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    Alvin Plantinga's free will defense can be extended to na... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→The free will defense does not provide a complete solution to the problem of evil.

    Alvin Plantinga's free will defense can be extended to natural evil by positing that fallen angels or demonic agents exercise free will in causing natural disasters.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Plantinga's free will defense succeeds for moral evil; extending it to natural evil via demonic agents maintains logical consistency.
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    • 2.Many theological traditions affirm demonic agency; this extension aligns with existing religious commitments rather than inventing ad hoc solutions.
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    • 3.If free will justifies God permitting human-caused suffering, the same principle applies to suffering caused by non-human free agents.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Empirical evidence for demonic causation of natural disasters is absent; the hypothesis becomes scientifically unfalsifiable and explanatorily idle.
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    • 2.Theodicy shouldn't multiply entities beyond necessity; attributing earthquakes and diseases to demons lacks parsimony compared to theistic natural law.
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    • 3.If demons cause most natural evil, God remains culpable for permitting systematic demonic activity affecting innocent victims disproportionately.
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    Related

    Empirical evidence for demonic causation of natural disasters is absent; the hyp...If demons cause most natural evil, God remains culpable for permitting systemati...If free will justifies God permitting human-caused suffering, the same principle...Many theological traditions affirm demonic agency; this extension aligns with ex...
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    Plantinga's free will defense succeeds for moral evil; extending it to natural e...The free will defense does not provide a complete solution to the problem of evi...Theodicy shouldn't multiply entities beyond necessity; attributing earthquakes a...

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