Скачать или смотреть Jaison Jose: The Problem of Pain - Apologetics Through Theodicy

Society for the Two Tasks
Speaker: Jaison Jose
Date: 4-10-2021

In January of 2015, when popular atheist Stephen Fry was asked the question "If you are wrong and you end up at the pearly gates after death, what would you tell God?" on Irish National Broadcast TV, his (abbreviated) response: "Bone cancer in children? What's that about? How dare you (God) create a world where there is such misery which is not our fault? Why should I respect a capricious, mean minded, stupid God who is so full of evil?". This went viral with millions of views in a matter of days, suggesting that Fry's rhetoric had resonated with a cultural zeitgeist.

The Problem of Evil/ Suffering/ Pain is one of the foremost reasons why people abandon belief in God. While Fry's histrionics might be bold and fresh, the Problem itself has been debated and deliberated on for centuries by minds far superior. In today's talk we will attempt to first clarify the problem, break it down and examine the components, and then look at the various answers classical theists and philosophers have offered through the ages in the field of Theodicy. We will also briefly look at how the various major world religions approach the question. As with most questions in apologetics, the most efficacious formulation of the answer probably depends to a large extent on the mode of the questioner. Hence we will look at its practical side as well. Hope you will join to have an engaging discussion! The speaker will be Jaison Jose, a graduate of HBS.