The Problem of Suffering Lesson 7 PDF

PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING LESSON 7  SCOPE: TYPES OF EVIL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD REVOLT OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE Two Types of Evil: Physical evil -Consequences of natural even...

PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING LESSON 7  SCOPE: TYPES OF EVIL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD REVOLT OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE Two Types of Evil: Physical evil -Consequences of natural events or phenomenon Moral evil -evil due to man’s abuse of freedom The Problem of evil has been the center of debate since the time of the Ancient Greeks and even up to our contemporary era. For this existence of evil is not compatible with the existence of an all-powerful God. Attributes of God: - Omnipotent (all powerful), Why cant He control the evil in the world? - Benevolent (Good or Loving) Why is He indifferent to man? - Omniscient (All-knowing) Why can’t he prevent evil from  Atheis m From Greek ‘A’ – ‘not’ and Theos – ‘God’ The doctrine of disbelief in a supreme being  Existentialis m “Existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him because of man’s anxiety, existential movement had desired for stable human condition.” In other words, the existential attitude is a straight forward reaction against the swift dehumanization of man, brought by the phenomenon of angst. Sartre Jean-Paul. “The Humanism of Existentialism.” In Essays  THE REVOLT OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM “Atheistic existentialism, which I represent... states that if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and this being is man, or, as Heidegger says, human reality.” -Jean Paul Sartre “EXISTENCE PRECEDES ESSENCE.”  THE REVOLT OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM Sartre’s philosophical camp of existentialism becomes an invitation to re-examine human life. Sartrean atheism is a philosophy born of despair... the feeling of anxiety and loss that is marked of this philosophy is rooted in fear. Ignace Lepp. Atheism in Our Time. (USA: The Macmillan  THE REVOLT OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM “In order to overcome anxiety and despair, we must become a single individual by constantly choosing to be ourselves and not somebody else.” Being the sovereign maker of himself, man has the power to become someone because there is no God who gives purpose to the universe. RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE DISTORTION OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM One way to characterize suffering is to see it as an evil. Thomas Aquinas would say that evil is a privation of good. In other words, evil is an absence. Whatever lacks goodness is an evil. We suffer because there is  RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE DISTORTION OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM 1. The problem of suffering does not constitute a disproof of God’s existence. - In the light of Thomas Aquinas, all created beings are changing. The world is created so it is subject to change. Accordingly, whatever in motion entails imperfection. Our finite cosmos is in the RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE DISTORTION OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM 2. God is like a surgeon who operates on us and knows best on how to heal us. –C.S. Lewis The entire surgical procedure is painful but we will be all right at the end. If God stopped in the middle of the surgery then all of that pains that we bear are worthless.  RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE DISTORTION OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM 3. The consequences of eliminating the phenomenon of sufferings in the world. It is a great misleading notion that if suffering in the world is eliminated, the only fruit will be good. But we must bear in our minds that suffering is not completely bad at all. Besides, if God will remove all the pains and sufferings in this world, it is more chaotic.  RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF SUFFERING AND THE DISTORTION OF EXISTENTIAL ATHEISM 4. If the world is freed from all physical evil and if all human suffering will be eliminated, and if God created a perfect world, man will be entering into the realm of the self- a perfect total universe. Our attitude in questioning the existence of God whenever we experience human anxiety and suffering is just an attitude to  There are deeper and justified reasons why suffering exists. The problem is that we are too blind so we cannot see. It is true that suffering exists and has dreadfully affected the whole human race. But we are called once more to climb the valley of life and to see the perfect landscape that God has prepares for us. The world is not our home. This imperfect cosmos is nothing compare to the paradise of God. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ramos, C., (2022), Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person IMAGE SOURCES: https://www.alamy.com/atheism-and-denial-of-religious-belief-ve ctor-illustration-of-man-and-waste-container-with-symbols-of-reli gions-as-metaphor-of-decision-to-abandon-r-image386455691. html https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Paul-Sartre