Humanists And The Inconsistent Triad

Question 1

What is the inconsistent triad?

Answer 1

-An argument put forward by David Hume that concludes it is logically impossible for evil to exist and for God to be omnibenevolent and omnipotent e.g. if God was all-powerful he can prevent evil but does not want to, therefore he is not all-loving.

Question 2

What points does the inconsistent triad consist of and what other arguments are there against God’s goodness?

Answer 2

-Suffering does not bring out the goodness in people. For example, people can easily become bitter about the suffering they have gone through in their lives. There is no good reason to have suffering, so a truly good god would not allow it.
-creations like parasites that cause harm and suffering to other beings prove that suffering does not bring out the best in people as they harm beings with no apparent reason- an all loving God would not create a creature for the sole purpouse of bringing harm
-J.L Mackie (an Australian philosopher and atheist) also said “a good, omnipotent being would remove evil completely” therefore since evil exists God is either not all powerful or is not all loving

Question 3

How would the inconstant triad influence someone’s life?

Answer 3

Humanist and Atheist people may question why they should worship a God who is not all-loving and may even enjoy seeing humans suffer. They would instead look to science and the laws of their country for guidance, instead of religion.