International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 61 (3):151 - 160 (2007)
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It is widely held that the logical problem of evil, which alleges an inconsistency between the existence of evil and that of an omnipotent and morally perfect God, has been solved. D. Z. Phillips thinks this is a mistake. In The Problem of Evil and the Problem of God, he argues that, within the generally assumed framework, “neither the proposition ’God is omnipotent’ nor the proposition ‘God is perfectly good’ can get off the ground.” Thus, the problem of evil leads to the problem of God. Phillips goes on to provide an alternative response to the problem of evil, expounded by means of his Wittgensteinian analyses of various concepts drawn from the Christian tradition. I argue that his criticisms of the traditional conception of God either fail outright or are at best inconclusive. I also point out that the religious concepts analyzed by Phillips are not and cannot be the same concepts as those employed in the Christian tradition from which they are supposedly drawn. For the concepts as traditionally employed presuppose the actual existence and activity of precisely the sort of being that, according to Phillips, “God cannot be.”.
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Keywords | D. Z. Phillips Wittgenstein Problem of evi |
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DOI | 10.1007/s11153-007-9118-9 |
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References found in this work BETA
Can God Be Free?William L. Rowe - 2004 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 58 (3):201-203.
Can God Be Free?William L. Rowe - 2006 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 59 (2):129-131.
William L. Rowe’s A Priori Argument For Atheism.Klaas J. Kraay - 2005 - Faith and Philosophy 22 (2):211-234.
View all 9 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Misunderstanding the Talk(s) of the Divine: Theodicy in the Wittgensteinian Tradition.Ondřej Beran - 2017 - Sophia 56 (2):183-205.
William Hasker’s Avoidance of the Problems of Evil and God. [REVIEW]D. Z. Phillips - 2007 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 62 (1):33 - 42.
The Problem of Evil and the Probity of Theodicy From William Rowe's Evidential Evidential of Evil.Olaoluwa Apata - unknown
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Evil and a Finite God: A Response to McGrath.David Basinger - 1987 - Philosophy Research Archives 13:285-287.
William Hasker’s Avoidance of the Problems of Evil and God. [REVIEW]D. Z. Phillips - 2007 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 62 (1):33 - 42.
INTRODUCTION: The Evidential Argument From Evil.Daniel Howard-Snyder - 1996 - In The Evidential Argument from Evil.
Divine Freedom and the Problem of Evil.Theodore Guleserian - 2000 - Faith and Philosophy 17 (3):348-366.
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