An introduction to the evidential problem of evil

Both of these arguments are understood to be presenting two forms of the logical problem of evil. If 1 is true then either 2 or 5 is true, but not both. The Evidential Problem of Evil Other philosophers hold that evil does not prove that God does not exist, but instead, that it provides good evidence against His existence Rowe ; Draper ; Tooley As in the case of Job, our faithfulness in trial shows that we serve Him not merely for the benefits He offers, but for the love of God Himself Job 1: Live Options in Theodicy, second edition.

In this chapter, Draper defends his views on plausibility and then argues that Plantinga's challenge to the significance of his final conclusion fails for two reasons. Proponents of the Evidential version, for example, focus more Natural evils, such as disease and natural disasters, rather than Moral Evils such as murder and theft.

Here is an example of a defence, which may clarify this distinction: We have evidence of so much evil that is seemingly pointless and of such horrendous intensity.

God and Inscrutable Evil: Sobel's focus is, rather, issues of definition and logical structure. After several reappearances he finally stayed away for good at about 9: Typically, the kind of freedom that is invoked by the theodicist is the libertarian sort, according to which I am free with respect to a particular action at time t only if the action is not determined by all that happened or obtained before t and all the causal laws there are in such a way that the conjunction of the two the past and the laws logically entails that I perform the action in question.

A being who knows every way in which an evil can come into existence, who is able to prevent that evil from coming into existence, and who wants to do so, would prevent the existence of that evil. Most philosophers today reject this argument Rowe A useful taxonomy of evidential arguments from evil can be found in Russell Here I describe only a few.

And so it is not open to God to cause or determine just what actions I will perform, for if he does so those actions could not be free. In each case, a different version of the logical problem of evil, and hence a distinct charge of logical incompatibility, will be generated. The volume focuses on two versions of the argument.

For a different line of argument in support of the compatibility of theism and gratuitous evil, see Hasker Drange Jordan Howard Sobel's Logic and Theism is long, abstruse, and technical, but valuable for those who have an interest in its topics.

Keep in mind that the goal here is not to prove Christian doctrine true, but only to show that it is consistent with the presence of evil in the world. Living Without Free Will. Such a story, however, must be plausible or reasonable in the sense that it conforms to all of the following: E1 and E2 are thus best viewed as representative of a particular class of evil which poses a specific problem for theistic belief.

Evidential arguments, therefore, claim that there are certain facts about evil that cannot be adequately explained on a theistic account of the world. Much harm can be done when we attempt to aid a suffering brother or sister by merely dealing with the intellectual aspects of this problem, or when we seek to find solace for ourselves in this way.

The Inference from P to Q At least one question to be addressed when considering this inference is: The problem here is that the kind of evidence that is typically invoked by theists in order to substantiate the existence of God — for example, the cosmological and design arguments, appeals to religious experience — does not even aim to establish the existence of a perfectly good being, or else, if it does have such an aim, it faces formidable difficulties in fulfilling it.

A Theology of Providence. Wild animal suffering The problem of evil has also been extended beyond human suffering, to include suffering of animals from cruelty, disease and evil. Similarly, given my lack of training in painting, I fail to see why Picasso arranged the figures in Guernica as he did.

This is the great hope we have in the midst of suffering, that in a way beyond our comprehension, God is able to turn evil against itself. The Evidential Argument from Evil by Nicholas Tattersall You can dismiss the support request pop up for 4 weeks (28 days) if you want to be reminded again.

Or you can dismiss until our next donations drive (typically at the beginning of October). The Evidential Problem of Evil Other philosophers hold that evil does not prove that God does not exist, but instead, that it provides good evidence against His existence (Rowe ; Draper ; Tooley §.

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.5/5(2).

The Problem of Evil – Introduction. John Stott has said that “the fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith.” It is unquestionably true that there is no greater obstacle to faith than that of the reality of evil and suffering in the world.

The Evidential Problem of Evil. While most. Evidential Arguments from Evil The argument from evil (or problem of evil) is the argument that an all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good God would not allow any—or certain kinds of—evil or suffering to occur. The book is short only pages but in its brief compass it provides an excellent introduction to the Problem of Evil.

The book argues very effectively that the nature and extent of Evil does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the God of traditional theism (good, all Reviews: 4.

An introduction to the evidential problem of evil