Evil And Omnipotence Analysis

Words: 843
Pages: 4
Open Document
Evil and Omnipotence

In Evil and Omnipotence, Mackie focuses on the problem of evil. This is a problem only for someone who believes that God is both omnipotence and good. The main problem that Mackie focuses on is the idea that since God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; yet why does evil exists. Mackie deals with this question, first by arguing that the idea of omnipotent and evil cannot both existence within the same context, he then goes into details about Adequate Solutions. Regarding to the the denial of God’s omnipotence, if there is no omnipotence then the idea of evil could be possible. But then he states that without omnipotence there would be no God. Mackie main focus throughout his argument is distinguishing the fallacious fallacy …show more content…
The first fallacies solution that he faces is “Good cannot exists without evil” or “Evil is necessary as a counterpart to good”. He understands, how the idea that evil is necessary as a counterpart to good, if there is no evil there could be no good ether and this would solve the problem of evil. But Mackie challenges this idea, by stating that since God cannot create good without simultaneously creating evil, this ether states that God is not omnipotent or that there is some limit as to what an omnipotence thing can do. Mackie also argues that the solution denies that evil is opposed to good in our original sense. In this solution he compared the idea of good and evil to greater and smallness. In a sense they are counterparts and cannot exists without each other but at the same time, he argues that they are not. Mackie then proceed to his second argument that Evil is necessary as meant to god. He questions this solution by stating that it if Evil is a means to good. This would then be a Causal Law; you cannot have a certain end …show more content…
Mackie attempts to solve this problem by defending God’s goodness and omnipotence. He discuses about the different orders of God and Evil. The first order of good would be happiness, pleasure, emotional aspects and everything else would be consider the second order of good. He does the same thing with the order of evil. He concludes the second order is always more important than the first. This proves that the important second order goods, yet it admits that real evils, namely first evil exists. Although he figures out ways to be understand and form more solutions, he still believes that the first solution is useless and fallacies. His fourth fallacies solution is that Evil is due to human freewill. Theodicy believed that evil can’t be avoided without depriving us of our freedom. Mackie criticise this solution by stating that God gave man free will, even though it would lead to some important evils. But he believes that it’s better to have freewill, then to be forced to act a certain away. He starts questioning the God’s omnipotent and wholly good, he argues that God had the chance to give human freedom and the characteristic to be good and innocent but what is the point in give the act of freedom to mankind and the
Show More

Related Documents: Evil And Omnipotence Analysis

Summary Of Free Will Defense By J. L. Mackie

The problem of evil is a profound and intricate challenge for theism that questions the possibility of moral and natural evils with the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God. This essay will explore J. L. Mackie’s logical problem of evil, starting by examining its fundamental characteristics and then addressing potential solutions to the problem. It will then follow a deeper analysis of Alvin Plantinga’s Free Will Defense and finally explain why the Free Will Defense is inadequate…

Words 1354 - Pages 6

Shi Huang Tomb

1. Analysis of Subject: Artwork depicting the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote that more than 700,000 people need to build tombs. There are about 6,000 terracotta warriors and their purpose is to protect the emperor in the afterlife from the evil spirits. This is also in the army of 40,000 chariots and bronze weapons actually. 2. Analysis of form: British historian John Man pointed out that this number is greater than any other city in the world at that time and calculation…

Words 968 - Pages 4

God Ethic Bible Jehovah Witnesses and Infanticide Essay

Jim Meyer Personal Research 03 November 2013 Jehovah’s Witnesses, God, Ethics and Biblical (Infanticide) Genocide and “The destruction was to be complete: every man, woman, and child was to be killed… the death of these children was actually their salvation…God does these children no wrong in taking their lives… So who is wronged? Ironically, I think the most difficult part of this whole debate is the apparent wrong done to the Israeli soldiers themselves.” [William L. Craig, Christian apologist]…

Words 7251 - Pages 30

Essay about The Bush Doctrine: the empirical relationship between its intentions and results

government of the United States - specifically the President with respect to foreign relations - possesses a crippling level of supremacy over its citizens to the point at which all threats to its quest for global, political, military, and economic omnipotence are extinct (Jervis 2003). Most importantly, he did so because of history, in which every empire eventually failed, and he desperately wished that America wouldn’t follow in their footsteps (Washington 1796). The Bush Doctrine - the foreign policy…

Words 7315 - Pages 30