the problem of evil - Epicurus + Mackie

What did Epicurus argue?

• If God wants to abolish evil but cannot - he is not omnipotent

• if God has the power to abolish evil but will not - he is not omnibenevolent

• If God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent as theists claim, then evil should not exist as God would have the desire and power to abolish it.

• But evil does exist therefore there is a logical inconsistency.

What did Mackie state - a key quote?

• ‘a good omnipotent thing eliminates evil completely, and the propositions that a good omnipotent thing exists and that evil exists are incompatible.’

• ‘ a good omnipotent thing eliminates evil completely’

• ‘the propositions that a good omnipotent thing exists and that evil exists are incompatible.’

What is the inconsistent triad?

• the inconsistent triad displays Gods omnipotence, omnibenevolence along with evil.

• Mackie argued that the existence of evil and an omnipotent, omnibenevolent God is logically impossible, since we know evil exists, God must not exist.

What does the inconsistent triad show?

• all three (omnibenevolence, omnipotence and evil) cant all exist at once. but we cannot say evil does not exist as there is empirical evidence for it.

• evil can only be explained if one predicate is removed, but this will deny the existence of the God of classical theism.

• paradoxical to say that the greatest being with these attributes allows evil to take place when He has the power to stop it and also would care and have the love to not want the evil to happen.

What is the paradox of omnipotence?

• The logical problem of evil arises because theists claim that there are no limits to what an omnipotent being can do

• Mackie claims that the only solution to the logical problem is to deny this, and that all ‘solutions’ actually limit Gods power and misleadingly say He is still omnipotent.