, because freedom of choice in itself includes the possibility of moral evil, this is predetermined from above.