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Dew And Gould's Response To The Existence Of Evil

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Dew and Gould address both the logical and evidential challenges posed by evil, emphasizing the compatibility of God’s existence with the existence of evil in the world. The response by Dew & Gould in evidential reasoning aligns with Pruitt's perspective in "God, Evil, and the Human Good." Pruitt acknowledges the pivotal role of evil in shaping human character and moral development, a viewpoint shared by Dew & Gould. Additionally, Pruitt's arguments resonate with Dew & Gould's response to the logical problem of evil which is highlighted by David Hume's summary. Dew & Gould address this by discussing Alvin Plantinga's argument of free will, emphasizing that the coexistence of evil with God's goodness is due to the gift of free will. In summary, …show more content…

The issue of evil, a long-standing philosophical challenge, urges us to contemplate the existence of God considering the presence of suffering and malevolence in the world. Upon careful reflection on various arguments and perspectives, I have drawn several conclusions that influence my perspective on the case for God's existence: The presence of evil does not necessarily negate the possibility of God's existence. Classic theists, such as Richard Swinburne, argue that God could permit temporary evils for the sake of the greater good, such as moral growth and overcoming challenges. This viewpoint recognizes that while evil is real and painful, it can serve a purpose within a larger divine plan. The concept of "soul-making" theodicy suggests that God and evil can coexist because suffering shapes human character. Through adversity, individuals develop resilience, empathy, and moral virtues. This argument implies that God's purpose extends beyond providing comfort; it involves our transformation into better versions of ourselves. Divine hiddenness, as explored by Dew & Gould, raises questions about why God doesn't make His existence more

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(Swinburne, pg.84) Theist would disagree. The second piece that counters Swinburne’s argument is by John Hicks and it is called “Evil and The God of Love”. Hicks takes a pro-freewill stance and believes in the “Soul-Making Defense” (Hick, pg.85).

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Beaty, Michael Douglas. “A Compensatory Response to the Problem of Evil: Revisited.” Religions, vol. 14, no. 1, Jan. 2023, p. 35. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010035 Beaty argues that the problem of evil can be solved by appealing to the concept of compensatory providence.

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Stump’s two constraints of suffering, argues Draper, could not be taken place automatically in human experience. There is a group of people who cannot be justified by the negative benefit of harm prevention since they are sufficiently far away from the process of sanctification, and from the treatment of permanent separation with God. There are also those who do not consent to suffer for the future benefit of deeper union with God . Moreover, it is quite difficult to know how God knows exactly the human reaction to situations of suffering before allowing

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“The Problem of Evil” by Peter van Inwagen, is a series of lectures that that presents van Inwagen’s various responses to problem of evil. In this essay, I will present “the local problem of evil” (from chapter 6 of the book), the solution van Inwagen proposes for this problem, and my critique of his solution. “The local problem of evil,” according to van Inwagen, is the hypothetical response an atheist would have towards van Inwagen’s solution of “the global problem of evil” which is, “If god existed, then why is there so much evil in the world?” The argument of “the local problem of evil” is “If god existed then why are there specific horrors that occur in the world, like children dying in a horrific car crash?” The argument that is drawn

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However, evil does exist. Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God does not exist. The evidential problem of evil states that since evil does exists, evidence alone is incompatible with a perfect God, and thus negates the possibility of God 's existence. There exist

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The mystery defense, articulated by theologians like Augustine and Aquinas, suggests that God's ways are beyond human understanding. While these arguments offer explanations for why a purely good God would allow evil and suffering, they face criticisms and challenges. For example, the free will defense doesn't adequately explain natural evils like earthquakes or diseases, and the soul-making theodicy can be seen as justifying evil rather than providing an adequate response to the problem of evil. Despite these challenges, these arguments offer valuable insights into the complex issue of evil and suffering in the world. The problem of evil has sparked intense debates and questions about God's nature and human suffering.

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In theory, he thinks that if God exists then evil should not, but it does. So he creates and argues a theodicy to show that God and evil can exist at the same time. He comes up with the “Free Will Theodicy” which states that humans are the cause of evil, not God. The Free Will Theodicy discusses two kinds of evil: moral evil and natural evil.

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This paper will discuss the problem of evil. In the first part, I will discuss Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s atheist stance and William Lane Craig’s theist stance on the problem of evil. In the final part of this paper, I will argue that Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s argument is stronger. The Problem of Evil

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Essay 2 My goal in this paper is to show that Swinburne’s solution to the Problem of Evil is persuasive. I begin with a formulation of Swinburne’s thoughts about the similarity and difference between moral evil and natural evil. I then formulate the connection between evil and free will. Next, I consider the potentiality objection to this argument, and Swinburne’s response to this objection.

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The existence of God has been presented by a multitude of philosophers. However, this has led to profound criticism and arguments of God’s inexistence. The strongest argument in contradiction to God’s existence is the Problem of Evil, presented by J.L Mackie. In this paper, I aim to describe the problem of evil, analyse the objection of the Paradox of Omnipotence and provide rebuttals to this objection. Thus, highlighting my support for Mackie’s Problem of evil.

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John Hick transformed the shape of thinking about theodicy in contemporary philosophical theology with his conception of the world as a “vale of soul-making” (1973). This supports that an all-powerful, all-knowing and maximally good god might allow some evil for the sake of a greater good, that is, a man has to experience suffering for greater redemption later. People were not created morally and spiritually mature and perfect; instead, people are “still in process of creation” ( Hick 254c) .Men

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Philosopher William Rowe agrees with Plantinga that propositions — that evil exists, God is omnipotent, and God is wholly good — is not logically inconsistent. Rowe does not believe it is impossible to allow God and his properties to exist along with evil. He takes a different route by focusing more on certain kinds of evil which evidently exist in the world, and not so much on the inconsistencies of the theist doctrines. This certain evil, in Rowe’s point of view, will show that a God who is all powerful and wholly good does not exist after all.

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Another Milestone that effects the way we define the notion of “Good and Evil” is largely based on our religion. Therefore, the way we see right from wrong, heaven and hell, light and darkness, Good vs. Evil and God and the Devil comes from the moral criterion that we attempt to apply to our worldviews. However, given the conspicuous contrasts amongst religions, ranging from Christianity to Islam to Judaism. Many people believe that due to the simple fact of religious diversity, this provides the basis to discredit any assumption of moral truths. Some religions define evil as “the result of human sin” or that “Evil is the result of a spiritual being who opposes the Lord God”

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On the other hand, theists like Swinburne, believe that evil is necessary for important reasons such as that it helps us grow and improve. In this paper I will argue that the theist is right, because the good of the evil in this specific case on problems beyond one’s control, outweighs the bad that comes from it. I will begin by stating the objection the anti-theodicist gives for why it is wrong that there is a problem of evil. (<--fix) Regarding passive evil not caused by human action, the anti-theodicist claims that there is an issue with a creator, God, allowing a world to exist where evil things happen, which are not caused by human beings (180-181).

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A lot of arguments have been known to prove or disprove the existence of God, and the Problem of Evil is one of them. The Problem of Evil argues that it is impossible to have God and evil existing in the same world. Due to ideal characteristics of God, evil should not have a chance to exist and make human suffer. In this essay, I will examine the argument for the Problem of Evil, a possible theodicy against the argument, and reply to the theodicy. First of all, to be clear, the Problem of Evil is an argument that shows that God cannot be either all- powerful, all-knowing, and/or all good.

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