God, Freedom, and Evil

by Alvin Plantinga

Overview

In his discussion of natural theology (arguments to prove the existence of God) and natural atheology (arguments for the falsehood of theistic belief) Plantinga focuses on two of the traditional arguments: the ontological argument as an example of natural theology, and the problem of evil as the most important representative of natural atheology. Accessible to serious general readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467421683
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/21/1989
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	122
Sales rank:	1,013,162
File size:	803 KB

About the Author

 Alvin Plantinga is John A. O'Brien Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. His other books include Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism and Warranted Christian Belief.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I NATURAL ATHEOLOGY

a. The Problem of Evil

1. The Question: Why Does God Permit Evil?
2. Does the Theist Contradict Himself?
3. Can We Show That There Is No Inconsistency Here?
4. The Free Will Defense
5. Was It within God's Power to Create Any Possible World He Pleased?
6. Could God Have Created a World Containing Moral Good but No Moral Evil
7. Transworld Depravity and Essence
8. The Free Will Defense Vindicated
9. Is God's Existence Compatible with the Amount of Moral Evil the World Contains?
10. Is God's Existence Compatible with Natural Evil?
11. Does the Existence of Evil Make It Unlikely That God Exists?

b. Other Atheological Arguments

Part II NATURAL THEOLOGY

a. The Cosmological Argument
b. The Teleological Argument
c. The Ontological Argument

1. Gaunilo's Objection
2. Anselm's Reply
3. Kant's Objection
4. The Irrelevance of Kant's Objection
5. The Argument Restated
6. Its Fatal Flaw
7. A Modal Version of the Argument
8. A Flaw in the Ointment
9. The Argument Restated
10. The Argument Triumphant

Editorial Reviews

Harry Gensler
— John Carroll University
"A witty and logical introduction to the groundbreaking work of Alvin Plantinga, who has done more than anyone else to restore in analytic circles the respectability of belief in God."

Kevin Timpe
— University of San Diego
"A classic work in the philosophy of religion, Plantinga's God, Freedom, and Evil is the single most influential text on the problem of evil in the past fifty years."

Stephen T. Davis
— Claremont McKenna College
"Alvin Plantinga is one of the top Christian philosophers in the world today. He is well known in Christian and secular philosophical circles for his logical skills, his rigorous arguments, and his energetic defense of full-blooded Christianity. This book covers some of the same ground as his more technical The Nature of Necessity, but unlike most of Plantinga's works, it is aimed at the general reader. . . Students can understand this book; they must only be willing to think as hard as they read."

From the Publisher