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Agathism, from the Greek, agatho- (good), is the doctrine that the ultimate end of all things is good, although the intermediate means may be evil
Evil

Evil, in many cultures, is a broad term used to describe intentional negative moral acts or thoughts that are cruel, unjust or selfish. Evil is usually good and evil, which describes acts that are kind, just or unselfish....
. In the conflict between optimism and pessimism, agathism is the reasonable intermediate. The agathist sees the world as essentially good but a place in which bad things can and do happen to good people.

Agathism is offered as an apologetic in theodicy to address the problem of reconciling a benevolent God with the existence of evil in the world.






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Agathism, from the Greek, agatho- (good), is the doctrine that the ultimate end of all things is good, although the intermediate means may be evil
Evil

Evil, in many cultures, is a broad term used to describe intentional negative moral acts or thoughts that are cruel, unjust or selfish. Evil is usually good and evil, which describes acts that are kind, just or unselfish....
. In the conflict between optimism and pessimism, agathism is the reasonable intermediate. The agathist sees the world as essentially good but a place in which bad things can and do happen to good people.

Agathism is offered as an apologetic in theodicy to address the problem of reconciling a benevolent God with the existence of evil in the world. A form of agathism found in Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 thought and in some Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 groups such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christianity Religious denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance of Saturday, the original Days of the week of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath and Seventh-day Adventism....
 believes that even the punishment of a soul in hell
Hell

In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear Divinity history often depict Hell as endless ....
 is not eternal. In theologies
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 which hold human history to be a narrative authored by God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
 agathism forms the basis for the development of Messianism
Messianism

Messianism is the belief in a messiah, a savior or redeemer. Many religions have a messiah concept, including the Zoroastrian Saoshyant, the Jewish Messiah, the Christian Christ, the Buddhist Maitreya and the Hindu Kalki....
. Agathology is the study of the nature of good.

Note: Also a general term not related to any religious group, simply referring to the belief that all things will turn out well in the end. Compare with optimism
Optimism

Optimism is an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place, or one's personal situation as a positive one. It is the philosophical opposite of pessimism....
.

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