Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Final Exam - Essay Example Leibniz essay was in response to an earlier publication of Pierre Bayle who argued that the presence of evil in the world proved that God was not all good. The study of Theodicy involves studying and understanding the concept that God allows humans to suffer even though He is good and omnipotent. This has baffled many philosophers for ages and many students of theology have given several explanations and understanding. The four main theodicy are enestological, protological, eschatological and Christological. Enestological theodicy focuses on the present time. It states that in spite of the existence of evil in the world God conquers evil with His goodness at all times. Eschatolological theodicy is the belief that suffering is temporary and God will bring an end to suffering sometime in the future. This reasoning predicts that good will be compensated ultimately. The righteous will be vindicated in the end. Protological theodicy looks at Gods plan for humanity. The Garden of Eden serves as an example of this type of theodicy. God had everything planned for humanity. Everything was provided including food and companionship but man had a choice other than what God’s plan for him. Christological theodicy concentrates on the goodness of God rather than on righteousness. It looks at God’s grace and how His love surrounds us. If one examines the life of Christ it is filled with images of His love and grace rather than of Him being judgmental. The prophets in the Old Testament share similar views about suffering. One common theme is that suffering comes from man’s disobedience to God’s will. Moses continually told the people about the consequences of obedience as well as disobedience. â€Å"If you continue to heed the voice of the Lord, your God and are careful to observe all His commands which I enjoin on you today, the Lord, your God will raise you high above all the nations of the earth† (Deuteronomy 28:1). On the other hand he also