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WalesReligious StudiesQuick questions
Philosophy of Religion (Units 2 and 5)
Quick questions on The problem of evil: the inconsistent triad and theodicies - WJEC A-Level Religious Studies
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is model paragraph?Show answer
The hardest test for any theodicy is not the logical problem but the evidential one: not whether God and evil can coexist in principle, but whether the actual quantity and character of suffering can be justified. The free-will defence and the Augustinian theodicy answer the logical problem reasonably well, since a world with free creatures who can choose evil is arguably better than a world of automata, which is why Mackie's claim of strict contradiction is widely thought to fail. But neither the appeal to free will nor the soul-making story easily absorbs the evidential force of a child dying of bone cancer or an animal burning unseen, suffering that develops no one's character and answers to no one's choice.
What is q1?Show answer
State the inconsistent triad. [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
What does Hick mean by "epistemic distance"? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Evaluate the view that no theodicy can justify the suffering of innocent children. [20 marks]
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