Is God Likely, In View of Evil?
I wrote a
few days ago that most philosophers now agree the "logical problem of
evil" has been solved. It's impossible to prove deductively that God does not
exist because evil does. Those of you who followed the comments may have noticed
how quickly the subject changed to something like, "I don't think God could
operate that way." The logical argument requires that the anti-theist
prove that
assertion, which is of course impossible, so commenters have taken to saying
they can't figure out how God could do this, or do not find it
credible.
This is more in line with the "probabilistic problem of evil," to which I briefly alluded in that post. Here I want to set it forth in a way that I hope will give us better direction for dialogue.
This is more in line with the "probabilistic problem of evil," to which I briefly alluded in that post. Here I want to set it forth in a way that I hope will give us better direction for dialogue.
The probabilistic version of the problem of evil
says, even though God's existence cannot be formally disproved by the existence
of evil, it is still wildly improbable. If God squeaked through the logical
test, it was just barely, and it's just not credible to think of him as being
perfectly good and powerful in view of all the evil in the
world.
My account here leans heavily on Moreland and Craig's work in, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview.* (The quotes below are taken from pages 542-548 in that book.) They agree that if one looks just at the evidence of evil, the probabilistic argument has considerable force. Probabilities are always considered in view of background information. If one had asked when I was five years old, living in a small town in Michigan, how likely is it that I would marry a woman from Charlotte, NC, the answer would have been near zero. If one had seen Sara and me together in early 1987, the answer would have been near 100% (we got engaged on Valentine's Day that year).
Now apply this principle to the probabilistic problem of evil. The objector claims to prove that God's existence is improbable. But with respect to what? To the evil in the world? If that is all the background information one considers, then it is hardly surprising if God's existence should appear improbable with respect to that alone. . . . But the theist . . . will insist that we consider, not just the evil in the world, but all the evidence relevant to God's existence. . . . that when the total scope of evidence is considered, then the scales are at least evenly balanced or tip in favor of theism.
This is not the place to discuss all the other evidences for God, which these authors did elsewhere in their lengthy book. The point is to show that focusing narrowly on one aspect of existence is not the way we'll figure out what is at the bottom of it all.
Moreland and Craig go on to say,
We are not in a good position to assess with confidence the probability that God has no morally sufficient reasons for permitting the evils that occur.
Our anti-theist commenters at Thinking Christian would apparently disagree: they have repeatedly said that God is absolutely unjustified in allowing evil such as we see. But how qualified are we, really, to make that assessment? How could we put a probability estimate on it? How can we as finite creatures be so sure of what an infinite God might be doing through the events of life? We've all seen instances where something seemed bad, or was meant for evil, turned out to our good, so we cannot say it is impossible. If an infinite God is orchestrating outcomes, why be quick to say that he could not do the same on a much larger scale? Why be quick to say that we are sure he could not do that?
Christian theism entails doctrines that increase the probability of the coexistence of God and evil:
. . . First, the chief purpose of life is not happiness, but the knowledge of God.
. . . Second, mankind is in a state of rebellion against God and his purpose.
. . . Third, God's purpose is not restricted to this life but spills over beyond the grave into eternal life.
. . . Fourth, the knowledge of God is an incommensurable good.
In regard to the third of these, if the disputer says, "I cannot see or imagine how evil is ever redeemed," the answer is, "of course you can't." It doesn't all happen in this world, in this time. Christians know that the unimaginably huge evil of killing the Son of God led to an eternal good, and can easily picture how the same could happen with anyone who follows God. Paul wrote, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." The Resurrection of Christ provides strong evidence in favor of this.
The fourth point means this: that knowing God is a good that outweighs all else. Think of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who endured unspeakable hardships in a Soviet gulag, and in the end said, "Thank you, prison!" His thanks were for the experience that led him to a knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. The same tale has been told over and over again through history: the suffering was small by comparison to the good that came from it.
If the objector says to these four points of belief, "I can't agree with these at all!" then I say, "which God are you objecting to?" If the discussion is about the God of Christianity, then let it be about the God of Christianity. Let it include these factors, which are essential to a Biblical understanding of God. If we reject these four points, and talk about a God that is not described by them, then Christians will side with you and say that surely such a God could not exist.
That is an all-too-brief response from the Christian's perspective to the probabilistic problem of evil. It is a condensed version of Moreland and Craig's condensed version of an answer, so I'm sure there is much left out that would have been helpful if it could have been included.
*Alvin Plantinga originally wrote of this in the final chapter of Warranted Christian Belief, which I've also been reading. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pages missing! There was a printer's error that left many of the pages in that last chapter and in the index blank. Eventually I'll recover those pages from Google books or Amazon's version, but it's a time-consuming process that I haven't done yet.
Third in a series:
1. Solved: The Logical Problem of Evil
2. What is "The Problem of Evil?"
3. Is God Likely, In View of Evil?
4. Can Evil Be Made Good?
5. Fences Around Evil
6. Reflections on the Mess We Live In
My account here leans heavily on Moreland and Craig's work in, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview.* (The quotes below are taken from pages 542-548 in that book.) They agree that if one looks just at the evidence of evil, the probabilistic argument has considerable force. Probabilities are always considered in view of background information. If one had asked when I was five years old, living in a small town in Michigan, how likely is it that I would marry a woman from Charlotte, NC, the answer would have been near zero. If one had seen Sara and me together in early 1987, the answer would have been near 100% (we got engaged on Valentine's Day that year).
Now apply this principle to the probabilistic problem of evil. The objector claims to prove that God's existence is improbable. But with respect to what? To the evil in the world? If that is all the background information one considers, then it is hardly surprising if God's existence should appear improbable with respect to that alone. . . . But the theist . . . will insist that we consider, not just the evil in the world, but all the evidence relevant to God's existence. . . . that when the total scope of evidence is considered, then the scales are at least evenly balanced or tip in favor of theism.
This is not the place to discuss all the other evidences for God, which these authors did elsewhere in their lengthy book. The point is to show that focusing narrowly on one aspect of existence is not the way we'll figure out what is at the bottom of it all.
Moreland and Craig go on to say,
We are not in a good position to assess with confidence the probability that God has no morally sufficient reasons for permitting the evils that occur.
Our anti-theist commenters at Thinking Christian would apparently disagree: they have repeatedly said that God is absolutely unjustified in allowing evil such as we see. But how qualified are we, really, to make that assessment? How could we put a probability estimate on it? How can we as finite creatures be so sure of what an infinite God might be doing through the events of life? We've all seen instances where something seemed bad, or was meant for evil, turned out to our good, so we cannot say it is impossible. If an infinite God is orchestrating outcomes, why be quick to say that he could not do the same on a much larger scale? Why be quick to say that we are sure he could not do that?
Christian theism entails doctrines that increase the probability of the coexistence of God and evil:
. . . First, the chief purpose of life is not happiness, but the knowledge of God.
. . . Second, mankind is in a state of rebellion against God and his purpose.
. . . Third, God's purpose is not restricted to this life but spills over beyond the grave into eternal life.
. . . Fourth, the knowledge of God is an incommensurable good.
In regard to the third of these, if the disputer says, "I cannot see or imagine how evil is ever redeemed," the answer is, "of course you can't." It doesn't all happen in this world, in this time. Christians know that the unimaginably huge evil of killing the Son of God led to an eternal good, and can easily picture how the same could happen with anyone who follows God. Paul wrote, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." The Resurrection of Christ provides strong evidence in favor of this.
The fourth point means this: that knowing God is a good that outweighs all else. Think of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who endured unspeakable hardships in a Soviet gulag, and in the end said, "Thank you, prison!" His thanks were for the experience that led him to a knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. The same tale has been told over and over again through history: the suffering was small by comparison to the good that came from it.
If the objector says to these four points of belief, "I can't agree with these at all!" then I say, "which God are you objecting to?" If the discussion is about the God of Christianity, then let it be about the God of Christianity. Let it include these factors, which are essential to a Biblical understanding of God. If we reject these four points, and talk about a God that is not described by them, then Christians will side with you and say that surely such a God could not exist.
That is an all-too-brief response from the Christian's perspective to the probabilistic problem of evil. It is a condensed version of Moreland and Craig's condensed version of an answer, so I'm sure there is much left out that would have been helpful if it could have been included.
*Alvin Plantinga originally wrote of this in the final chapter of Warranted Christian Belief, which I've also been reading. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pages missing! There was a printer's error that left many of the pages in that last chapter and in the index blank. Eventually I'll recover those pages from Google books or Amazon's version, but it's a time-consuming process that I haven't done yet.
Third in a series:
1. Solved: The Logical Problem of Evil
2. What is "The Problem of Evil?"
3. Is God Likely, In View of Evil?
4. Can Evil Be Made Good?
5. Fences Around Evil
6. Reflections on the Mess We Live In
Posted: Sat - May 27, 2006 at 07:53 AM |
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Published On: Dec 06, 2007 01:04 PM
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