The Problem Of Evil - Mackie
...Christians. I believe that it is a valid argument to renounce some views that traditional theism sets forward. This problem makes the existence of a traditional God extremely unlikely, and it makes a belief in one, irrational at best. The existence of evil
is in juxtaposition with the idea of a Christian, omnipotent and wholly good God. Valid concerns may be raised that the problem of evil should cause an abandonment of traditional theism. These concerns include why an all powerful God allows the existence of evil, the fact that the existence of evil proves that there can be no omnipotent God, and
that free will allows for the possibility of evil.
My main argument was conveyed by the theologian J.L. Mackie. The traditional views set up by the Christian church are not entirely reasonable. The five points that do not all work together are as follows: God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, good is completely opposed to evil and will try to eliminate the evil at any extent possible, there is no limit to what an omnipotent being can do, and that evil exists. In “Evil and Omnipotence,” Mackie asserts, “In its simplest form the problem is this: God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true the third would be false.” (p.200) There are logical inconsistencies including the fact that there should be no evil yet it exists. There can be several rearrangements to make this problem work. The easiest solution could be to say that God does not exist, thereby removing the problem completely. A second solution could be to say that God is not omnipotent and that we are out of his control. That he has created us and can no longer have power over us. I do not think either of these are good solutions. From reason we can conclude that God exists since...
View Full Essay
