The Christian defense of God’s infinite goodness and power, despite the presence of evil and suffering, is called what?
Select one
A. Theodicy
B. The incarnation
C. Theosis
D. Suffrage
The correct answer and explanation is :
The correct answer is A. Theodicy.
Explanation:
The term theodicy comes from the Greek words theos (meaning “God”) and dike (meaning “justice”). Therefore, theodicy literally means “the justice of God.” It refers to the defense or explanation of how an all-powerful, all-good God can allow the existence of evil and suffering in the world. This question is one of the oldest and most difficult in theology and philosophy, often called the “problem of evil.”
Christian theologians and philosophers have long wrestled with this issue. If God is truly good, He would want to eliminate suffering. If He is truly powerful, He would be able to eliminate it. So why does suffering persist? Theodicy attempts to answer this. Some traditional Christian theodicies argue that God allows evil and suffering for a greater purpose that human beings may not fully understand. Others point to the concept of free will: God created humans with the freedom to choose good or evil, and much suffering comes from human choices. Without free will, love and moral goodness would not be genuine.
One famous Christian theodicy is St. Augustine’s, which teaches that evil is not a substance created by God but rather a corruption of good. Augustine argued that God permits evil to bring about greater goods, such as the development of virtues like courage, compassion, and patience. Later theologians like St. Irenaeus proposed that suffering is part of soul-making — the idea that hardship is necessary for moral and spiritual growth.
The other choices in the question — incarnation, theosis, and suffrage — are different theological concepts. The incarnation refers to God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ. Theosis describes the process of becoming more like God, particularly in Eastern Orthodox theology. Suffrage typically refers to prayers for the dead or, in secular terms, the right to vote.
Thus, the correct term for the Christian defense of God’s goodness and power despite evil is theodicy.