Have Atheists Proved There Is No God? By Thomas B. Warren, 7th pr. National Christian Press, Ramer, TN, 2004, 98 pp. The book, “Have Atheists Proved There Is No God?” by Thomas Warren is a product of the final chapter of his doctoral dissertation in Philosophy entitled “God and Evil: Does Judeo-Christian Theism Involve a Logical Contradiction?” (Pg. xii). The book begins with a survey of the attacks atheists launch against Christianity on the problem of evil. He includes excerpts of quotes from prominent antagonists to Christianity including; J. L. Mackie who stated in so many words that there is no rational proof for the existence of God because evil exist, David Hume who argues that the existence of a good God and existence of evil demonstrate a logical contradiction, and others from further back like Epicurus whose belief is like that of Mackie. The existence of evil and human suffering is perhaps the strongest argument atheists have brought froth to create some doubts in the minds of Christians, specifically those who are weak in knowledge because of lack of study. The atheists seek to exploit the existence of human suffering in the face of an Omni-benevolent God as a contradiction, and since human suffering exists then God must not exist. Indeed, this is a challenging subject and Brother Warren devoted this book to …show more content…
But he doesn’t just explain his propositions but also shows how Mackie’s propositions contradict themselves, “It should be noted that proposition W5 is the contradictory of proposition M5 (of Mackie) so that, if proposition W5 is established, proposition M5 will have been shown to be false. And, if proposition M5 is shown to be false, then Mackie’s case against Biblical theism has been shown unsound.” (Pg.
The debate was immense for several reasons, one of utmost importance is that it meets the assertion that Christianity can be reasoned logically and rationally. In this debate, Thomas Warren uses the same tools of logic and rationality employed by atheists and agnostics to respond to and defeat Anthony Flew
In the non-fiction philosophical book, Sam Harris, publisher of Letter to a Christian Nation, demonstrates his views of the flaws of Christianity. He contends the many contradictions he finds with the beliefs Christians hold to with their own lives and interactions with others. His goal in the book is to expose these errors to Christians themselves and present the question to them in a challenging tone. Harris does this by painting a vivid picture of the controversies surrounding Christians opposed to non Christians. He goes into great detail about his beliefs against Christianity and covers a broad scope, along with many topics.
“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
Penn Jillette wrote the essay “there is no God”. The essay theme principal is atheism. The author think believing there is no God, make people more kind and thoughtful. He believes no God means people will suffer less in the future. The author thinks when people suffer; they said it is god will and they do nothing about it.
The theological problem of evil refers to the problem that comes with a world that acknowledges an “all good” and “all powerful” God, yet evil and pain are still prominent. If God is omnibenevolent and omnipotent, then why does evil still exist? In John Hick’s Evil and the God of Love, Hick attempts to justify the existence of evil in his own Theodicy. Hick’s “soul-making” theodicy” attempts to defend the existence of God with an understanding and acceptance of the existence of evil.
JL Mackie was persuasive in his argument by showing that belief in an almighty God is not rational. He proves this by posing the problem of evil. According to JL Mackie, if God exists and is omniscient, omnipotent, and good then evil would not exist. However, evil exists in this world, sometimes in the form of undeserved suffering (diseases that affect humans, earthquakes, famines ...) and others perpetrated by man (murders, wars ...). If God exists and has the capability to be powerful, good, omniscient and omnipotent, why would he let evil be perpetrated?
In this paper, I will begin by stating the Problem of Evil. Following this I will include two objections to the argument and why I find the argument to not be convincing. The Problem of Evil is an argument concerning the existence of God and why God cannot exist because of the presence of evil in the world. The argument begins by saying that God is both all-powerful and wholly good, and that evil exists in the world. However, these statements contradict each other, so all three cannot be true.
Mackie’s argument highlights the inconsistency that arises between the premises of God’s existence. Mackie proposes the problem of evil to be that “God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; [God exists]; and yet evil exists” (Mackie, 1955, p.200). Mackie states these four propositions cannot coexist, therefore, if evil exists, God cannot and conversely, if God is real evil must be
IV. The Problem of Evil So far, we have examined only arguments for the existence of God. But for each argument, we have also discussed some objections. Some theists may accept all these objections and yet maintain a belief in the existence of God.
The use of God as a shield works on believers, but not on nonbelievers. The question “why bad things happening to good people” still cannot be answered for the nonbelievers, a common critique of religion itself. Regardless of the problem of theodicy, however, religion has worked really well to create and maintain the reality. Berger explains that it is because religion legitimates effectively. “Religion has been the historically most widespread and effective instrumentality of legitimation….
For this disputation, I had the pleasure of arguing against the topic of be it resolved that you can convince a non-believer to affirm the existence of God using philosophical arguments. As the opposing side, Sarah and I counter argued the following: the argument from motion, the ontological argument, Pascal’s Wager, the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the moral argument. The argument from motion argues that it is only possible to experience that which exists, and people experience God, therefore God must exist; however it can be counter argued that since faith cannot be demonstrated or experienced, as it is unseen, God cannot exist.
In this he questions the attributes of God that are traditionally used to describe him. He claims that there is a lack of foundational evidence to prove that God is not only the creator of the universe but is the All Mighty God that he is described as (Speaks). Rather than Hume arguing that Paley’s argument is false, he focuses heavily on if God even exists or if he is the higher figure that he is painted as. Another argument that can be used against Paley is the theory of the Big Bang Theory.
Through these perspectives, Whitmarsh emphasizes the significance of atheism in classical history, with a clear intention of opposing the frequent neglect atheists and atheist history receive from influential historians and educators. To this end, Whitmarsh aims to disprove the misconception that religion is inherently natural in humans, thus recognizing and acknowledging atheist history as equally significant to religious history. Such a platform is consistent
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).
In Mackie’s Fallacious Situation, there are four main points that are discussed. One of the points is “Good must exist with evil”. Another is that “Evil is necessary as a means to good”. Another one is that “The universe is better with some evil in it that it could be if there were no evil”, and lastly is “Evil is due to human freewill”. These ideas try to explore the co-existence of evil and good in the same