ipl-logo

JL Mackie's Argument For The Existence Of God?

295 Words2 Pages

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? Is a God unable to suppress the evil or does he have no solution to problem of evil? The thesis posited by Mackie that evil exists and there is no God to stop the evil is still relevant to today. We still have wars, incurable diseases and struggles on this planet. …show more content…

In his essay "The Will to Believe" William James tells us that his purpose is to present "a justification of faith, a defense of our right to adopt a believing attitude in religious matters, in spite of the fact that our merely logical intellect may not have been coerced." Page2. I found his arguments also persuasive because he suggests the existence of God cannot be solve by our intellectual means. James argues that intellectual activity is motivated by two goals: to shun error and believe truth. The choice to believe or not is alive, forced and momentous. Under these options, one is free to follow his/her passionate nature and believe whatever one would like to believe. Concerning the existence of God, James thinks that belief in God’s existence is a valuable sort of

Show More
Related

Book Report On Night By Elie Wiesel

979 Words | 4 Pages

The only thing responsible for evil is the human being. Throughout the whole book, the author struggles with understanding how God could watch the evil taking place. The author loses of his faith, which causes the reader to also question God presence in this tragedy of human events: World War

Read More

The Local Problem Of Evil By Peter Van Inwagen

1272 Words | 6 Pages

“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

Read More

Analysis Of George Nagel's Argument Against The Existence Of God

1121 Words | 5 Pages

Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?” In a similar vein: If God exists, he is all-knowing, omnipotent, and ethically flawless. If God were all-knowing, God would know about all the terrible occasions that occur in our reality. If God were omnipotent, God would have the capacity to do something.

Read More

Lewis Views On The Existence Of God

381 Words | 2 Pages

Existence of God Lewis possesses a strong belief in God. He states that the human population consists of “the majority who believe in some kind of God or gods, and the minority who do not” (39). I agree with this statement because there are many people who have faith in God because their faith gives them happiness and direction in life. The belief in a higher Intelligence causes people to live on Earth with satisfaction. Lewis also argues that the scientific method cannot explain if God exists or not (58).

Read More

Alvin Plantinga's Arguments Against The Existence Of Evil

464 Words | 2 Pages

Mackie’s groups of propositions are God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and evil exists. The third proposition

Read More

Problem Of Evil Mackie Analysis

1089 Words | 5 Pages

This logical incompatibility between evil and God’s actuality can be made evident in two additional principles provided by Mackie. These are if something is omnipotent, it can do anything and if something is omnibenevolent it will eliminate as much evil as possible. Mackie claims God’s omnipotent characteristic is dependent on him being all powerful. If God is omnipotent than the subjection to limitations, such as the inevitability of evil, should not arise. This first premise is in relation to the second and third because if God is all powerful, wholly good and in existence, the product of his work, our world, should be a reflection of his being.

Read More

Argumentative Essay: The Problem Of Evil

877 Words | 4 Pages

“The Problem of Evil” is simply the question, why does God allow evil to happen? God is omnipotent, omniscient, all-loving, and rational, therefore why does evil exist? There is either no God or he is not what we think he is, since evil could be prevented by him with no risk. Atheists and anti-theodicist see a problem with the idea that God could prevent evil. They believe that because God is so powerful and perfect, that he would not allow such immoral actions to be done.

Read More

Lara Buchak's Can It Be Rational To Have Faith

1347 Words | 6 Pages

In Lara Buchak’s essay, Can It Be Rational to Have Faith? , she asserts that everyday faith statements and religious faith statements share the same attributes. She later states that in order to truly have faith, a person ceases to search for more evidence for their claim, and that having faith can be rational. Although she makes compelling arguments in favor of faith in God, this essay is more hearsay and assumption than actual fact. In this paper, you will see that looking for further evidence would constitute not having faith, but that having faith, at least in the religious sense, is irrational.

Read More

Richard Swinburne Why God Allows Evil Analysis

436 Words | 2 Pages

In this reading reflection I will be discussing Richard Swinburne’s argument on “Why God Allows Evil” which starts on page 254 in “Exploring Philosophy: An Anthology” by Steven M. Cahn. This was also discussed in class on 9/15/16. In his argument Swinburne states that “An omnipotent God could have prevented this evil, and surely a perfectly good and omnipotent God would have done so. So why is there evil?”(Swinburne, 254).

Read More

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong's Argument Analysis

2349 Words | 10 Pages

He also refers to the cosmological argument to show that God is an all-powerful being who created the universe out of nothing. Furthermore, he claims that suffering in the world is moral in the sense that suffering inflicted on innocents is genuinely evil. Without a God, there would be no objective morals, thus, evil proves God’s existence, as things would not be considered good or evil without a God (Craig, p. 126). In conclusion, evil proves God’s existence and thus the question as to why God permits evil does not work to disprove His existence.

Read More

Mackie's Evil And Omnipotence

933 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning of the article, Mackie states that the initial issue with God’s existence is that, “God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists” (Mackie, Paragraph 3). If god is such a pure and good being, then he should be able to combat all evil. The first statement that showcases that God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, then evil cannot possibly exist. The definition of omnipotent is

Read More

The Holocaust: The Problem Of Evil In The Holocaust

1198 Words | 5 Pages

The impact of the evil of the holocaust on millions of people has raised eternal concern of faith in a loving God with the most pressing issue being whether God exists. This has made some to argue that if indeed He exists then His power and or goodness to control evil is somehow diminished. For example, David Wolf Silverman argues from the Judaism perspective that, after the holocaust it became more evident that God is not omnipotent. This has resulted to reduced use of omnipotence as one of the attributes of God because this horrifying event shows the extent to which humanity had sunk and the degree to which God withdrew. From a theological point of view the holocaust raises the question of the nature of evil and the existence of God.

Read More

William Clifford The Ethics Of Belief Summary

752 Words | 4 Pages

William K. Clifford’s “The Ethics of Belief” is an essay about justification and how we are morally required to prove our beliefs. Clifford’s theory throughout the essay was “It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” Clifford thinks that it is a moral obligation for you to confirm each of your beliefs with sufficient proof, no matter how questionable or insignificant the beliefs may be. I believe he thinks this because beliefs have serious effects and consequences on others.

Read More

The Argument For The Problem Of Evil

929 Words | 4 Pages

This argument can be set up as following: 1. If God exists and is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, there is no evil in this world. 2. Obviously,

Read More

The Ethics Of Belief William Clifford Analysis

1680 Words | 7 Pages

Humans are unlike any other creature on this planet, as we are able to think and reason. These two abilities have created the most powerful minds ever known such as, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and Plato. These abilities have also lead to some powerful arguments one of such being our beliefs. Some philosophers believe that all beliefs must be justified, while others believe that only some of our beliefs must be justified. W.K. Clifford argues that it is morally wrong to act or believe without sufficient evidence.

Read More

More about JL Mackie's Argument For The Existence Of God?

Related Topics

Open Document