Free will defense

Valid

Formal Argument

Premises

P1. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and wholly good

P2. There is Evil

P3. It was not within God’s power to create a world containing moral good without creating one containing moral evil

P4. God actualizes a world containing moral good

Conclusions

C1. not God with omnipotence, omnibenevolence and omniscience attributes would prevent evil occurring

This argument is called "Free will defense", as formulated by Alvin Plantinga in his 1977 book "God, Freedom, and Evil".

Main premise in the argument is:

  1. It was not within God’s power to create a world containing moral good without creating one containing moral evil.

Plantinga provides arguments why this premise is correct.

  1. "A Critique of the Free Will Defense, A Comprehensive Look at Alvin Plantinga ’s Solution To the Problem of Evil.". Retrieved on 11/11/2020.
  2. Wikipedia article Alvin Plantinga's free-will defense. Retrieved on 11/11/2020.
Last updated on 11/11/2020

Contexts

Links

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