Strengths and weaknesses of the free will defence Flashcards

1
Q

Strength - logical reason for moral evil

A

Provides a logical reason for moral evil in the world and removes the blame from God by placing it on humanity.

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2
Q

Strength - Alvin Plantinga

A

Although humans sometimes freely choose good, if God had designed them so they would always choose good, they would not truly be free. Their choices would be predetermined and we would be like robots.

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3
Q

Strength - benefits of free will

A

Benefits of free will are sufficient to justify the inherent risk of evil.

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4
Q

Strength - Christians

A

For Christians, free will bring the greatest reward of all: unity with God in Heaven. Achieving God’s forgiveness for sin and to form an eternal relationship can only be achieved through the individual’s free choice.

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5
Q

Strengths - natural evil

A

Can account for some types of natural evil. Swinburne took the example of death and argued, that despite the suffering it causes it is nevertheless essential to the FWD. Death means that life, and the chances that each life contains are limited.

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6
Q

Swinburne quote

A

“If there is always another chance there is no risk. There would not be overriding reasons not to do a ad act, if you are always preserved from it’s consequences.

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7
Q

Weakness - Fails to explain natural evil

A

Natural evil such as floods and disease is often independent of any actions of humans and cannot be controlled by them, William Rowe argues that there are many natural evils which do not cause a greater good.

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8
Q

Weakness - J.L. Mackie

A

Undermines one of the most basic assumptions of the FWD: that free will entails the potential for evil. He suggests that God could have created a world in which humanity has freedom of choice but always chooses good.

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9
Q

Weakness - Determinists

A

They argue that every human choice and action is nothing more than the effect of a prior causes. Our lives are determined by events outside our control and our freedom is an illusion.

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