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| free will defense problem of evil: God, Suffering, and the Value of Free Will Laura W. Ekstrom, 2021-02-23 For many of us, the question of whether or not God exists is one of the most perplexing and profound questions of our lives, and numerous philosophers and theologians have debated it for centuries. Laura Ekstrom here takes a new look at the issue of God's existence by examining it against the reality of human suffering, bringing to the fore contentious presuppositions concerning agency and value at the core of the matter. When we survey the world, we observe an enormous amount of pain, including virtually unspeakable kinds of maltreatment and agony, many instances of which seem patently unfair, unearned, and pointless. This book argues that, in light of these observations, it is reasonable to conclude that God does not exist. The book unravels the extent and power of arguments from evil. Ekstrom provides a close investigation of a largely overlooked claim at the heart of major free-will-based responses to such arguments, namely that free will is worth it: sufficiently valuable to serve as the good that provides a God-justifying reason for permitting evil in the world. Through fresh examinations of traditional theodicies, Ekstrom develops an alternative line called divine intimacy theodicy, and makes an extended case for rejecting skeptical theism. The book takes up an argument from evil concerning a traditional doctrine of hell, which reveals a number of compelling issues concerning fault, agency, and blameworthiness. In response to recent work contending that the problem of evil is toothless because God is indifferent to human beings, Ekstrom defends the essential perfect moral goodness of God. She further tackles the question of whether or not it is possible to live a religious life as an agnostic or as an atheist. Through rigorous reflection, with deep respect for religious thought and experience, and with sensitivity to the range and kinds of suffering so many endure, Ekstrom firmly advances discussion of the problem of evil and paves the way for further scholarship in the philosophy of religion. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Problem of Evil Peter van Inwagen, 2008-04-17 The vast amount of suffering in the world is often held as a particularly powerful reason to deny that God exists. Highly accessible and carefully argued, Peter van Inwagen's book maintains that such reasoning does not hold, and that suffering should not undermine belief in God. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Calvinism and the Problem of Evil David E. Alexander, Daniel M. Johnson, 2016-07-13 Contrary to what many philosophers believe, Calvinism neither makes the problem of evil worse nor is it obviously refuted by the presence of evil and suffering in our world. Or so most of the authors in this book claim. While Calvinism has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years amongst theologians and laypersons, many philosophers have yet to follow suit. The reason seems fairly clear: Calvinism, many think, cannot handle the problem of evil with the same kind of plausibility as other more popular views of the nature of God and the nature of God's relationship with His creation. This book seeks to challenge that untested assumption. With clarity and rigor, this collection of essays seeks to fill a significant hole in the literature on the problem of evil. |
| free will defense problem of evil: God, Evil, and Human Learning Fred Berthold, 2004-08-02 Revises the traditional free will defense regarding the existence of evil in the world of a loving God. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion David Hume, 1779 Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a philosophical work written by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. Through dialogue, three fictional characters named Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes debate the nature of God's existence. While all three agree that a god exists, they differ sharply in opinion on God's nature or attributes and how, or if, humankind can come to knowledge of a deity. In the Dialogues, Hume's characters debate a number of arguments for the existence of God, and arguments whose proponents believe through which we may come to know the nature of God. Such topics debated include the argument from design - for which Hume uses a house - and whether there is more suffering or good in the world (Argument from evil) |
| free will defense problem of evil: Free Will and Theism Kevin Timpe, Daniel Speak, 2016 This volume presents a systematic exploration of the relationship between religious beliefs and various accounts of free will in the contemporary domain. With a particular eye on how theological commitments might shape our views about the nature of free will, a team of leading experts in the field explores an important gap in the current debate. They focus their attention on this crucial point of intellectual intersection with surprising and illuminating results. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Evidential Argument from Evil William L. Rowe, Paul Draper, Richard Swinburne, Eleonore Stump, Alvin Plantinga, William P. Alston, Stephen J. Wykstra, Peter van Inwagen, Bruce Russell, Richard M. Gale, 2008-10-17 Is evil evidence against the existence of God? A collection of essays by philosophers, theologians, and other scholars. Even if God and evil are compatible, it remains hotly contested whether evil renders belief in God unreasonable. The Evidential Argument from Evil presents five classic statements on this issue by eminent philosophers and theologians, and places them in dialogue with eleven original essays reflecting new thinking by these and other scholars. The volume focuses on two versions of the argument. The first affirms that there is no reason for God to permit either certain specific horrors or the variety and profusion of undeserved suffering. The second asserts that pleasure and pain, given their biological role, are better explained by hypotheses other than theism. Contributors include William P. Alston, Paul Draper, Richard M. Gale, Daniel Howard-Snyder, Alvin Plantinga, William L. Rowe, Bruce Russell, Eleonore Stump, Richard G. Swinburne, Peter van Inwagen, and Stephen John Wykstra. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Why Does God Allow Evil? Clay Jones, 2017-08-01 If you are looking for one book to make sense of the problem of evil, this book is for you. Sean McDowell Grasping This Truth Will Change Your View of God Forever If God is good and all-powerful, why doesn't He put a stop to the evil in this world? Christians and non-Christians alike struggle with the concept of a loving God who allows widespread suffering in this life and never-ending punishment in hell. We wrestle with questions such as... Why do bad things happen to good people? Why should we have to pay for Adam's sin? How can eternal judgment be fair? But what if the real problem doesn't start with God...but with us? Clay Jones, an associate professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University, examines what Scripture truly says about the nature of evil and why God allows it. Along the way, he'll help you discover the contrasting abundance of God's grace, the overwhelming joy of heaven, and the extraordinary destiny of believers. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Non-identity Theodicy Vince R. Vitale, 2020 This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Questions as personal as those about suffering require a very personal response. However, the most popular responses to the problem of evil revolve around abstract discussions of greater goods, maximization of value, and best possible worlds, depicting God as at best an impartial bureaucrat and at worst a utility fanatic, rather than as a loving parent concerned first and foremost for his children. Vince R. Vitale develops Non-Identity Theodicy as an original response to the problem of evil. He begins by recognizing that horrendous evils pose distinctive challenges for belief in God. The book constructs an ethical framework for theodicy by sketching four cases of human action where horrendous evils are either caused, permitted, or risked, either for pure benefit or for harm avoidance. This framework is then brought to bear on the project of theodicy. The initial conclusions drawn impugn the dominant structural approach of depicting God as causing or permitting horrors in individual lives for the sake of some merely pure benefit. This approach is insensitive to relevant asymmetries in the justificatory demands made by horrendous and non-horrendous evil and in the justificatory work done by averting harm and bestowing pure benefit. Vitale then critiques theodicies that depict God as permitting or risking horrors in order to avert greater harm. The second half of this book develops a theodicy that falls outside of the proposed taxonomy. Non-Identity Theodicy suggests that God allows evil because it is a necessary condition of creating individual people whom he desires to love. This approach to theodicy is unique because the justifying good recommended is neither harm-aversion nor pure benefit. It is not a good that betters the lives of individual human persons--for they would not exist otherwise, but it is the individual human persons themselves. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Is a Good God Logically Possible? James P. Sterba, 2019-07-16 Using yet untapped resources from moral and political philosophy, this book seeks to answer the question of whether an all good God who is presumed to be all powerful is logically compatible with the degree and amount of moral and natural evil that exists in our world. It is widely held by theists and atheists alike that it may be logically impossible for an all good, all powerful God to create a world with moral agents like ourselves that does not also have at least some moral evil in it. James P. Sterba focuses on the further question of whether God is logically compatible with the degree and amount of moral and natural evil that exists in our world. The negative answer he provides marks a new stage in the age-old debate about God's existence. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Reason, Metaphysics, and Mind Alvin Plantinga, 2012-02-09 Each of the essays in this volume engages with some particular aspect of philosopher Alvin Plantinga's views on metaphysics, epistemology, or philosophy of religion. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Theodicy of Love John C. Peckham, 2018-11-06 If God is all powerful and entirely good and loving, why is there so much evil in the world? Based on a close canonical reading of Scripture, this book offers a new approach to the challenge of reconciling the Christian confession of a loving God with the realities of suffering and evil. John Peckham offers a constructive proposal for a theodicy of love that upholds both the sovereignty of God and human freedom, showing that Scripture points toward a framework for thinking about God's love in relation to the world. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Problem of Evil Michael L. Peterson, 2016-11-15 Of all the issues in the philosophy of religion, the problem of reconciling belief in God with evil in the world arguably commands more attention than any other. For over two decades, Michael L. Peterson’s The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings has been the most widely recognized and used anthology on the subject. Peterson's expanded and updated second edition retains the key features of the original and presents the main positions and strategies in the latest philosophical literature on the subject. It will remain the most complete introduction to the subject as well as a resource for advanced study. Peterson organizes his selection of classical and contemporary sources into four parts: important statements addressing the problem of evil from great literature and classical philosophy; debates based on the logical, evidential, and existential versions of the problem; major attempts to square God's justice with the presence of evil, such as Augustinian, Irenaean, process, openness, and felix culpa theodicies; and debates on the problem of evil covering such concepts as a best possible world, natural evil and natural laws, gratuitous evil, the skeptical theist defense, and the bearing of biological evolution on the problem. The second edition includes classical excerpts from the book of Job, Voltaire, Dostoevsky, Augustine, Aquinas, Leibniz, and Hume, and twenty-five essays that have shaped the contemporary discussion, by J. L. Mackie, Alvin Plantinga, William Rowe, Marilyn Adams, John Hick, William Hasker, Paul Draper, Michael Bergmann, Eleonore Stump, Peter van Inwagen, and numerous others. Whether a professional philosopher, student, or interested layperson, the reader will be able to work through a number of issues related to how evil in the world affects belief in God. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God Marilyn McCord Adams, 2018-09-05 When confronted by horrendous evil, even the most pious believer may question not only life's worth but also God's power and goodness. A distinguished philosopher and a practicing minister, Marilyn McCord Adams has written a highly original work on a fundamental dilemma of Christian thought—how to reconcile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy of religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst—horrendous—evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that—Adams claims—is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics. If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Satan and the Problem of Evil Gregory A. Boyd, 2001-10-08 Gregory Boyd seeks to defend his scripturally grounded trinitarian warfare theod-icy with rigorous philosophical reflection and insights from human experience and scientific discovery. |
| free will defense problem of evil: God Reforms Hearts Thaddeus Williams, 2021-08-11 Must we be free to truly love? Evil is a problem for all Christians. When responding to objections that both evil and God can exist, many resort to a free will defense, where God is not the creator of evil but of human freedom, by which evil is possible. This response is so pervasive that it is just as often assumed as it is defended. But is this answer biblically and philosophically defensible? In God Reforms Hearts, Thaddeus J. Williams offers a friendly challenge to the central claim of the free will defense--that love is possible only with true (or libertarian) free will. Williams argues that much thinking on free will fails to carve out the necessary distinction between an autonomous will and an unforced will. Scripture presents a God who desires relationship and places moral requirements on his often--rebellious creatures, but does absolute free will follow? Moreover, God's work of transforming the human heart is more thorough than libertarian freedom allows. With clarity, precision, and charity, Williams judges the merits and shortcomings of the relational free will defense while offering a philosophically and biblically robust alternative that draws from theologians of the past to point a way forward. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Cambridge Companion to the Problem of Evil Chad Meister, Paul K. Moser, 2017-06-09 This Companion offers a state-of-the-art contribution by providing critical analyses of and creative insights on the problem of evil. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Wandering in Darkness Eleonore Stump, 2012-09-13 Only the most naïve or tendentious among us would deny the extent and intensity of suffering in the world. Can one hold, consistently with the common view of suffering in the world, that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? This book argues that one can. Wandering in Darkness first presents the moral psychology and value theory within which one typical traditional theodicy, namely, that of Thomas Aquinas, is embedded. It explicates Aquinas's account of the good for human beings, including the nature of love and union among persons. Eleonore Stump also makes use of developments in neurobiology and developmental psychology to illuminate the nature of such union. Stump then turns to an examination of narratives. In a methodological section focused on epistemological issues, the book uses recent research involving autism spectrum disorder to argue that some philosophical problems are best considered in the context of narratives. Using the methodology argued for, the book gives detailed, innovative exegeses of the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham and Isaac, and Mary of Bethany. In the context of these stories and against the backdrop of Aquinas's other views, Stump presents Aquinas's own theodicy, and shows that Aquinas's theodicy gives a powerful explanation for God's allowing suffering. She concludes by arguing that this explanation constitutes a consistent and cogent defense for the problem of suffering. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Reasonable Faith William Lane Craig, 2008 This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible. |
| free will defense problem of evil: De Malo Saint Thomas (Aquinas), 2001 The De Malo represents some of St. Thomas Aquinas' most mature thinking on goodness, badness, and human agency. Together with the second part of the Summa Theologiae, it is one of his most sustained contributions to moral philosophy and theology. Aquinas examines the full range of questions associated with evil: its origin, its nature, its variety, its relation to good, and its compatibility with the existence of an omnipotent, benevolent God. This edition offers the Leonine Commission's authoritative edition of the Latin text with a new, clear, and readable English translation by Richard Regan with an extensive introduction and notes by Brian Davies. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Pathways in Theodicy Mark S. M. Scott, 2015-05-01 Why does God permit evil and suffering? This question, known as the problem of evil in theological and philosophical circles, has perennially vexed Christian theology. Academic studies on the problem of evil, however, have failed to move the conversation forward in recent years. In this volume, designed for students and scholars alike, Mark S. M. Scott traces the major models and motifs in Christian explanations for evil (called theodicies) and argues for a thorough rethinking of the problem of evil and theodicy based on distinctly Christian theological criteria and resources. |
| free will defense problem of evil: God and Other Minds Alvin Plantinga, 1990 |
| free will defense problem of evil: Free Will and Classical Theism Hugh J. McCann, 2017 The articles in the present collection deal with the religious dimension of the problem of free will. Together they provide a historical and contemporary overview of problems in the theology of freedom, along with recent work by some important philosophers in the field aimed at resolving those problems. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Theodicy Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 2022-11-13 Theodicy is a book of philosophy by the German polymath Gottfried Leibniz published in 1710, whose optimistic approach to the problem of evil is thought to have inspired Voltaire's Candide. Much of the work consists of a response to the ideas of the French philosopher Pierre Bayle, with whom Leibniz carried on a debate for many years. The Theodicy tries to justify the apparent imperfections of the world by claiming that it is optimal among all possible worlds. It must be the best possible and most balanced world, because it was created by an all powerful and all knowing God, who would not choose to create an imperfect world if a better world could be known to him or possible to exist. In effect, apparent flaws that can be identified in this world must exist in every possible world, because otherwise God would have chosen to create the world that excluded those flaws. Leibniz distinguishes three forms of evil: moral, physical, and metaphysical. Moral evil is sin, physical evil is pain, and metaphysical evil is limitation. God permits moral and physical evil for the sake of greater goods, and metaphysical evil is unavoidable since any created universe must necessarily fall short of God's absolute perfection. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Reality of God and the Problem of Evil Brian Davies, 2006-12-11 An important new book on how we can still believe in a God of love and confront the problem of evil in the world. Probably the most important book on the subject since John Hick's book `Evil and the God of Love`. &; Evil is a strong word that people now employ fairly rarely. Many people believe these days that God is omnipotent,omniscient and good and that what we deem to be bad or evil in the world is no reason for abandoning belief in God. It is an intellectual or theoretical problem not one where the focus is on how one might bring about some desirable goal ( a practical matter). &; Professor Davies says we should tackle this problem by attending to the basics, by asking whether there is a God and then What is God? he starts by summarizing the arguments so far (from Seneca to the present day). He then moves to what he describes as the basics (see above) and demonstrates that much of what has been written about on the topic of evil is in fact irrelevant or just plain wrong. &; Finally, though many theologians argue that evil is a mystery, Davies argues that this too is wrong and a cop out. We should rather be concerned with the problem (or mystery) of good. The real issue is ` Why is there not more good than there is`. From the discussion Aquinas emerges as a hero (as filtered through analytical philosophy) but many moderns thinkers do not emerge so well. Davies effectively picks holes int e arguments of Peter Geach, Paul Helm, Richard Swinburne and even Mary Baker Eddy. &; This is a lively book on a tricky subject, written at all times with humour and much practical example. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Early Modern Women and the Problem of Evil Jill Graper Hernandez, 2016-05-05 Early Modern Women and the Problem of Evil examines the concept of theodicy—the attempt to reconcile divine perfection with the existence of evil—through the lens of early modern female scholars. This timely volume knits together the perennial problem of defining evil with current scholarly interest in women’s roles in the evolution of religious philosophy. Accessible for those without a background in philosophy or theology, Jill Graper Hernandez’s text will be of interest to upper-level undergraduates as well as graduate students and researchers. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Kant and Theodicy George Huxford, 2020-02-19 In Kant and Theodicy: A Search for an Answer to the Problem of Evil, George Huxford proves that Kant’s engagement with theodicy was career-long and not confined to his short 1791 treatise that dealt explicitly with the subject. Huxford treats Kant’s developing thought on theodicy in three periods: pre-Critical (exploration), early-Critical (transition), and late-Critical (conclusion). Illustrating the advantage of approaching Kant through this framework, Huxford argues that Kant’s stance developed through his career into his own unique authentic theodicy; Kant rejected philosophical theodicies based on theoretical/speculative reason but advanced authentic theodicy grounded in practical reason, finding a middle ground between philosophical theodicy and fideism, both of which he rejected. Nevertheless, Huxford concludes that Kant’s authentic theodicy fails because it fails to meet his own definition of a theodicy. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Problem of Evil Shams C. Inati, 2000 The first comprehensive study of Ibn Sînâ’s Theodicy. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Nature Red in Tooth and Claw Michael Murray, 2008-06-19 Those who believe in God often puzzle over how God could permit evil and suffering in the world. Nature Red in Tooth and Claw focuses specifically on non-human animal suffering, and whether or not it raises problems for belief in the existence of a perfectly good creator. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Evil and Many Worlds William Hunt, 2021-05-25 In Evil and Many Worlds: A Free-Will Theodicy, William Hunt presents a unique approach to explaining how God and evil can coexist despite the abundance of moral and natural evils blighting our world, which imply that an omnibenevolent God is unlikely to exist. This theodicy is based upon Huw Everett III's many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, whereby reality is not what it intuitively seems; instead, it is a multiverse comprising a vast number of universes, and we simultaneously exist in many of them. This multiplicity of existence results in a balance of moral good and evil across the multiverse, and through this, the expression of free will—an attribute valued by both persons and God— flourishes. The theodicy explains the coexistence of God and natural evil through the necessity of an evolutionary process that ensures the emergence of free-willed persons. Notwithstanding this universal perspective of Creation, a resurrection possibility would mitigate individual suffering resulting from this divine holistic strategy. Hunt examines this possibility in light of the many-worlds interpretation. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Hell and the Mercy of God Adrian J. Reimers, 2017 If God is truly merciful and loving, perfect in goodness, how can he consign human beings created in his own image to eternal torment in hell? God's goodness seems incompatible with inflicting horrible evil upon those who oppose his will and defy his law. If to this paradox we add the metaphysical requirement that God be perfect in goodness, the eternal evil of hell seems to be contradictory to God's own nature. Catholic philosopher Adrian Reimers takes on these challenges in Hell and the Mercy of God, drawing on relevant sources from Aristotle to Aquinas, from Dante to Tolkien, from Wagner to John Paul II, along with Billie Holliday, The Godfather, and the music of George Gershwin. He presents a philosophical theology, grounded in Scripture, of the nature of goodness and evil, exploring various types of pain, the seven capital sins, the resurrection of the body, the meaning of mammon, the core meaning of idolatry, the psychology of Satan and those who choose his path, and the moral responsibility of the human person. Catholic philosopher Adrian Reimers takes on these challenges in Hell and the Mercy of God, drawing on relevant sources from Aristotle to Aquinas, from Dante to Tolkien, from Wagner to John Paul II, along with Billie Holliday, The Godfather, and the music of George Gershwin. He presents a philosophical theology, grounded in Scripture, of the nature of goodness and evil, exploring various types of pain, the seven capital sins, the resurrection of the body, the meaning of mammon, the core meaning of idolatry, the psychology of Satan and those who choose his path, and the moral responsibility of the human person. -- Provided by publisher. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Problem of Free Choice Saint Augustine (of Hippo), 1955 One of Augustine's most important works, written between 388 and 395, this dialogue has as its objective not so much to discuss free will for its own sake as to discuss the problem of evil in reference to the existence of God, who is almighty and all-good. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Philosophy in America Max Black, 2014-06-03 This is Volume V of twenty-two of a collection on 20th Century Philosophy. Originally published in 1964, this collection contains original papers assembled and representative in their styles, methods, and preoccupations. The various problems here discussed where to the author both important and unsolved: if others are stimulated to make further progress in solving them, the main purpose of this collection will have been achieved. |
| free will defense problem of evil: Creation and the Sovereignty of God Hugh J. McCann, 2012-07-20 Creation and the Sovereignty of God brings fresh insight to a defense of God. Traditional theistic belief declared a perfect being who creates and sustains everything and who exercises sovereignty over all. Lately, this idea has been contested, but Hugh J. McCann maintains that God creates the best possible universe and is completely free to do so; that God is responsible for human actions, yet humans also have free will; and ultimately, that divine command must be reconciled with natural law. With this distinctive approach to understanding God and the universe, McCann brings new perspective to the evidential argument from evil. |
| free will defense problem of evil: God and Evil Henry John Maccloskey, 1974-01-01 |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Problem of Evil Daniel Speak, 2014-11-11 The most forceful philosophical objections to belief in God arise from the existence of evil. Bad things happen in the world and it is not clear how this is compatible with the existence of an all-powerful and perfectly loving being. Unsurprisingly then, philosophers have formulated powerful arguments for atheism based on the existence of apparently unjustified suffering. These arguments give expression to what we call the problem of evil. This volume is an engaging introduction to the philosophical problem of evil. Daniel Speak provides a clear overview of the main lines of reasoning in this debate and argues for the defensibility of theistic belief in the face of evil. He fleshes out the distinction between theodicy and defense and guides the reader through the logical, evidential, and hiddenness versions of the problem. In an accessible and beautifully written account, Speak describes the central issues surrounding the problem of evil in a way that clarifies both the complex reasoning and specialised terminology of the topic. The Problem of Evil is an ideal introduction to contemporary debates over one of the most gripping perennial questions. Read either on its own or alongside the primary materials it deftly covers, students and scholars will find this volume a terrific resource for understanding the challenges to religious belief raised by evil. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Blackwell Companion to The Problem of Evil Justin P. McBrayer, Daniel Howard-Snyder, 2014-01-14 The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil presents a collection of original essays providing both overview and insight, clarifying and evaluating the philosophical and theological “problem of evil” in its various contexts and manifestations. Features all original essays that explore the various forms of the problems of evil, offering theistic responses that attempt to explain evil as well as discussion of the challenges facing such explanations Includes section introductions with a historical essay that traces the developments of the issues explored Acknowledges the fact that there are many problems of evil, some of which apply only to those who believe in concepts such as hell and some of which apply to non-theists Represents views from the various religious traditions, including Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Problem of Evil Jeremy A. Evans, 2013 For philosophy and theology scholars as well as their students, a thoughtful book offering holistic responses to the problem of evil that are philosophically and theologically maintainable. |
| free will defense problem of evil: The Challenges of Divine Determinism Peter Furlong, 2019-06-06 Explores past and present arguments for and against divine determinism, presenting balanced discussion of a major philosophical and religious debate. |
| free will defense problem of evil: What about Evil? Scott Christensen, 2020 Christensen's theological response to the problem of evil examines how sin, evil, corruption, and death not only fit into redemptive history but also magnify the glory of a good God-- |
The problem of evil and the free will defence - A Level …
One version, called the logical problem of evil, claims that the mere existence of evil is logically incompatible with the existence of an omnipotent, good God. It understands the argument …
Free Will and the Problem of Evil1 - Purdue University
To explain why a wholly good God gave men free will although it would lead to some important evils, it must be argued that it is better on the whole that men should act freely, and sometimes …
1 The Problem of Evil: The Logical Problem - persuasivefaith.org
It is generally agreed among philosophers that the Free Will Defense satisfactorily answers the deductive version of the logical problem. J. L. Mackie (1917-1981), a leading proponent of the …
The Problem Evil - 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com
reveal some things that help to address the problem of evil. One avenue for addressing the logical problem of evil is known as the freewill defense. ***READ*** The freewill defense is the view …
W.E.C. 14 - Arminianism and The Free Will Defense for the …
W.E.C. 14 - Arminianism and The Free Will Defense for the Problem of Evil Presupposition: God Decrees Most Things - Foresees All Things • God is sovereign and in charge over everything …
Compatibilism, Evil, and the Free-Will Defense
This thesis is defended by appealing to a recently proposed novel, acausal, composite, unified theory of free action – the Theory of Middle Freedom – that evades the central problems …
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL - cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com
In this paper, I will briefly review what seem to me three of the most promising discussions of the problem of evil and then develop in detail a different solution of my own by presenting and …
The free will defense
If he is right, the “free will defense” should be called the “free will and genuine responsibility defense.” But this addition to the free will defense gives rise to a puzzle. One way to bring out …
INCOMPATIBILISM, SIN, AND FREE WILL IN HEAVEN - Kevin …
Consider the Free Will Defense to the logical problem of evil. 6 According to the Free Will Defense, the reason that moral evils do not contradict God’s essential goodness is that it is …
Free will and the problem of evil - PhilArchive
Thus, it is held, the free-will defence cannot be used as a partial account of why God should have allowed evil to exist. I investigate this objection using Kripke’s apparatus for treating modalities …
An Examination of the “Problem of Evil”, Theodicy, and a …
Beyond the basics of the conception of the Problem of Evil, there are specific facets of it, such as Theodicy, explored below, and later, the modern Free Will Defense as used by philosopher …
Free Will and the Problem of Evil - JSTOR
Thus, it is held, the free-will defence cannot be used as a partial account of why God should have allowed evil to exist. I investigate this objection using Kripke's apparatus for treating modalities …
Swinburne’s response to the problem of evil - University of …
Swinburne does not discuss this important objection to the free-will defence of moral evil. What should the theist say in response to it? Two conceptions of free will: libertarianism and …
Theodicy, by John S. Feinberg “Why Evil?” Two Theodicies: …
Note that (1) if the free will defender is granted his concepts of God, evil, and free human action (and he must be, given the nature of a problem of evil), he can answer his problem of evil. His …
The free will defense - University of Notre Dame
Let’s turn now to ‘the problem of natural evil’: the problem of explaining the existence of evil which is caused by events not due to human free actions, like earthquakes. The free will defense as …
Challenges for the free will defense - University of Notre Dame
The objections to the free will defense we have talked about break into two different categories: the first two objections below are about whether free will can really explain any evil, whereas …
FREE WILL, OMNIPOTENCE, AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
Mackie states the free-will defense as follows: "[E]vils ... are due entirely to bad free choices made by human beings and perhaps by other created beings that have free will."
the basic THE FREE WILL DEFENSE - University of Notre Dame
There are two different kinds of objections to the free will defense. Free will can explain some evil; but it can’t explain all of the evil we find in the world. Mackie thinks that the free will defense is …
free will defense - University of Notre Dame
There are two different kinds of objections to the free will defense. Free will can explain some evil; but it can’t explain all of the evil we find in the world. Mackie thinks that the free will defense is …
The problem of evil & the free will defense - University of …
Feb 12, 2009 · Response 3: The free will defense. God allows evil for the sake of our free will. Free will is a great good, and it is impossible for God to give us free will without allowing evil. …
The problem of evil and the free will defence - A Level …
One version, called the logical problem of evil, claims that the mere existence of evil is logically incompatible with the existence of an omnipotent, good God. It understands the argument …
Free Will and the Problem of Evil1 - Purdue University
To explain why a wholly good God gave men free will although it would lead to some important evils, it must be argued that it is better on the whole that men should act freely, and sometimes …
1 The Problem of Evil: The Logical Problem
It is generally agreed among philosophers that the Free Will Defense satisfactorily answers the deductive version of the logical problem. J. L. Mackie (1917-1981), a leading proponent of the …
The Problem Evil - 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com
reveal some things that help to address the problem of evil. One avenue for addressing the logical problem of evil is known as the freewill defense. ***READ*** The freewill defense is the view …
W.E.C. 14 - Arminianism and The Free Will Defense for the …
W.E.C. 14 - Arminianism and The Free Will Defense for the Problem of Evil Presupposition: God Decrees Most Things - Foresees All Things • God is sovereign and in charge over everything …
Compatibilism, Evil, and the Free-Will Defense
This thesis is defended by appealing to a recently proposed novel, acausal, composite, unified theory of free action – the Theory of Middle Freedom – that evades the central problems …
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL - cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com
In this paper, I will briefly review what seem to me three of the most promising discussions of the problem of evil and then develop in detail a different solution of my own by presenting and …
The free will defense
If he is right, the “free will defense” should be called the “free will and genuine responsibility defense.” But this addition to the free will defense gives rise to a puzzle. One way to bring out …
INCOMPATIBILISM, SIN, AND FREE WILL IN HEAVEN - Kevin …
Consider the Free Will Defense to the logical problem of evil. 6 According to the Free Will Defense, the reason that moral evils do not contradict God’s essential goodness is that it is …
Free will and the problem of evil - PhilArchive
Thus, it is held, the free-will defence cannot be used as a partial account of why God should have allowed evil to exist. I investigate this objection using Kripke’s apparatus for treating modalities …
An Examination of the “Problem of Evil”, Theodicy, and a …
Beyond the basics of the conception of the Problem of Evil, there are specific facets of it, such as Theodicy, explored below, and later, the modern Free Will Defense as used by philosopher …
Free Will and the Problem of Evil - JSTOR
Thus, it is held, the free-will defence cannot be used as a partial account of why God should have allowed evil to exist. I investigate this objection using Kripke's apparatus for treating modalities …
Swinburne’s response to the problem of evil - University of …
Swinburne does not discuss this important objection to the free-will defence of moral evil. What should the theist say in response to it? Two conceptions of free will: libertarianism and …
Theodicy, by John S. Feinberg “Why Evil?” Two Theodicies: …
Note that (1) if the free will defender is granted his concepts of God, evil, and free human action (and he must be, given the nature of a problem of evil), he can answer his problem of evil. His …
The free will defense - University of Notre Dame
Let’s turn now to ‘the problem of natural evil’: the problem of explaining the existence of evil which is caused by events not due to human free actions, like earthquakes. The free will defense as …
Challenges for the free will defense - University of Notre …
The objections to the free will defense we have talked about break into two different categories: the first two objections below are about whether free will can really explain any evil, whereas …
FREE WILL, OMNIPOTENCE, AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
Mackie states the free-will defense as follows: "[E]vils ... are due entirely to bad free choices made by human beings and perhaps by other created beings that have free will."
the basic THE FREE WILL DEFENSE - University of Notre …
There are two different kinds of objections to the free will defense. Free will can explain some evil; but it can’t explain all of the evil we find in the world. Mackie thinks that the free will defense is …
free will defense - University of Notre Dame
There are two different kinds of objections to the free will defense. Free will can explain some evil; but it can’t explain all of the evil we find in the world. Mackie thinks that the free will defense is …
