Abstract
In the course of recent discussions of the problem of evil, it has been claimed that the proposition ‘God is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly good’ entails the proposition ‘God creates no persons who perform morally wrong actions’.1 (Once again, ‘God’ shouldn’t be used as it is here as a proper name, but as long as there are no illegitimate switches between the use of the term as a proper name and its use as a definite description, no harm should eventuate.) The following argument might be suggested’ as underpinning the alleged entailment.
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Notes
E.g. J. L. Mackie, ‘Evil and Omnipotence’, op. cit.; A. Flew, ‘Divine Omnipotence and Human Freedom’ in A. Flew and A. McIntyre (eds.), New Essays in Philosophical Theology (London, 1955).
Cf. W. Rowe, ‘God and Other Minds’, Nous, 1969, pp. 259–84 (esp. pp. 274–7).
Pace J. E. Barnhart, ‘Omnipotence and Moral Goodness’, The Personalist, 1971, pp. 107–110.
Clement Dore, ‘Plantinga on the Free Will Defence’, Review of Metaphysics, 1970–1, pp. 690–706 provides a stimulating alternative response to that (of Plantinga) which I discuss.
William J. Wainwright, ‘Freedom and Omnipotence’, Nous, 1968, pp. 293–301 (esp. Section III). I am indebted to his valuable paper.
Cf. James E. Tomberlin, ‘Plantinga’s Puzzles About God and Other Minds’, The Philosophical Forum (Boston), 1969, pp. 365–91 (esp. 372–5).
Cf. G. Schlesinger, ‘The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Suffering’, American Philosophical Quarterly, 1964, pp. 244–7
G. Schlesinger, ‘Omnipotence and Evil: An Incoherent Problem’, Sophia, 1965, (no. 3), pp. 21–4.
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© 1975 Robert Young
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Young, R. (1975). Omnipotence and Freedom. In: Freedom, Responsibility and God. Library of Philosophy and Religion. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-02190-1_14
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