I finished my degree in Sociology with a minor in History, and since I work at a University that will let me receive more education for free, I've decided to pursue a second Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, and I'm finishing a minor in Religious Studies - just two classes to go! One of those classes is Religion, Violence and Peacebuilding (PHIL 366R), a fascinating exploration of how religious thought intersects with conflict and reconciliation. Each week, we study different scholars and reflect on their ideas through short writing assignments. This blog is where I share those reflections, weaving together academic insight and personal perspective.
Week 4 felt different as the campus was slowly reopening after last week's tragic event. With no class on Monday, we only had one class day on Wednesday to get all of the readings in. I read The Problem of Evil in Process Theism and Classical Free Will Theism by William Hasker and chapter two of The Providence of God by Paul Helm. At the end of the week, I was then asked to read Creation out of Nothing by David Griffin. After reading Griffin, I was asked to first concisely summarize his key points in 200-250 words, and then I was asked how Griffin would respond to William Hasker's central arguments in 250-300 words. Here is my submission for the assignment:
David Ray Griffin argues that the traditional Christian doctrine of creatio ex nihilo and divine omnipotence make the problem of evil something we cannot solve. He proposes a different theodicy called process theism, that is rooted in the creation out of chaos. Process theism reimagines the nature of God – not as a source of evil, but as a loving and active presence striving to bring about good. Instead of creation out of nothing, God organized the world from pre-existing chaotic matter, which had its own tendencies and freedom. This way evil can exist without making God morally responsible for it. Griffin rejects God as omnipotent in the classical sense and calls his power persuasive, not coercive. He mentions that reality consists of autonomous agents (including humans and other entities) that God influences but cannot control. When it comes to evil, Griffin insists that evil is real and tragic, not illusory or necessary for a greater good. “Genuine” evil are events categorized as things that would be better if they had not occurred. Griffin’s view on divine power is also different as he sees God as perfect in love and wisdom but not all-powerful. He believes that evil arises from the freedom and unpredictability of the world, not from the divine will.David Griffin’s views stand in contrast to those of William Hasker, particularly in how each theologian understands divine power and the origin of evil. Griffin identifies as a process theologian and so he rejects the idea of God as omnipotent in the classical sense. He believes that if God had the power to prevent evil but chose not to, then God must not be good. He also believes that the traditional view of free will allows God to intervene which He chooses not to, which Griffin sees as morally problematic. Griffin supports creation out of chaos instead of creation out of nothing. If God created everything from nothing, then God is still responsible for creating beings capable of evil. Creation out of chaos avoids this by stating that freedom and unpredictability are built-in from the start. Hasker argues that natural evils are part of God’s necessary plan, but Griffin sees this as a troubling limitation on divine power. In open theism God created the world from nothing and could have designed it differently and so God is ultimately responsible for the evil that stems from it. In process theism God is part of the process of reality and constantly working to bring about good, but he cannot unilaterally prevent evil. The difference here makes it that God is not morally responsible for evil in the same way that open theism’s God might be.
References:
Griffin, D. R. (2006). Creation out of nothing: A biblical, philosophical, and scientific exploration. Westminster John Knox Press.
Hasker, W. (2000). The problem of evil in process theism and classical free will theism. Process Studies, 29(2), 194–208.
Helm, P. (1994). The providence of God. IVP Academic.
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