The Impossibility of God

Jul 8, 2026

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A philosophical anthology edited by Michael Martin and Ricki Monnier assembles a comprehensive set of articles arguing for the impossibility of God. Contributions are organized into five clusters: definitional disproofs identifying contradictions within the concept of God, deductive evil disproofs contrasting divine attributes with the existence of evil, doctrinal disproofs addressing tensions with specific religious doctrines such as miracles and reward/punishment, and additional attribute-based lines culminating in single-attribute refutations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages448

Reading Time18 h 49 min

Impossibility of God

Definitional disproofs

Deductive evil disproofs

Doctrinal disproofs

# THEIMPOSSIBILITY OF EDITED BY MICHAEL MARTIN RICKI MONNIER ## IMPOSSIBILITYOFGOD In this anthology.Michael Martin and RickiMonnier bring together for the first time a com-prehensive collection of articles containingarguments for the impossibility of God.Thearguments are grouped into five areas focusingon definitional,deductive evil,doctrinal,mul-tiple attributes,and single attribute disproofsof God. Part one,definitional disproofs,comprisesarguments for the impossibility of God basedon a contradiction within the definition of God.Startling contradictions are found,for example,by J.N.Findlay,when God is defined as theadequate object of religious attitudes,and byDouglas Walton,when God is defined as abeing than which no greater can be thought. Deductive evil disproofs—based on acontradiction between the attributes of Godand the existence of evil—compose part two. J.L.Mackie formulates and develops thefamous logical argument from evil for the im-possibility of an omniscient,omnipotent,andomnibenevolent God.Several scholars,suchas Quentin Smith,explore and further developthis argument. Part three contains doctrinal disproofs.each based on a contradiction between God'sattributes and a particular religious doctrine orstory.For example,Christine Overall shows thata God with the attributes of omniscience,omni-potence,and omnibenevolence is inconsistentwith the doctrine of miracles.Richard Schoenigdemonstrates that this God is inconsistent withthe theistic reward/punishment doctrine re-garding the postmortem fate of humans. (contizted on bad 、o LI Y 、 m7 200 EDITED BY MICHAEL MARTIN& RICKI MONNIERPrometheus Books59 John Glenn DriveAmherst,New York 14228-2197 Published 2003 by Prometheus Books The Impossibility of God.Copyright ⑥2003 by Michael Martin and Ricki Monnier.Allrights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrievalsystem,or transmitted in any form or by any means,digital,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise,or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site withoutprior written permission of the publisher,except in the case of brief quotations embodiedin critical articles and reviews. Inquiries should be addressed toPrometheus Books59 John Glenn DriveAmherst,New York 14228-2197VOICE:716-691-0133,ext.207 FAX:716-564-2711WWW.PROMETHEUSBOOKS.COM 0706050403 54321 ## Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The impossibility of God/edited by Michael Martin and Ricki Monnier. p.cm. Includes bibliographical referencesISBN 1-59102-120-0 1.Atheism—History.2.God-Proof—History of doctrines.3.Theodicty—History of doctrines.4.Religion—Philosophy—History.I.Martin,Michael.1932Feb.3-I.Monnier,Ricki. BL2747.3.1492003 212'.1—dc22 2003020943 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To those who question and wonder

FAQs

What organizing approach does the anthology use to argue for the impossibility of God?

The anthology groups the collected arguments into five areas: definitional disproofs, deductive evil disproofs, doctrinal disproofs, and additional attribute-based and single-attribute disproofs.

What is the focus of definitional disproofs in the anthology?

Definitional disproofs aim to show contradictions within the definition of God, such as issues arising from how God is characterized.

How do deductive evil disproofs work according to the book’s summary?

Deductive evil disproofs rely on a contradiction between the attributes of God and the existence of evil, including discussion of the logical argument from evil associated with J. L. Mackie.

Jul 8, 2026

Upload by Riley