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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Molinism, Open Theism, And Moral Luck, Mark Anderson
Molinism, Open Theism, And Moral Luck, Mark Anderson
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
It is sometimes thought that the choice between Molinism and open theism involves a trade-off in values: Molinism asserts that God has providential power but allows God indirectly to manipulate that in virtue of which human beings are to be judged; while open theism grants human beings more power over that in virtue of which they are tp be judged, but at the price of giving up providence. I argue here that this picture is misconstrued---that Molinism gives human agents more power over that in virtue of which they may be judged than does open theism. Since open theism confines …
A Physicalist View Of The Passion Of Christ, Joungbin Lim
A Physicalist View Of The Passion Of Christ, Joungbin Lim
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
My project in this paper is to provide a plausible idea of Christ’s suffering and death in terms of a theory of the human person. More specifically, I want to contrast two major theories of the person-body relation. One is dualism. Dualism is the view that a human person is composed of two substances, that is, a soul and a body, and he (strictly speaking) is identical with the soul. On the other hand, physicalism is the view that a human person is numerically identical with his biological body. I will argue that dualism is not successful in explaining Christ’s …
A Mea Culpa For The Felix Culpa? A Greater Goods Response To The Problems Of Evil And Hell, Ian Spencer
A Mea Culpa For The Felix Culpa? A Greater Goods Response To The Problems Of Evil And Hell, Ian Spencer
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
In this paper I want to develop a particular kind of greater-good response to the problems of evil and hell, one which hence can serve as a backup plan should the free will defense not satisfy. Ultimately, this response will appear to belong to several traditions in theodicy. Like all greater-goods views, this one relies on explaining the existence of evil in terms of the greater goods that come out of it. Among these goods are the greater goods of Incarnation and Atonement, their respective goodness consisting in large part in the higher-order divine good of glorifying God through the …
Theodicies, Utilitarianism, And Respect For Persons, Jeffrey Freelin
Theodicies, Utilitarianism, And Respect For Persons, Jeffrey Freelin
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
Most theodicy responses to the problem of evil have in common the claim that God legitimately allows some evil such that greater good may come. This response is puzzling because the seemingly overwhelming consensus (at least amongst Christian apologists) is that 1) morality is deontological in nature (e.g. our duty of obedience to God’s commands, or acting in accordance with God’s purpose), and 2) relatedly, that humans are made in God’s image (i. e. are rational beings) and thus are worthy of respect. I shall argue that theodicy defenses that claim that God allows some evil such that greater good …
The Double‐Edged Sword Of Interdict: Some More Warnings From History, Marshall Crossnoe
The Double‐Edged Sword Of Interdict: Some More Warnings From History, Marshall Crossnoe
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
In this paper I revisit the age-old question of the relationship between philosophy and theology by rejecting the claim that throughout the history of the Christian Church, whenever Christian thinkers have baptized philosophy, they have done so to the detriment of theology. Church history reveals just the opposite, i. e., that sometimes theologians have creatively and fruitfully used philosophical language, concepts, methods, and conclusions to understand and express the faith. In addition, church history records numerous attempts to limit philosophical enquiry for theological reasons that proved unsuccessful and counter-productive. Both types of interaction between philosophy and theology occurred at the …
Affect And The Problem Of Evil, Bruce Ballard
Affect And The Problem Of Evil, Bruce Ballard
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
A central aspect of the problem of evil or the argument from evil is the intensity or quantity of suffering. This quantity is conceived of as something objective and fixed. But because our experience is in part constituted and interpreted by our effectual orientation, there is no such objective quantum of suffering. But where there is no objective quantum of suffering, the argument from evil collapses. Here we begin by examining the connection between the philosophical and existential dimensions of the problem of and argument from evil as suffering. Next we consider the role of the affect in the constitution …
God: Savior, Butcher, Or Oblivious Artist? The Theodicy Of Alfred North Whitehead, Laurence Rohrer
God: Savior, Butcher, Or Oblivious Artist? The Theodicy Of Alfred North Whitehead, Laurence Rohrer
Conference on Philosophy and Theology
This paper is a critical examination of Alfred North Whitehead's attempt to solve the traditional problem of evil. Whitehead's conception of evil is crucial to his process cosmology because it is integral to his process cosmology because it is integral to his notion of creation in which evil is understood in relationship to the larger dynamic of God’s creative activity. While Whitehead’s process theodicy is interesting, he fails to successfully escape between the horns of the traditional dilemma. Whitehead is often criticized for treating evil as merely apparent. While some process philosophers, notably Maurice Barineau, have defended Whitehead from this …