Evil and the Paradox of Omnipotence Essay Example for Free

Evil and the Paradox of Omnipotence Essay John Leslie Mackie, in his article â€Å"Evil and Omnipotence† states that the problem of evil is clearly stated using three essential parts of most theological positions, namely (a) that God is omnipotent, (b) that God is wholly good; and (c) that evil exists. Mackie also stated two additional principles that are commonly assumed in debating the problem of evil. They include (a) â€Å"that good is opposed to evil, in such a way that a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can† and (b) â€Å"that there are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do† (Mackie 90). Mackie explained that accepting the propositions stated above leads to the problem of evil. The propositions are contradictory to each other. Given the arguments above, a good and omnipotent being will eliminate evil completely. The existence of a good and omnipotent being and the existence of evil are absolutely contradictory. An adequate solution to the problem would be to accept that at least one of these propositions is false. Mackie explained that some solutions being offered are inadequate or fallacious in that they explicitly maintain all, but implicitly reject at least one of the constituent propositions—that is, at least one of the propositions appears to have been given up but is actually retained in such a way that it is reasserted in another context without further qualification. One of these fallacious solutions state that â€Å"good cannot exits without evil† or that â€Å"evil is necessary as a counterpart to good. † This solution sets a limit to the purported God’s omnipotence in that it implies that God could not create â€Å"good† without necessarily creating â€Å"evil. † This claim also implicitly states that good and evil exists side by side with each other and therefore contradicts the claim that good always eliminates evil. The problem presents further complications in that it proposes that goodness is an ontological principle from which an opposite must exist in order to be noticed by human perception. Mackie explained that â€Å"God might have made everything good, though we should not have noticed it if he had† if there were no concept of evil of some kind. Another fallacious solution states that â€Å"evil is necessary as a means to good. † However, it sets a limit to God’s omnipotence and presents complications in much the same way as the first fallacious solution does. A third solution stating that â€Å"the universe is better with some evil in it than it could be if there were no evil† is just a restatement of the first two fallacious solutions. The third solution is, however, more complex than the first two as it introduces concepts from which there arises degrees of good and evil, i. e. first-order, second-order and third-order. The problem lies in that some form of goodness have merely a derivative value, that God is concerned only with promoting good and not necessarily with eliminating evil, or that goodness of any degree still could not totally eliminate the existence of evil—problems that still contradict the claims of what â€Å"omnipotence† and â€Å"good† are. The fourth solution stating that â€Å"evil is due to human free will† still begs the question of God being omnipotent and wholly good. Theists argue that God has given humans free will to choose between good and evil and that the existence of evil could not be blamed to God. Free will leaves the possibility that humans may choose to do â€Å"evil. † Mackie however argue that if there is no logical impossibility that humans could choose freely to do good in one or several occasions, there is also no logical impossibility that they could choose to do good in â€Å"all† occasions. God’s failure to do this questions his omnipotence or his being wholly good. On the other hand, if God had truly created humans with a totally free will, it follows that God will not be able to control them in any and all circumstances, and therefore he is no longer omnipotent. This is what Mackie would like to call the â€Å"Paradox of Omnipotence. † Objections are made that states that while God has truly created humans with a totally free will, it does not necessarily mean he could no longer control them but instead, refrains from doing so. But then again, Mackie argues that there is nothing that stops God from intervening when he sees humans about to choose wrongly and begs the question of his being wholly good. Theists argue that the value of freedom to choose far outweighs the wrongness of choosing to do evil. Mackie replied by stating that this is in contrast to what the theists say about sin in other contexts and the only logical solution would be to maintain that God has created humans totally free in such a way that he could not control their wills. Mackie and Swiburne have different opinions on the free-will defense in that while Swiburne held that it is the perfect explanation why evil exists, Mackie held that it poses the Paradox of Omnipotence. Both are sound in their arguments. However, as Swiburne states that to say that God has given humans free will but yet would intervene once they choose to do wrong would be illogical—that is, if this will be the case, humans are not truly be free—Swiburne’s argument is more compelling. Mackie has not provided any real argument that could deny God being wholly good while still allowing evil to persist because of human free will, hence Swiburne’s argument also hold to be the stronger.

Abortion :: essays research papers

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, and induced abortion is when a woman makes the decision to have her pregnancy ended in a surgical or medical way. The social conflicts arising from abortion have been around since the procedure was invented, and have risen since 1973 when it became legal after the Roe versus Wade decision. Communities are constantly battling over the issues of Pro-Choice and Pro-Life and how far into a pregnancy is too long to have the procedure performed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several reasons that a woman may choose to abort a pregnancy. She may not feel she is ready to become a parent, or cannot support a baby at her current level of income or immature age. She may not want to be shunned upon by becoming a single parent or letting anyone know that she is pregnant and sexually active. An older woman might be dealing with the issues of already having enough children or she or the fetus could have a health problem. Another common occurrence of a woman wanting an abortion could be if she falls victim of rape or incest. The necessity of abortion within these circumstances draws great conflict from different points of view, especially those pertaining to religion. Many people have different ideas concerning which conditions are valid reasons to abort a pregnancy, while others feel the procedure is wrong no matter what.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All women, and even men, can be affected by this social conflict. According to Planned Parenthood, Nearly half of all women will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old. About five million women in the U.S. become pregnant every year. Half of those pregnancies are unintended, and 1.2 million end in abortion. Promiscuous women Nicholson  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 2 using abortion almost as a form of birth control are the ones that bring about the most conflict of interest. Women living in inner-city areas with a high crime rate are more susceptible to become victims of rape, and therefore seek relief through abortion should a pregnancy occur. Abortion is a common social problem worldwide. Approximately 210 million women around the world become pregnant each year. Out of all of these pregnancies, 80 million are unplanned, and 46 million will end in abortion. Internationally, the lifetime average is about one abortion per woman (After Three Decades). â€Å"In the United States, following the Roe v.

Native American Literature

Indians, we picture them as half naked people causing raucous throughout the land, messing with the settlers, and being completely uncivilized and uneducated. There Is no way that these people could have created stones to be passed down throughout the generations but they did and they still are around to this very day. These oral traditions, or stories that are told by word of mouth, include â€Å"The World on the Turtle's Back†, which explains to us how our world came to be.The story â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo† gives us lessons that easily correlate with the building of a person's hearted, and finally, â€Å"Fox and Coyote and the Whale† persuades us to fight for who and what we love. These tall tales can be Influential to our lives as Americans because the stories tell of lessons that could be essential to all of the human race when it comes to developing one's self to become a better soul. The story called â€Å"World on Turtle's Back† gives us an idea on how the Indians believed the world began.Before there was an Earth there was a skyward. There, a pregnant lady went to dig up the roots from a sacred tree and was then either pushed Into or accidental fallen through a hole that exposed an entire new world underneath. (Page 42, Paragraph 1) As she fell and grasped to the edges of skyward, remnants of soil and roots were attached to her hands. Luckily, as she fell a group of birds caught her on their wingspan and finally laded her down upon a sea turtle's shell.Then, a heroic muskrat brought up soil from deep within the ocean underneath so the fallen lady could set to work creating land. ( Page 42, Paragraph 9) Soon the pregnant woman gave birth to her child, a daughter, and together the two travel around the turtle's back until land was formed. As her child aged she became magically pregnant by the West Wind. Page 42) She then gives birth to twins who constantly quarrel, for they are opposites, good and evil. Together they balance t he world, inventing opposing animals such as the peaceful deer and violent mountain lion. Page 40, Paragraph 2) As the story progresses, it tells of reasons for most common assurances in nature, such as the moon being the twin, as in today's ideas of evil It Is associated with the darkness that comes from the night. The second story Is entitled â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo†. This story expresses to the dalliance various character traits that should be Instilled within a person or avoided. One of these values is to respect others. When coyote kicks the skull of the dead bull, and the bull comes back alive to kill him, it expresses how important it is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Page 25, paragraph 1) Another lesson it emphasizes Is to listen to what you're told to do, as it is for a reason. When the bull gives coyote the cow, he tells him not to eat It, but coyote does not listen and defies him. (page 28-29) Coyote at this point Is very dishonest and greed y. He thinks that he can get away with eating the cow and perhaps getting another one from the bull, hush leading up to another life lesson, karma. When coyote kills the cow, an old woman tells him that he should not be cooking the cow for that is woman's work.At this point, coyote is being incredibly vain and this woman is being very sneaky and steals all of his food. (Page 28, paragraph 2) This proves that what comes around goes around and that you should let yourself become slobbered, which all people have The last story is called â€Å"The Fox, Coyote, and Whale† and it teaches a lesson on fighting for those you love. Fox's wife, leaves him to be the evil whale that occupies the river. Page 44, Paragraph 1) Fox is so overwhelmed by his love for her that he stops at no cost and risks his life to retrieve her from the whale's possession.While trying to take his wife back, the evil whale attempts to kill Fox, Coyote, and Fox's wife, but Fox loves these people and protects th em over himself and hides them within his pipe, saving them all. (Page 45, Paragraph 1) As Fox's wife gets away from Whale, she feels as if she had been awaken from a spell, for once she is returned to fox she becomes happy again. (Page 45, Paragraph 4) So in other words, love can cast a spell n you causing you to make rash decisions while under its magical powers.Of course, Fox finally forgives his wife, but this proves that you should not cheat on your significant other. So in conclusion, Native American literature is very important to our society. The themes of all of the stories are easily related to everyday life. From the positive moments to the very lows, lessons can be learned from these tales. To the people of Indian cultures these stories are still very relevant to their lives. It is the only surviving history that they have of the prior lives of their relatives, so they must keep it preserved for generations to come. Native American Literature Indians, we picture them as half naked people causing raucous throughout the land, messing with the settlers, and being completely uncivilized and uneducated. There Is no way that these people could have created stones to be passed down throughout the generations but they did and they still are around to this very day. These oral traditions, or stories that are told by word of mouth, include â€Å"The World on the Turtle's Back†, which explains to us how our world came to be.The story â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo† gives us lessons that easily correlate with the building of a person's hearted, and finally, â€Å"Fox and Coyote and the Whale† persuades us to fight for who and what we love. These tall tales can be Influential to our lives as Americans because the stories tell of lessons that could be essential to all of the human race when it comes to developing one's self to become a better soul. The story called â€Å"World on Turtle's Back† gives us an idea on how the Indians believed the world began.Before there was an Earth there was a skyward. There, a pregnant lady went to dig up the roots from a sacred tree and was then either pushed Into or accidental fallen through a hole that exposed an entire new world underneath. (Page 42, Paragraph 1) As she fell and grasped to the edges of skyward, remnants of soil and roots were attached to her hands. Luckily, as she fell a group of birds caught her on their wingspan and finally laded her down upon a sea turtle's shell.Then, a heroic muskrat brought up soil from deep within the ocean underneath so the fallen lady could set to work creating land. ( Page 42, Paragraph 9) Soon the pregnant woman gave birth to her child, a daughter, and together the two travel around the turtle's back until land was formed. As her child aged she became magically pregnant by the West Wind. Page 42) She then gives birth to twins who constantly quarrel, for they are opposites, good and evil. Together they balance t he world, inventing opposing animals such as the peaceful deer and violent mountain lion. Page 40, Paragraph 2) As the story progresses, it tells of reasons for most common assurances in nature, such as the moon being the twin, as in today's ideas of evil It Is associated with the darkness that comes from the night. The second story Is entitled â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo†. This story expresses to the dalliance various character traits that should be Instilled within a person or avoided. One of these values is to respect others. When coyote kicks the skull of the dead bull, and the bull comes back alive to kill him, it expresses how important it is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Page 25, paragraph 1) Another lesson it emphasizes Is to listen to what you're told to do, as it is for a reason. When the bull gives coyote the cow, he tells him not to eat It, but coyote does not listen and defies him. (page 28-29) Coyote at this point Is very dishonest and greed y. He thinks that he can get away with eating the cow and perhaps getting another one from the bull, hush leading up to another life lesson, karma. When coyote kills the cow, an old woman tells him that he should not be cooking the cow for that is woman's work.At this point, coyote is being incredibly vain and this woman is being very sneaky and steals all of his food. (Page 28, paragraph 2) This proves that what comes around goes around and that you should let yourself become slobbered, which all people have The last story is called â€Å"The Fox, Coyote, and Whale† and it teaches a lesson on fighting for those you love. Fox's wife, leaves him to be the evil whale that occupies the river. Page 44, Paragraph 1) Fox is so overwhelmed by his love for her that he stops at no cost and risks his life to retrieve her from the whale's possession.While trying to take his wife back, the evil whale attempts to kill Fox, Coyote, and Fox's wife, but Fox loves these people and protects th em over himself and hides them within his pipe, saving them all. (Page 45, Paragraph 1) As Fox's wife gets away from Whale, she feels as if she had been awaken from a spell, for once she is returned to fox she becomes happy again. (Page 45, Paragraph 4) So in other words, love can cast a spell n you causing you to make rash decisions while under its magical powers.Of course, Fox finally forgives his wife, but this proves that you should not cheat on your significant other. So in conclusion, Native American literature is very important to our society. The themes of all of the stories are easily related to everyday life. From the positive moments to the very lows, lessons can be learned from these tales. To the people of Indian cultures these stories are still very relevant to their lives. It is the only surviving history that they have of the prior lives of their relatives, so they must keep it preserved for generations to come.

The Developing Toddler Essay - 1872 Words

The Developing toddler The purpose of this essay was to observe the everyday experiences a child has and how it is an illustration of theories and concepts of child development. To also have a better understanding of how these theories and concepts take important role in the child’s life. The observation took place in the child development classroom. The children observed were, Joshua at fourteen months old, Roman at twenty-one months old, Elizabeth at twelve months old, and Jayden at twenty-eight months old. A child is born in to a fast paced world. The child is influenced in every way, in every place, by every person they come in contact with. From the ages 1-5 the child is like a sponge, taking in all their brain can hold.†¦show more content†¦They are the large movements of the body using the arms, legs, torso and feet. Gross motor abilities share connections with other physical functions. Gross motor skills are defined as the movements of the large muscles of the body. Gross Motor skills are important for major body movement such as walking, maintaining balance, coordination, jumping, and reaching (Berger 144-145). For example, Roman plays with a ball, throwing it to another boy, and attempts to catch it as it is tossed back to him. He is using his large muscle to project and catch the ball, he learned body movement and place meant, balance, and control. This is important for the child because he is also developing fine motor skills, interaction with others, and self-awarene ss. Gross motor control enables children to develop the fine motor movements that are essential for success in the school years. Fine Motor Movements use the small muscles of the eyes, fingers, toes, wrists, lips and tongue. The small muscles work with both the large muscles to develop movement. They are often for used communication purposes, both functional and expressive (Berger 144-145). In looking back at Roman, when he was playing with the ball, throwing and catching it. He was not only using his gross-motor skills, he was also using his fine-motor skills. He was learning hand eye coordination, grip, and balance. With the practice of fine motor skill the child becomes more independent withShow MoreRelatedHow Teachers Can Facilitate Problem Solving Development862 Words   |  4 Pagesopportunities to learn, practice, and develop their communicative, interactive, and social skills. At ages 2-4, children are still developing in all of these domains, therefore their problem solvi ng skills are not yet efficient. For example, toddlers have limited awareness of another’s point of view, therefore limiting their social problem solving abilities. Toddlers also lack the language skills needed to communicate in social situations, further limiting those problem solving abilities. 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These later develop into skills such as curiosity,Read MoreEssay about Autonomy’s Independence868 Words   |  4 PagesA toddler is on a mission for independence. When children are at the toddler age they start to develop behaviors of saying no, exploring, and learning self-help skills. These skills deal with the want of power and control in their lives. Toddlers need to feel this power and control in their environments. As an educator, you can facilitate that independence. Having a developmentally appropriate environment, encouragement of self-help skills to reinforce independence, giving choices throughout the