چکیده:
Various opinions and theories have appeared about the ontological question of good and evil from the time of Aristotle to now. This issue got more sensitive from the time it was considered to be a variable against the existence of God and his attributes. Some deem the existence of evil as the main and the only reason to deny the existence of God, while others have a view contradictory to this belief. In the eyes of John Hick and Augustine, evil is an existential entity. Influenced by the Irenaean theodicy, Hick gives in a new form to the definition of evil. Hick believes that evil is the lack of good and God is not the cause of evil, and introduces evil as a negative entity within a causal specification framework. With the provision of this theory, the casual principles also achieved special importance. In the study at hand, we investigate and criticize the metaphysical question of evil and its relationship with the existence of God from the viewpoint of John Hick. To this end, first the principles of good and evil are presented and then, the important question of “the role of evil in the causal structure of creation” in Hick’s and Augustine’s perspectives is examined. The purpose of this study is to assert that the main and hidden reason for the existence of evil cannot be justified and understood and as Hick notes, we should confess that the world of being in general and evil in particular are mysterious
خلاصه ماشینی:
In his soul-making theory, he begins by mythologizing the idea of original sin and the fall, and considers moral evil to be the result of human choice and a consequence of the distance and cognitive gap with God. This distance is the distance that exists between God and humanity and creates the possibility of human freedom and independence from God, and this separation causes human error.
In contrast, in the soul-making theodicy, John Hick looks forward: God has raised humans personally, but immaturely, so during the growth process, with the help of moral teachings, they become like God. Augustine’s theodicy tries to strongly place evil against divine issues.
Augustine considers moral evil to be the lack of proper order in the will of the creature, but here a question arises: why did God create the human will in such a way that it commits sin?
Epistemological Distance From Hick’s point of view, moral evil is a necessary condition for the creation of man at an epistemological distance from God. Epistemological distance is considered a gift that will cause man to freely say yes to God and, in response to God’s non-coercive presence and to actualize himself, advance towards his evolution as a servant of God. The concept of epistemological distance in the theodicy of the nurture of the soul indicates that there is no prominent sign to believe in the existence of a transcendent reality that assures man, and doubt and uncertainty cast a shadow over human knowledge.
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