| Who was St Augustine? | St Augustine was a Roman African bishop who had a significant influence on the development of the theology of the catholic church. |
| What particular teaching was his theodicy based on? | The Fall - his refers to the Genesis story of Adam + Eve, the basis of original sin and what we know as the fall. |
| What is the summary of his argument? | Augustine maintains the view that evil is the responsibility of humanity, who are evidently evil and not of God. |
| What does he refer to evil as? | Privation - The absence of a quality that is usually present |
| What does scripture tell us about God? | Scripture tells us God is the supreme creator of all things (ex nihilo) |
| What does Augustine claim about evil? | Evil is just privatio boni |
| What does he believe God created? | God only created good, and couldn't have created the absence of it. |
| What bible verse supports his statement? | (James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows). |
| What does Augustine believes overcomes evil? | The cross |
| What does he describe God as? | God is omnibenevolent and omnipotent; He does not want to see us suffer and has the power to do something about it. |
| What did God do to fix the problem of evil? | God gave Christ (God incarnate) as a just punishment for humanity’s sin. |
| What is felix cupla? | God judged it would be better to bring good out of evil rather than allow us to continue in evil |
| What type of theodicy is Augustines? | Soul deciding |
| What doe all humans deserve according to God's justice? | Punishment |
| As a merciful God what does God offer? | an opportunity for salvation through Jesus Christ |
| How does this make it a soul deciding theodicy? | This makes a ‘soul deciding’ theodicy where we choose God through salvation. Those who freely accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour will be saved. |
| What does Augustine believe moral evil is? | Moral evil: a consequence of our free will and was brought about by humanity. Moral evil was inevitable as long as humankind had the free will which was necessary for humans to be able to choose/reject God. |
| What does Augustine believe Natural evil is? | Natural evil: according to Augustine this is still the fault of humanity. When Adam broke the natural order created in the Garden natural evil was created God allowed this to stay because it serves as a punishment and also fits the natural aesthetic pattern of the universe. |
