T2, Blade Runner and the Problem of Evil

Respond

Respond Podcast Episode 6 - “T2, Blade Runner and the Problem of Evil”

Presenter: Stuart Gray, @stuhgray

Christian thought has understood evil as an absence or corruption of good.

1 - Why do bad things happen to good people?

Maybe people are not naturally good? There’s evidence we aren’t.

· Genocides from the past – normal people saying, “I’m just doing my job.”

· Abortion rates today

Maybe we aren’t good. We are really just self-interested?

2 – We find the explanation for our problem in the Bible

Genesis 1 – 2 presents the story of mankind (Adam and Eve) freely deciding to reject God and attempt to become God themselves.

Geneticists identify limited set of ancestors 50/60,000 years ago – mitochondrial Adam and Eve.

3 – We Do Have Free Will – Right?

Libertarianism – I’m free to do other than I do

Hard Determinism – I’m not free, my life is pre-scripted

Compatibilism – I’m not free, but I am able to act according to my desires and values (which are determined by something / someone outside of us)

Only Libertarianism makes sense of life and the Bible

4 – T2 and Blade Runner Show Human Free Will is IMPORTANT

References for this episode:

Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution, Holocaust Encyclopedia United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution.

Abortion statistics for England and Wales: 2018, National Statistics, published 13th June, 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2018

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Answering the Problems of Evil with Dr. Clay Jones, Capturing Christianity, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQlrClxwL0w.

Clay Jones, Why Does God Allow Evil, (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2017).