...The concept of religion itself is extremely complex and has been in existence for ages. Religion has been used as a mode of connection with a higher order being in order to have bliss in life and afterlife. There are different perspectives by many philosophers who argue about the controversial topic- existence of God. Some philosophers believe that due to the existence of evil and suffering in our world, it poses a serious challenge to the belief in the existence of a perfect God. In this paper however I am not concerned with the question whether God exists or not but I rather will be discussing the Western concepts of God as well as the Eastern one, followed by the dual existence of a higher being and evil. I will also emphasize on Immanuel Kant's perspectives on religion and radical evil as his views intrigued me the most among all the other philosophers, mentioning my own belief on religion and God. Western thought about God has fallen within some broad form of theism. Theism is the view that states there is a God, which is the creator and one who sustains the universe and is unlimited with regard to knowledge (omniscience), power (omnipotence), extension (omnipresence), and moral perfection. Western philosophy has interfaced most widely with Christianity, Judaism and Islam has also had some influence. The orthodox forms of all these three religions have embraced theism, though each religion has also yielded a wide array of other views. The western concept of God reveals...
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...Counter-Argument Towards J. L. Mackie’s Evil and Omnipotence In “Evil and Omnipotence” J. L. Mackie argues that God does not exist because of his idea of the 3-0-God which states that God has to be omniscient, omnipotent and omni-benevolent to fulfill the properties of a true God. Perhaps the strongest argument that Mackie gives is that God can only be two out of the three properties in order for evil to exist thus stating that god cannot exist because he does not fulfill all three properties. In this paper, I will argue that this argument fails because Mackie is basing his points on his own thoughts about God. Mackie starts out his argument by stating that the problem of evil proves that either no god exists or at least the god of Christianity, Judaism and Islamic does not exist since the problem of evil provokes the three properties of God. Mackie supports this claim by saying, “These additional principles are that good is opposed to evil, in such a way that a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can, and that there are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do.” (Abel p.91) and concludes this claim with, “…propositions that a good omnipotent thing exists, and that evil exists, are incompatible.” (Abel p.91) Adequate solutions are also what backs up his major point about the problem of evil and states that God cannot be all knowing while being all-powerful and all-good because evil exists and would mean that God is unaware of evil in the world. God can be all-knowing...
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...The Relationship Between Good and Evil Torben Grodal talked of art film as possessing two basic elements, transient and permanent, but they are also seen in the novel East of Eden. Steinbeck creates scenes that at first have a transient quality, and then purposefully connects to a permanent nature. These permanent qualities, grappled with by the Trask’s and Lee, examine the never ending battle between good and evil. In the novel East of Eden, John Steinbeck constructs scenes that have an initial transient quality, but then persistently associates these with a permanent nature that examines the conflict between good and evil. Steinbeck portrays Cathy as a very evil character, someone who is just inexplicably evil and makes several allusions to her being a monster and devil. When first introducing the reader to Cathy, Steinbeck writes about the creation of monsters, an obvious parallel. He goes on to say that, “monsters are variations from the accepted normal to a greater or a less degree. As a child may be born without an arm, so one may be born without kindness or the potential of conscience” (72). He wastes no time in comparing a monster to Cathy. He believes that Cathy is not an ordinary evil either, but that she is a very abstract form of evil, the exact idea of evil and that she has no good in her body. Steinbeck does not only believe that Cathy is a monster, but also uses Cathy to show that evil can and will exist in the world without having a reason to exist. Cathy has...
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...world to be the best of all possible worlds, since God, as a benevolent deity, would not have created anything different. This is a difficult assumption for the modern reader to digest, as we are surrounded by examples of evil every day in the news. Leibniz proves the existence of God by a priori and a posteriori arguments. Leibniz declares that there are two kinds of truth: truths of reason, and truths of fact. Truths of reason are a priori, while truths of fact are a posteriori. Truths of reason are necessary, permanent truths, and proceeding from a known or assumed cause to a necessarily related effect (deductive). Truths of fact are contingent, empirical truths relating to or derived by reasoning from observed facts (inductive) (Davidson, 91). Both kinds of truth must have a sufficient reason. Truths of reason have their sufficient reason in being opposed to the contradictoriness and logical inconsistency of propositions which deny them (Davidson, 93). Truths of fact have their sufficient reason in being more perfect than propositions which deny them. The Priori on pre-established harmony in so far as such harmony demands an author, and this is God. The posteriori explains everything that exists must have sufficient reason for existing, and this reason is God. (Davidson, 96) Leibniz used the Monads to expedite his theory of God’s instilled harmony. His best known contribution to metaphysics is his theory of monads, as exposited in Monadologie (Monads). Monads are to the...
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...In Eleonore Stump’s “Mirror of Evil”, she presents how the evil in the world acts as a mirror by telling us things about ourselves. Stump discerns between two types of evil that are found in the world, which are real wickedness and garden-variety moral evil. “Real wickedness” is explained as sharp and felt immediately, while “garden variety” evil is felt much less than this. For Stump all of us have a way to determine what is evil or not, and this is our moral faculty. Moral faculty allows us to know what evil is but also what true goodness is. Our moral faculty states that we know things are evil or truly good solely on our intuition, which is unaffected by our memory, reason or perception. Stump presents many good reasons to believe that...
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...Since time commenced, people have questioned and debated the problem of evil and why evil exists. If evil is the spiritual balance of good than without the presences of evil, we would not know the genuineness of good. This belief may be explained by the contrast theodicy that God may have reasons for evil in society. An example of a contrast theodicy would be that bad things happen to good people and is the connection between evil and God’s intent of good. People also question why God does not take away the suffering of people from the world. Again, a theodicy can give an explanation to this question. The big-plan theodicy explains that suffering may be part of God’s big plan and needs to happen for good of humanity. There are two...
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...allow evil to occur, why doesn’t he protect the innocent”. In the dialogue between Athea, Bea and Agnos, Bruce Russell uses the characters to tackle that exact question by focusing on the argument of the problem of Evil. Athea in this dialogue is used as the protagonist in the attack of theism, he lays the foundation of the dialogue by providing the premises on which he believes that God must not exist due to the presence of evil. Bea in this dialogue is considered the protagonist in the defense of theism, he role is to highlight the weakness in the problem of evil argument and furthermore suggesting alternative reasons for the presence of evil despite God’s existence. In this essay I shall summarize the setting of the dialogue between the two main characters, then delve into the arguments that are presented. I shall first highlight Athea’s argument against the presence of God, explaining the structure and conclusion of the problem of evil argument, as this lays the foundation for the whole dialogue. I shall then focus on Bea’s reaction to Athea’s argument, clarifying her perceived weakness of the argument and furthermore pointing out her theories on why the presence of evil exists despite Gods existence. Finally I shall present my opinion on the Problem of evil, illustrating the weakness in the premises and its inadequate consideration of the ways in which God might prevent evil without our knowledge while letting certain evils to exist that lead to a greater good than evil...
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...compelling due to its unique literary style and the complex treatment of the issue of suffering. Unlike other books of the Bible, The Book of Job details a conflict between man and God within a poetic structure, and is the only book in the Bible to take on the problem of suffering as its main purpose. Throughout the book, Job pleads to God for all of the misfortunes that have befallen him. This type of discourse found in Job cannot be found anywhere else in scripture. Upon examination of the roles of protagonist and antagonist, it becomes apparent that the roles may be alternated between Job and Satan. Moreover, different conclusions and interpretations of the book can be made. Theological complications due to the existence of evil in a world ruled by an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent god will be attempted to be reconciled by theodicy. As coined by Gottfried Leibniz, theodicy is a branch of apologetics which attempts to reconcile the apparent evil in the world with God’s benevolent nature. Job’s nature and wealth is described in the first three verses of the book. He is depicted as “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). It would seem unlikely that Job would ever find himself on the negative side of God, but this seems to be exactly what has happened. In the dialogue between God and Satan (Job 1:7-12), a contest is put forth to test Job’s devotion to God. Satan argues that Job will turn from God if all of his wealth is taken from...
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...theodicy in response to the unfortunate, painful, evil events and circumstances found in our world. A theodicy is necessary only if we believe in a God who is inherently good, thus requiring an explanation of the apparent discontinuity between a good God and evil in the world. In order to express my own theodicy, I will discuss the forms of evil in the world and their various manifestations as well as whether or not creation as a whole is a “good” expression of the creator God. I will also discuss how eschatology affects our view of evil and God’s part in allowing or interfering with evil. Finally, I will discuss which theodicy I find most complete and why, as well as some of the strengths and weaknesses of my own theodicy. Evil in the World Expressing a theodicy requires a basic understanding of evil which can be referred to in light of that expression. The problem of evil has been dealt with in three separate classifications during our class time and reading; moral, natural and gratuitous evil. Moral evil is an evil event or circumstance caused by a human. Examples of moral evil would be murder, lying, stealing and greed. Moral evil results as the consequence of the decisions made by human beings exerting their free will. War, oppression and slavery are prime examples of moral evil perpetrated by human beings. Natural evil includes the pain and suffering resulting from the forces of nature or the actions of humans. Natural evil can be found associated with weather events such...
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...diction, allusion, and imagery to juxtapose between good versus evil. Initially, Rafael uses the literary device diction, in order to juxtapose good versus evil. Moreover, throughout the story, the author uses diction for the purpose of highlighting the antagonist Grendel. For instance, Rafael uses particular words in order to display Grendel’s evil. “No savage assault could quench his lust for evil” (Beowulf pg 14 line 74-75). Clearly, “savage assault, quench, and lust for evil” are particular words which help to emphasize Grendel's evil. In context to the quote, Grendel is opposed to God, therefore; he goes around killing the king's men. The significance of demonstrating Grendel evil through diction, and demonstrating why he does his evil action, depicts the juxtaposition between God who is good, and Grendel who is evil. In like manner to the literary device diction, allusion is another literary device which the author uses to juxtapose between good versus evil. Furthermore, throughout the story, the author uses allusion in order to demonstrate how Grendel is evil. In particular, Rafael reference Cain, a Biblical story in the Bible to further validate how Grendel is evil....
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...about pain and pleasure is based bears a certain significant negative evidential relation to theism.' And because of this, we have a prima facie good epistemic reason to reject theism-that is, a reason that is sufficient for rejecting theism unless overridden by other reasons for not rejecting theism. By "theism" I mean the following statement: There exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person who created the Universe. I will use the word "God" as a title rather than as a proper name, and I will stipulate that necessary and sufficient conditions for bearing this title are that one be an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person who created the Universe. Given this (probably technical) use of the term "God," theism is the statement that God exists. Some philosophers believe that the evils we find in the world create an evidential problem for theists because theism fails to explain these evils (or most of what we know about them). (See, for example, (Hare 1968).) This position is attractive. It seems to reflect NOUS 23 (1989) 331-350 ? 1989 by Nouis Publications 331 332 NOUS the intuitions of a great many people who have regarded evil as an epistemic problem for theists. After all, the most common way of stating the problem of evil is to ask a why-question like "if God exists, then why is there so much evil in the world?" And such questions are either genuine...
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...naturally evil, everyone is born with the evil inside and the society and the surroundings in which people live don’t play any role in making them bad and fulfilling evil intentions. At the same time the ability to control the bad side of his personality depends on the person himself and the moral norms that he can oppose to the evil. From the very beginning of the novel we observe the inequality which exists among the boys, the appearing of the leaders and those whose opinion is not taken into account. The big boys feel their power and start to use it against the younger ones. They pick on the small boys for no reason, run through their sandcastles destroying them. Sometimes they show real examples of cruelty without any reason (Roger throwing stones at Henry). Almost all the boys pick on Piggy, an overweight boy who wears spectacles and has asthma, never listen to his wise advice judging only by his appearances. At the same situation appears another boy called Simon who announces the main reason of everybody’s fears but is also mocked at and not paid the proper attention. Thus we can see that the boys of about 12-14 years already show the features and being guided by the feelings which are not of good nature. The first attempts to establish the rules and order among the boys end when there is the fight for the power between two main leaders, Ralph and Jack. Jack who is the antipode of Ralph cannot resist the desire to be the first. This leads to the crucial devision between the...
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...FAGBURE L6CG RELIGIOUS STUDIES (Philosophy of Religion) A. Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase “God is good” The goodness of God is first revealed in his actions as a Creator. Genesis chapters 1-3 contain the Creation story. God created the world out of nothing – “creation ex nihilo”. Each act of creation is seen to be good. "And he saw that it was good" (Genesis 1: 10). The end result of God's creation is the Earth and mankind. Everything created was made for man to take control of. God is the image of goodness and as mankind was created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27, "God created man in his own image.") This tells humans that they are required to be good, as good as God. Exodus 20 describes the Ten Commandments given to the Hebrews by God. Moses received the commandments by revelation from God on the peak of Mount Sinai. They were guidelines given for God’s people to live by. The underlying principle is that humans are to be good and being good means following the Ten Commandments. God's goodness demands that mankind worship only one God and nothing or nobody else "You shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make for yourself an idol." (Exodus 20: 3-4). These commandments show that God is the primary source governing how people should lead their lives because God is entirely good. The Ten Commandments show man how to be good by giving strict guidelines. (Thou shalt not murder; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal). God’s goodness...
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...The Problem of Evil William Lane Craig Examines both the logical and probabilistic arguments against God from suffering and evil. The problem of evil is certainly the greatest obstacle to belief in the existence of God. When I ponder both the extent and depth of suffering in the world, whether due to man’s inhumanity to man or to natural disasters, then I must confess that I find it hard to believe that God exists. No doubt many of you have felt the same way. Perhaps we should all become atheists. But that’s a pretty big step to take. How can we be sure that God does not exist? Perhaps there’s a reason why God permits all the evil in the world. Perhaps it somehow all fits into the grand scheme of things, which we can only dimly discern, if at all. How do we know? As a Christian theist, I’m persuaded that the problem of evil, terrible as it is, does not in the end constitute a disproof of the existence of God. On the contrary, in fact, I think that Christian theism is man’s last best hope of solving the problem of evil. In order to explain why I feel this way, it will be helpful to draw some distinctions to keep our thinking clear. First, we must distinguish between the intellectual problem of evil and the emotional problem of evil. The intellectual problem of evil concerns how to give a rational explanation of how God and evil can co-exist. The emotional problem of evil concerns how to dissolve people’s emotional dislike of a God who would permit suffering. Now...
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...that ‘probably, there exist pointless evils’. I will contest the arguments against Wykstra’s criticism and give alternative examples. Wykstra’s Argument Wykstra asserts that man’s cognitive limitations cannot be compared with the omnipotent and omniscient nature of God, and it is unsurprising that the evil in the world is inscrutable to us. To illustrate, he utilizes the good parent analogy. We view the relationship between God, a perfectly loving being, and humans as analogous to that of good parents and their children. Loving parents permit the administering of a painful injection for vaccinations to their young child. The child cannot comprehend this suffering, but this does not allow the claim that the medicine (evil) is pointless, nor does it undermine the love of the parents (God). Criticism of Wykstra Wykstra’s response is deemed inadequate as some argue: A) God should comfort humans, just as you would expect loving parents to comfort their child. B) A perfectly good being would reveal his reasons to you for allowing this suffering, just as a parent would to their child. In response to A, we ask the question: Why does a parent comfort their baby? Not because the baby will understand, but partially because they are helpless to do anything else. These acts can be seen as more a form of ‘self comfort’ for a parent. Subsequently, self-comforting acts are not expected of a perfectly loving being. Next, the issue that a perfectly good being would feel obligated to inform...
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