Philosopy

"The greater strength of Irenaeus's explanation of evil is that it points to a loving God". Discuss (17 Marks)

There are both strengths and weaknesses of this Theodicy. John Hick provides support for this theory as he accepts the view that God needed to allow humans to develop themselves, rather than creating them perfect. He argues that the goodness, which is developed by free choice, is genuinely better than an already made goodness. If God had wanted his creation to be genuinely loving, then he had to have given them this quality to develop goodness themselves.

Peter Vardy further supports this notion through his analogy of a king, who falls in love with a peasant girl. Although he had the power to make the girl fall in love with him, he choose not to do so, he instead choose to win over her love. Similarly, God had to allow humans