[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-512842-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-512842-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","god-freedom-and-evil-introduction","God, Freedom, and Evil - Introduction","","A philosophical reflection on central religious themes that focuses on belief in God and the relationship between the existence of God and the presence of evil. It introduces natural theology and natural atheology, framing the “problem of evil” through questions about why God permits evil, whether theism is internally consistent, and how free will factors into theodicy. It surveys additional arguments against theism and then develops classic lines of natural theology including cosmological, teleological, and ontological reasoning.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/god-freedom-and-evil-introduction/512842/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/god-freedom-and-evil-introduction/512842.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Muffet","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-10-06",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the book mean by philosophical reflection on religion?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It treats philosophical reflection as careful thinking about central religious themes, tracing a history from ancient Greek thought through early church reflection and beyond.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the book distinguish belief in God from belief that God exists?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Belief in God is portrayed as trusting and committing one’s life to God, which changes how the believer interprets the world, whereas belief that God exists concerns accepting a specific proposition.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What is the central focus of natural atheology in the book’s structure?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It centers on the problem of evil, including arguments about why God permits evil, whether theism contradicts itself, and the role of the free will defense, followed by additional atheological arguments.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},512842,1792237323,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,91,95,100,104,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":26,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},962090768927,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","GOD FREEDOM,  \nondEVIL  \nAlvin Plontingo  \nWilliam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company  \nCopyright © 1974 by Alvin Plantinga. All rights reserved. First published by Harper and Row, 1974. Present edition 1977 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503.  \nPrinted in the United States of America.  \nReprinted 2002  \nLibrary of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Plantinga, Alvin.  \nGod, freedom, and evil.  \nReprint oftheed. published by Harper & Row, New York, is in series: Basic conditions of  \nlife as TB 181 I of Harper torchbooks. Includes bibliographical references.  \nI. God-Proof. 2. Good and evil. 3. Theodicy.  \n1. 1itle.  \n[BT102 .P56 1978) 216 77-17218 ISBN 0-8028-I731-9  \nTo the memory of Ophelia Baarman, Chris Baarman, and Gertrude Postma  \nTobie of Contents  \nIntroduction 1  \nPart I NATURAL ATHEOLOGY 5  \na. The Problem of Evil 7  \n1. The Question: Why Does Cod Permit Evil? 9  \n2. Does the Theist Contradict Himself? 12  \n3. Can We Show That There Is No Inconsistency Here? 24  \n4. The Free Will Defense 29  \n5. Was It within Cod's Power to Create Any Possible World He Pleased? 34  \n6. Could Cod Have Created a World Containing Moral Good but No Moral Evil? 45  \n7. Transworld Depravity and Essence 49  \n8. The Free Will Defense Vindicated 54  \n9. Is Cod's Existence Compatible with theAmount of Moral Evil the World Contains?  55  \n10. Is God's Existence Compatible with Natural Evil? 57  \nviii INTRODUcnON  \n11. Does the Existence of Evil Make It Unlikely That  \nGod Exists? 59  \nh. Other Atheological Arguments 65  \nPart II NATURAL THEOLOGY 75  \na. The Cosmological Argument 77  \nh. The Teleological Argument 81  \nc. The Ontological Argument 85  \n1. Gaunilo's Ob;ection 89  \n2. Anselm's Reply 90  \n3. Kant's Ob;ection 92  \n4. The Irrelevance of Kant's Ob;ection 97  \n5. The Argument Restated 98  \n6. Its Fatal Flaw 101  \n7. A Modal Version of the Argument 104  \n8. A Flaw in the Ointment 106  \n9. The Argument Restated 108  \n10. The Argument Triumphant III  \nGOD FREEDOM,  \nondEVIL  \nIntroduction  \nThis book discusses and exemplifies the philosophy of religion, or philosophical reflection on central themes of religion. Philosophical reflection (which is not much different from just thinking hard) on these themes has a long history: it dates back at least as far as the fifth century B.C. when some of the Greeks thought long and hard about the religion they had received from their ancestors. In the Christian era such philosophical reflection begins in the first or second century with the early church fathers, or \"Patristics\" as they are often called; it has continued ever since.  \nThe heart of many of the major religions-Christianity, Judaism, Islam, for example-is belief in God. Of course these religions-theistic religions-differ among themselves as to how they conceive of God. The Christian tradition, for example, emphasizes God's love and benevolence; in the Moslem view, on the other hand, God has a somewhat more arbitrary character. There are also supersophisticates among allegedly Christian theologians who proclaim the liberation of Christianity from belief in God, seeking to replace it by trust in \"Being itself\"or the \"Ground of Being\" or some such thing. But for the most part it remains true that belief in God is the foundation of these great religions.  \nNow belief in God is not the same thing as belief that God exists, or that there is such a thing as God. To believe that God exists is simply  \n:z. INTRODUCI'lON  \nto accept a proposition of a certain sort-a proposition affirming that there is a personal being who, let's say, has existed from eternity, is almighty, perfectly wise, perfectly just, has created the world, and loves his creatures. To believe in God, however, is quite another matter.The Apostle's Creed begins thus: \"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth....\" One who repeats these words and means what he says is not simply announcing the fact that he acceptsa certain proposit","cbCaiew9lTOcnj65","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiew9lTOcnj65","pdf",3245261,120,"English","# Introduction\n## Natural Atheology\n### The Problem of Evil\n### Other Atheological Arguments\n## Natural Theology\n### Cosmological Argument\n### Teleological Argument\n### Ontological Argument","[{\"question\":\"What does the book mean by philosophical reflection on religion?\",\"answer\":\"It treats philosophical reflection as careful thinking about central religious themes, tracing a history from ancient Greek thought through early church reflection and beyond.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book distinguish belief in God from belief that God exists?\",\"answer\":\"Belief in God is portrayed as trusting and committing one’s life to God, which changes how the believer interprets the world, whereas belief that God exists concerns accepting a specific proposition.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the central focus of natural atheology in the book’s structure?\",\"answer\":\"It centers on the problem of evil, including arguments about why God permits evil, whether theism contradicts itself, and the role of the free will defense, followed by additional atheological arguments.\"}]","God, Freedom, and Evil - Introduction | PDF",1791276690,185]