Today:

1. Today: • Odds & Ends • The Problem of Evil (PoE) • The Gist • Two Forms of the PoE: • The Logical PoE • The Evidential PoE • Responding to the PoE

2. Scheduling Change! • Today: The Problem of Evil • Reading: Mackie (Ch. 53) • Tomorrow: The Problem of Evil Continued • No New Reading (Mackie, Ch. 53) • Wednesday: God Talk • Reading: Flew (Ch. 11)

3. The Problem of Evil (PoE) The Gist: The basic PoE is that there is a tension between one conception of God and the fact that evil exists. • God isall-powerful (andall-knowing)andall-caring. is in tension with the fact that: • Evil Exists.

4. “Evil” The PoE calls our attention to a large number of “evils” in the world. They have in mind both: • Human Evil, and • Natural Evil

5. Two Forms of the PoE The PoE comes in two forms (distinguished by how strong they think the tension is between the conception of God and the fact that evil exists): • The Logical Problem of Evil • The Evidential Problem of Evil

6. The Logical PoE The Logical Problem of Evil claims that there is a logical contradictionbetween the claims that: • God isall-powerful (andall-knowing)andall-caring. • Evil Exists.

7. The Evidential PoE The Evidential Problem of Evil claims that the fact that: • Evil Exists. Provides good evidence for rejecting the claim that: • God isall-powerful (andall-knowing)andall-caring.

8. The Evidential PoE The Principle of Inference to the Best Explanation: • It is reasonable to believe whatever provides the best explanation of some range of observations.

9. Responses to the PoE • The “Necessary Counterpoint” response. • The Means and Ends approach. • The “Free Will” defense. • The Appeal to Ignorance. • The “Mysterious Ways” response.