Table of Contents
What is the problem of evil according to Swinburne?
The “Problem of Evil” arises only if there is “positive badness” in the world—real evil—and not merely if there is a lack of perfect goodness, i.e., if God could have made the world even better than it already is.
What is the argument for the problem of evil?
The argument from evil focuses upon the fact that the world appears to contain states of affairs that are bad, or undesirable, or that should have been prevented by any being that could have done so, and it asks how the existence of such states of affairs is to be squared with the existence of God.
What is natural evil according to Swinburne?
Richard Swinburne has argued that the existence of natural evil is com- patible with the existence of God as defined in traditional theism. At the core of that definition is the idea of God as the omniscient, omnipotent, morally perfect, benevolent, worshipful designer-creator of the universe.
What theist means?
: a believer in theism : a person who believes in the existence of a god or gods specifically : one who believes in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of the human race Not surprisingly, both scientific skeptics and theists whose ideas of God center primarily on the notion of “intelligent design” …
What did Swinburne believe?
Swinburne believes a good case can be made for the probability of the existence of God by utilizing human reason, a project attempted in his trilogy on the philosophy of theism. However, revelation is necessary for human beings, because they cannot deduce all that they need to know about God unaided.
What is the problem of natural evil?
Natural Evil: The problem of natural evil involves pain and suffering that results from natural disasters, diseases, or genetic defects, including that of animal pain and suffering.
How would a Catholic respond to the problem of evil?
Catholics believe that free will is a gift from God. God created humans with the ability to choose between good and evil. When humans choose the wrong thing it causes suffering. Humans are to blame for the suffering, not God.
Why do theists believe in God?
The theist believes that every object in the natural world exists because God creates and conserves that object; every finite thing has the character of being dependent on God.
Is Christianity theistic?
Theistic religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have the monotheistic belief in a God, whereas a polytheistic religion such as Hinduism holds a belief in many gods.
What does Swinburne say about religious experiences?
Swinburne defines ‘religious experience’, as we already quoted, as ‘an experience that seems (epistemically) to the subject to be an experience of God (either of him just being there, or of his saying or bringing about something) or of some other supernatural thing’ (p. 295).
How does Swinburne deal with the problem of evil?
Swinburne’s aim is to respond to the problem of evil by constructing “a theodicy, an explanation of why God would allow …evil to occur.” (95) In order to do this, he divides evil into two different kinds: moral evil and natural evil. He deals with the two separately.
Does Swinburne believe in free will?
Lastly, Swinburne clams that free will result in evil as it provides temptation to do evil and without the temptation to do evil, no significant evil would be done. However, Swinburne’s view on why God allows evil is only partially reflected in the pop culture.
What is Swinburne’s theory of theism?
The theism supported by Swinburne is the hypothesis that there is one God, who is the creator of the cosmos. According to Swinburne, good God, though having the power to benefit or to harm us, would provide significant freedom and responsibility to his creation, rather than expel evil (Swinburne 262).
What is the main idea of Swinburne’s the Great Gatsby?
Precisely, Swinburne focuses on pain and suffering caused by natural evil. He claims that in a natural world natural evil is necessary for us to act ethically mature and to be able to choose our own path. It is necessary for the greater good. The opportunity of courage sacrifice etc. can only arise in a world that has natural evil.