Exploring philosophy and theology

Last Monday, Year 12 and 13 Philosophy, Ethics & Theology students visited Coventry Cathedral to listen to world renowned philosopher and theologian Dr Peter Vardy talk at a Candle Conference exploring the topic of 'Evil and the God of Love'.  

Opening with a session discussing Christian understanding of the nature of evil - is it a real force competing with the good, or is it a lack of goodness? - Dr Vardy then explored the philosophical problem of evil in its logical and evidential forms - do the types and scale of suffering evident in the world make faith in the Christian God illogical?  An examination of the Augustinian Theodicy (an attempt to explain the probability of an omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnibenevolent (all-loving) God amid evidence of evil in the world) questioned how St Augustine can rely on the free will defence whilst also arguing that God chooses who to save by grace without any reference to anything we have done, rendering our lives theologically determined. 

Finally, Dr Vardy explored and evaluated John Hicks' attempt to distinguish between the Augustinian theodicy, which attempts to clear God of all responsibility for evil based on human free will, and the Irenaean theodicy, which casts God as responsible for evil, but justified because of its benefits for human development.

This fascinating event - which included discussions, Q&As and debates - aimed to get students excited about the subject, enriching and extending their knowledge and understanding as well as supporting them in analysing, evaluating and making informed, well-reasoned academic judgements.

Mrs Johnson