God, Freedom, and Evil

by Alvin Plantinga

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1977

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.

Key Features

• Presents a now classic argument for belief in a good God despite the existence of evil
• Counters arguments that question God’s goodness while permitting evil
• Addresses human freedom and sin in relation to God’s providence and goodness

Contents

• The Question: Does God Permit Evil?
• Does the Theist Contradict Himself?
• Can we Show that There is No Inconsistency Here?
• The Freewill Defence
• Was it Within God’s Power to Create Any Possible World He Pleased?
• Could God Have Created a World Containing Moral Good but No Moral Evil
• Transworld Depravity and Essence
• The Freewill Defence Vindicated
• Is God’s Existence Compatible with the Amount of Moral Evil the World Contains?
• Is God’s Existence Compatible with Natural Evil?
• The Cosmological Argument
• The Teleological Argument
• The Ontological Argument

Top Highlights

“But what is really characteristic and central to the Free Will Defense is the claim that God, though omnipotent, could not have actualized just any possible world He pleased.” (Page 34)

“The heart of the Free Will Defense is the claim that it is possible that God could not have created a universe containing moral good (or as much moral good as this world contains) without creating one that also contained moral evil. And if so, then it is possible that God has a good reason for creating a world containing evil.” (Page 31)

“theodicy. When a theist answers the question ‘Whence evil?’ or ‘Why does God permit evil?’ he is giving a theodicy” (Page 10)

“The basic idea is that a possible world is a way things could have been; it is a state of affairs of some kind.” (Page 34)

“Perhaps God has a good reason, but that reason is too complicated for us to understand. Or perhaps He has not revealed it for some other reason. The fact that the theist doesn’t know why God permits evil is, perhaps, an interesting fact about the theist, but by itself it shows little or nothing relevant to the rationality of belief in God.” (Page 10)

Praise for the Print Edition

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.

—Kevin Timpe, professor, University of San Diego

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.

—Harry Gensler, professor, John Carroll University

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.

—Stephen T. Davis, professor, Claremont McKenna College

Product Details

• Title: God, Freedom, and Evil
• Author: Alvin Plantinga
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1977
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 122
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: God › Proof; Good and evil; Theodicy
• ISBNs: 9780802817310, 0802817319
• Resource ID: LLS:GDFRDMNDEVL
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:12:13Z

About Alvin Plantinga

Alvin Carl Plantinga (born November 15, 1932) is an American analytic philosopher and the emeritus John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and Christian apologetics. Plantinga is a Christian and known for applying the methods of analytic philosophy to defend orthodox Christian beliefs.