Ethical Dilemmas Explored

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In this Q&A episode, Dr. Jacobs addresses ten challenging questions about the problem of evil and divine foreknowledge. He tackles issues ranging from whether God's plan for salvation required evil acts, to how divine foreknowledge works when predicted events don't occur, to why Jewish and Christian traditions differ on evil as privation of good. Dr. Jacobs also examines whether ethical frameworks create false dilemmas, explores the concept of a malicious deity, and clarifies Eastern Orthodox views on body-soul unity. 

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00:00:00 Intro

00:02:26 Question 1: Did God’s plan for Christ require evil/sin? 

00:22:06 Question 2: How did God know Keilah would betray David if it never happened?

00:31:59 Question 3: Is the God vs. evil debate a false dilemma between deontology and utilitarianism?

00:53:57 Question 4: Does the story of Jesus healing the blind man demonstrate God as a utilitarian? 

01:07:06 Question 5: If you would stop someone you loved from being hurt, why wouldn’t God? 

01:23:22 Question 6: Natural disasters and the problem of evil (and why doesn’t God get rid of demons?) 

01:33:37 Question 7: Do Jewish sources actually view evil as a privation of good?

01:38:58 Question 8: Why doesn't anyone argue that evil exists because of a malicious God?

01:44:02 Question 9: Are there evil archetypes? 

01:49:28 Question 10: Is the Eastern Orthodox view of body-soul a hard dualism or psychosomatic holism?

Question 1:Human evil is a consequence of freedom, not divine planning. Yet the crucifixion required specific acts of evil: unjust torture and execution of Christ. How do you reconcile this? If God's plan needed these acts of injustice, doesn't this complicate the idea that evil is merely a byproduct of free choices?

Question 2:In 1 Samuel 23, God tells David that Keilah will deliver him to Saul. David leaves and isn't captured. If God knows the future because it happens, how does He know Keilah will betray David? Educated prediction based on knowing their hearts?

Question 3:You contrast human utilitarian decision-making with God's. But in the "baby Hitler" example, isn't the reasoning based on "don't kill innocent people"? Could this be another false dilemma?

Question 4:If God isn't utilitarian, how does Jesus say about a blind man that he wasn't blind because of sin but to show God's glory? Isn't that God choosing evil to make good?

Question 5:If you could stop your child from being *****, would you? If so, why wouldn't God?

Question 6:How might natural disasters fit into this discussion?

Question 7:You say "Jewish and Christian response" about evil's etiology, but Rabbinical tradition rejected evil as privation of good. Where do you see this in Jewish sources—that God allows evil for free agents but doesn't will it?

Question 8:Why haven't I heard the problem of evil handled by positing a malicious God? Why doesn't anyone argue evil exists because "God" is malicious and sadistic?

Question 9:Are there evil archetypes? If evil is distortion, every "evil archetype" is distortion too. Can archetypes as universal forces really be distorted?

Question 10:Dr. Jacobs speaks of strict body-soul dualism as separate parts. However, Eastern Orthodox position seems holistic—soul and body inseparable. Since the Fathers predated modernist splits, didn't they have a unified view of personhood?