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Randal Rauser

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moral evil

God Allowing is Not the Same as God Commanding

September 11, 2021 by Randal

Yesterday, I posted the following tweet. Genocide apologists insist the Canaanites needed to be slaughtered in toto because they sacrificed their children. But herem slaughter to Yahweh is itself a form of *human sacrifice*, one that included children. It's like killing a man's dog to punish him for killing his cat. — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: biblical violence, moral evil, theodicy

God is responsible for the legally insane. Therefore, God exists

March 28, 2013 by Randal

Two years ago Richard Kachkar stole a snow plow and began driving it down the streets of suburban Toronto. In the process he struck and killed police sergeant Ryan Russell. On March 27, 2013 Kachkar was found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. Philosophically the verdict is interesting. On the one hand, the evidence presented […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: God, insanity, mental illness, moral evil, natural evil, Richard Kachkar, theism, theodicy, Tim McLean

Allowing a genocide is not commanding a genocide

June 29, 2012 by Randal

John asks: If a genocide that is allowed is moral, can it’s being commanded also be considered moral? I mean, of course there is a difference between allowing and commanding, but if it is moral to allow X, then does that make it moral to command X?  If not why not? Let’s consider an example […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: genocide, moral evil, providence, theodicy

Allowing is not commanding

June 25, 2012 by Randal

Over the last week I have heard on at least three different occasions claims made to the moral equivalency of God allowing x and God commanding x. The argument has been made by Christians to demonstrate that if I accept that God providentially allows evils like genocide and infant sacrifice, I should have no problem […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, moral evil, morality, natural evil, providence, theodicy

Things Christians say to explain away biblical moral atrocities

June 21, 2012 by Randal

First off, what’s a moral atrocity? It is the kind of event perpetrated by moral agents such that, if you read about it in the newspaper, you’d naturally exclaim “That’s a moral atrocity!” And by saying that you’d be meaning (among other things) that the event in question is an egregious moral evil which could not plausibly […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, biblical ethics, Golden Rule, moral evil, morality, Old Testament, problem of evil

Cannibalizing infants as punishment?

June 20, 2012 by Randal

The conversation began when I raised some problems with calling God the perfect Father based on particular depictions in the Bible. I gave as a test case the text of Lamentations 4 where God judges Israel for her unfaithfulness by orchestrating conditions that will include women eating their infant children. The Israelites understood those conditions […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: human sacrifice, Lamentations, moral evil, natural evil, problem of evil, Susan Niditch, Yahweh

Is God a perfect heavenly Father? The Lamentations discussion continues

June 19, 2012 by Randal

In “God as Father on Father’s Day” I pointed out the incongruity between calling God the most perfect Father and ascribing to God punishing actions such as are described in Lamentations. Chris offered an interesting and fairly standard response: present that which is described as an intentional punishment as if it were in fact merely […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: God, Lamentations, moral evil, natural evil, problem of evil, providence, theodicy

The Case of Dr. Maximus Amore

February 17, 2011 by Randal

James Palmer asks: “Isn’t the idea of total depravity that we completely deserve eternal conscious torment, so giving us that is justice, rather than evil?” It may be. But that point means something very different for an Arminian than for a Calvinist. To consider the problems with the Calvinist position further let’s consider an analogy.  […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: arminianism, Calvinism, determinism, moral evil, omnibenevolence, problem of evil, providence

The intrinsic value in learning to be good

November 30, 2010 by Randal

JD is sympathetic to my view of evil as being redeemed in God’s good universe, but he has a reservation: “The Book of Revelation foretells a future existence in which there will be all these marvelously rich things like life and sentience and mind but with no death, sorrow or crying. If God is able […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: free will defense, greater goods, moral evil, natural evil, problem of evil, theodicy

Would you rather be a bacterium? A rejoinder to the problem of evil

November 29, 2010 by Randal

Silver Bullet has ably expressed the common atheistic retort that this creation simply cannot be the product of a loving and powerful God because there is just too much evil afoot. It is a serious argument. Indeed, it strikes me as the most significant argument against theism, bar none. And yet I also believe it is […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: moral evil, natural evil, problem of evil, providence, theodicy

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