In this short discussion (short being a relative term: it’s under ten minutes) I explain why young earth creationists have a problem of natural evil that they need to explain. Music Credit: Apero Hour Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Search Results for: natural evil
Gnu Atheism? Wildebeest and the Problem of Natural Evil
Natural evil concerns any suffering within nature which is not the result of the morally culpable actions of a moral agent. (For my previous discussions of natural evil see here.) Instances of natural evil are not hard to come by. Consider, for example, this image of a young wildebeest being eaten by a hungry crocodile. […]
God, Serial Killers, and Natural Evil
Most of my readers will know of Stephen Law, the respected atheist philosopher who has made some perspicuous contributions to philosophy of religion, perhaps most notably in his evil God argument. (In the past I reviewed Law’s book Believing Bullshit and I’ve offered several critiques of his evil God argument, including here and here.) Today Law offered […]
Are demons responsible for natural evil?
In the discussion following my critique of William Dembski’s theodicy Dima asked about Greg Boyd’s thesis that natural evil can be attributed to demonic agency. The relationship between natural evil and demonic agency was memorably proposed by Alvin Plantinga in God, Freedom, and Evil when he noted that Augustine attributed natural evil to demonic agency. Based on […]
William Dembski on Natural Evil
Over the last couple weeks we’ve been wrestling with aspects of the problem of natural evil. Today we’re going to consider a solution to the problem of natural evil as it relates to animals which is proposed by William Dembski in his book The End of Christianity. We can summarize the problem in two parts: suffering and […]
Does natural evil always require sentience?
In an earlier discussion of natural evil I defined the concept as follows: Natural evil refers to any event or state of affairs which (i) directly or indirectly leads to the suffering and/or deprivation of sentient creatures, (ii) is unconnected to the acts of commission or ommission of any finite creature (iii) but which is […]
Traumatic Insemination and other Natural Evils
A few weeks ago I had to take a road trip of several hours across the prairie to teach a course in another city. So I dropped off at the library and picked up a few books on CD. One of the chosen titles was Amy Stewart’s Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army & […]
Why nobody really believes natural evil exists: Natural Evil Explained (Part 2)
A definition in need of revision In the first installment of my discussion of natural evil I offered the following definition of the concept: Natural evil refers to any event or state of affairs which (i) directly or indirectly leads to the suffering and/or deprivation of sentient creatures, (ii) is unconnected to the acts of […]
Natural evil explained (Part 1)
Whenever the topic of natural evil comes up there are always those who express befuddlement at the concept. Yesterday I gave the example of a mudslide burying a campsite of children. That kind of event would constitute a horrific natural evil. The claim was met with some skepticism. NW responded like this: I’m wandering into unfamiliar […]
John Loftus on natural evil, theodicy and defense
Our discussion of evil and greater goods theodicy has provided a solid segue for a return (finally) to a discussion of John Loftus’ edited volume The Christian Delusion (Prometheus, 2010), this time with my eagle eye focused on his essay “The Darwinian Problem of Evil.” My last blog post setting up this topic was, you […]
Coming to Terms with the Problem of Evil
If you want a simple and effective way to identify a Christian apologist worth listening to, ask them to share their thoughts on the problem of evil. If they keep their discussion of the problem in the abstract and if they suggest that it is a problem easily solved, you should keep looking. But if […]
The Problem of Evil and Biblical Violence: A Conversation with an Exvangelical
Clint Heacock is a former senior pastor with a PhD in theology who has since left Christianity and bills himself as an exvangelical. In this conversation, Dr. Heacock and I discuss his objections to theodicy and the problem of biblical violence in particular. To learn more about Dr. Heacock, you can visit him online at […]
The Devil Made Him Do It? A look at the conservative Christian defense of Trump
Today I came across this article at The Stream titled “Trump is Under Attack, and Not Just by Human Critics.” The author, John Zmirak, senior editor at The Stream, offers a jaw-dropping explanation for Donald Trump’s woes: demonic attack. He writes: Given the profound evils that Trump has promised to confront, from Islamic terrorism to Planned […]
Naturalism or Theism? A Review of The Lowder-Turek Debate
I recently had the pleasure of viewing Jeff Lowder’s autumn debate with Frank Turek on the question: naturalism or theism? You can view the debate here. I’ve offered my own reactions below in the form of eight impressions. However, be sure to watch the debate for yourself rather than just skimming my impressions. As you […]
