The harm suffered in this life will be compensated for in the afterlife.

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Parent debateThis argument is used in the debate Does God exist?.
Keywords: God, Evil, Suffering, Theodicy[ edit ].

SummarySummary

God compensates for suffering by offering the possibility of life after death.

QuotationsQuotes

“If someone wasn't convinced by what I've said about the relative strength of the goods and evils under consideration, if they feel that, great as the goods are, they don't justify the evils they imply, I have a fallback position. It may be that my arguments have convinced you of this: the goods encountered are great enough for you to admit that a perfectly good God would be justified if he created evils because of the goods they make possible, if and only if God at the same time offered compensation, in the form of happiness after death, to the victims whose suffering made these goods possible. If your theodicy requires support of this kind, you'll need an independent reason for thinking that God offers such an afterlife: I'll mention the kind of reason there might be in the next chapter.”

Richard Swinburne, Is there a God?, p.106, Ithaca, Paris, 2009.

ReferencesReferences

Arguments forJustifications

Arguments againstObjections

  • Argument againstMental projection designed to make evil bearable
  • Argument againstReward after death is an uncertain bet

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