annotated-Response%20Essay%20Assignment

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1 Response Essay Assignment Berreka B. Franklin Department of Social Work, Liberty University PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (D07) Professor David Pensgard May 10, 2023

2 As a Christian, the question of "the problem of evil" must be a basic understanding for one that follows after the faith because of the standards of the Bible, the way believers can tell nonbelievers about the Christian faith, and how the problem of evil plays a major role in the reason man was separated from God in the Garden of Eden. According to Dew and Gould, the logical problem of evil can be demonstrated by the argument that God's existence is incompatible with the reality of evil. Because of this, the answer to the logical dilemma of evil is that God has a morally adequate justification for permitting mankind to suffer. God's existence is irreconcilable with the reality of evil (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019), 179. The answer that Dew and Gould presented on the logical problem of evil aligns with the argument that Pruitt brings across on the problem of evil. As stated by Pruitt, one powerful way to show that a worldview is false is to show that it contains internal contradictions. Were the example that Pruitt used the religion Buddhism, stating that, for example, we could show that Buddhism teaches that there are no such things as unified human selves, but we could show that a real and unified human self is everywhere presupposed by Buddhist teaching, this counts as an internal contradiction. Buddhists are committed to two beliefs that cannot be reconciled together. Pruitt then goes on to highlight that this is the same kind of challenge that the problem of evil poses to Christian theism (Pruitt, 2014). The question is, ‘How does Dew and Gould's answer support Pruitt’s argument?’ The answer to that question is that both Dew and Gould and Pruitt use Plantinga’s argument for free will theodicy in their arguments. Plantinga’s argument about the theodicy of the possibility that God and evil can co-exist in the same universe Pruitt argues that the Plantinga argument does not argue that his argument is true but that it is feasible to be true. Pruitt claims that while this idea is commonly accepted, it is crucial to understand that there

3 are genuine limits to how God deals with wickedness (Pruitt, 2014). God does not have the power to magically eliminate evil and reserve the goods that require it. Pruitt's reasoning supports Dew and Gould's response by demonstrating why God must allow some evils for human good to be conceivable (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2019). Pruitt contends that the first step is to clarify exactly what we mean by "evil." The Christian definition of evil is that it is not a substance on par with virtue. Pruitt claims that "God made the world and everything in it for a reason, so there is a way for the world to function" (Pruitt, 2014). The Dumsday article is one of the most intriguing arguments given by Dumsday and is described in his section on Lewis on the Universal Revelation through Conscience, where he examines an alternative and compatible response having to do with the indirect knowledge of God available through the transcendent morality of law. Dumsday describes Lewis' belief that God does not reveal himself to all humans by providing us with an understanding of moral law and a consistent experience of its driving power (Thierer, 2022). We have the power to personally meet a reality that transcends the material domain and transcends ourselves because we are conscious of the law. Dumsday also argues that moral law surpasses natural order and provides humanity with a clear indication that there is something more beyond the physical world (Thierer, 2022). Furthermore, Dumsday claims that the substance of the law indicates a lot about the character of the one who has given it to us. People can partially refute Jesus' claims by looking at the historical evidence for his miracles in the Bible. The analysis of the resurrection is vital in this situation, but it is most important for us to address these assertions in light of God's character and moral teachings (Thierer, 2022). Dumsday states that if God's teachings and miracles did not match his nature, then no matter how convincing the historical evidence for the

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