1. The problem of evil makes belief in God irrational
MACKIE - OVERVIEW
Section
Point
Argument/Idea
Intro
The problem of evil makes belief in God irrational
Mackie argues that good should always seek to eliminate evil and therefore an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God should prevent evil, yet it still exists – INCONSISTENT TRIAD.
As there is undeniable proof for the existence of evil, the only solution must be that we need to change our understanding of God being omnipotent or omnibenevolent.
Mackie discusses various solutions offered by THEISTS to the problem of evil and highlights why he thinks they are limited.
THEIST’S SOLUTION
MACKIE’S CRITICISM
Restrict omnipotence to only that which is logically possible
If we limit God’s power, is it still accurate to call him omnipotent?
Evil is not an actual ‘thing’, it is just the privation (absence of) good.
This raises questions in meta ethics about what the term ‘good’ actually is.
There is no such thing as evil, it is an illusion
This does not match the human experience, how can we describe horrors such as the Holocaust as an illusion?
1, Evil is a necessary counterpart to good.
Without evil, we would not know what good is.
*Limits God’s omnipotence
*Reduces God’s goodness as being relative to evil
*Challenges the idea that good and evil are supposed to try and
eliminate each other
*Ignores that good and evil can have absolute value
*Still does not explain why there is so much evil.
2, Evil is logically necessary for good
Good can only be caused through evil.
Limits God to what is logical – this does not make sense as God is supposed to have created logic.
3, The world is better for having evil in it
First order evil is necessary for second order good and so on.
*No universal agreement that second order good is better than first
order.
*If God is willing to let us suffer (in pursuit of becoming better
people) is he really all loving?
*Second order good then leads to second order evil – infinite regress.
4, Evil is the result of human free will
God had to allow evil as part of giving humans free will.
*Fallacy of the False dilemma – God could have made free willed creatures who only choose good.
*If evil comes from character then God is still to blame because he gives people their character
*If God cannot control free will then he is not truly omnipotent.
Adequate Solutions
Fallacious Solutions

2. INTRO ADEQUATE SOLUTIONS
The problem of evil makes belief in God irrational.
Mackie argues that good should always seek to eliminate evil and therefore an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God should prevent evil, yet it still exists – INCONSISTENT TRIAD.
As there is undeniable proof for the existence of evil, the only solution must be that we need to change our understanding of God being omnipotent or omnibenevolent.
ADEQUATE SOLUTIONS
Mackie discusses various solutions offered by THEISTS to the problem of evil and highlights why he thinks they are limited.
Restrict omnipotence to only that which is logically possible.

3. Evil is not an actual ‘thing’, it is just the privation (absence of) good.
There is no such thing as evil, it is an illusion
If we limit God’s power, is it still accurate to call him omnipotent?
This raises questions in meta ethics about what the term ‘good’ actually is.
This does not match the human experience, how can we describe horrors such as the Holocaust as an illusion?
FALLACIOUS SOLUTIONS

4. 1, Evil is a necessary counterpart to good.
Without evil, we would not know what good is.
*Limits God’s omnipotence
*Reduces God’s goodness as being relative to evil
*Challenges the idea that good and evil are supposed to try and eliminate each other
*Ignores that good and evil can have absolute value
*Still does not explain why there is so much evil.
2, Evil is logically necessary for good
Good can only be caused through evil.
Limits God to what is logical – this does not make sense as God is supposed to have created logic.

5. 3, The world is better for having evil in it
First order evil is necessary for second order good and so on.
*No universal agreement that second order good is better than first order.
*If God is willing to let us suffer (in pursuit of becoming better
people) is he really all loving?
*Second order good then leads to second order evil – infinite regress.
4, Evil is the result of human free will
God had to allow evil as part of giving humans free will.
*Fallacy of the False dilemma – God could have made free willed creatures who only choose good.
*If evil comes from character then God is still to blame because he gives people their character
*If God cannot control free will then he is not truly omnipotent.