John Hick's Theodicy of Soul-Making

Among considered solutions of the problem of evils, the theodicy of soul-making is the most important one. John Hick, the contemporary philosopher of religion, has offered this idea in his book "Evil and The God of Love". Hick has justified, both moral and natural evils, in his theodicy. He has pointed to two stages of man’s creation at the beginning of his theodicy. These two stages are "image of God" and "likeness f God". According to Hick, moral evil is the result of man’s autonomous and man’s freedom. First man and his offspring are been placed in a world where God reality is not manifest to him. Hick has called this the Epistemic Distance. This situation causes sin or moral evil. From the other hand, natural evils causes man to attain some spiritual and moral attributes like courage, forgiveness, sacrifice, patient and sympathy. Hick believes that, man gradually become closed to God and reach the "likeness of God", but nobody except Christ, will reach the likeness of God, in this world, which is the final perfection of man. According to Hick, Human beings will reach the likeness of God after death. Hick says man will reach the divine purpose not in the present life, but in the after-life. Man’s spiritual and moral evolution begins in this world, but finishes in here after.