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    The sceptic does not need to prove that God cannot exist ... — Carmelics
    Home/Problem of Evil
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    The sceptic does not need to prove that God cannot exist on the basis of evil in the world.

    Against an attribute of GodProblem of Evil
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.It is sufficient for the sceptic to show that the theist is unable to prove God's attributes of infinite power and goodness given the evidence of creation.
      ?

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    • 2.Showing that the theist's positive case fails is a weaker and more achievable burden than proving God's non-existence.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Shifting the burden to the theist's proof still requires the sceptic to establish a baseline expectation of what a good God's creation would look like.
      ?

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    • 2.Without such a baseline, the sceptic cannot demonstrate that the theist's inference from creation to divine goodness fails rather than merely underdetermines.
      ?

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    • 3.Alston and Wykstra argue that human cognitive limitations prevent any reliable judgment that a good God would have created differently, neutralizing the sceptic's evidential standard.
      ?

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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Swinburne's cumulative-case theism holds that divine attributes are confirmed by the total evidence set, not by creation alone, making piecemeal refutation of the inference insufficient.
      ?

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    • 2.If the theist's case for omnipotence and perfect goodness draws on modal intuitions, religious experience, and fine-tuning arguments, showing the creation-inference fails leaves the positive case largely intact.
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    Topics

    Problem of EvilAgainst an attribute of God

    Connections

    1 topic

    Skepticism1 linked

    Related

    Alston and Wykstra argue that human cognitive limitations prevent any reliable j...If the theist's case for omnipotence and perfect goodness draws on modal intuiti...It is sufficient for the sceptic to show that the theist is unable to prove God'...Shifting the burden to the theist's proof still requires the sceptic to establis...
    +3 moreShow less
    Showing that the theist's positive case fails is a weaker and more achievable bu...Swinburne's cumulative-case theism holds that divine attributes are confirmed by...Without such a baseline, the sceptic cannot demonstrate that the theist's infere...

    Similar

    It is sufficient for the sceptic to show that the theist is unable to ...83%The existence of evil provides no basis for inferring the existence of...80%The existence of evil does not tell against God's existence and goodne...80%If the probability of God's nonexistence is zero on any body of eviden...79%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: hume-religion
    View source passageHide passage
    The subtlety of Hume’s argument is now clear. There is no need for the sceptic to launch a strong argument that aims to prove that God cannot exist on the basis of the real existence of evil in this world. All that the sceptic needs to do is to show that the theist is unable to prove or establish God’s attributes of infinite power and goodness given the evidence of creation as we observe it. What the theist must do, in order to meet this challenge, is to show that all the evil that exists in thi
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit