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The E vil‐god challenge part I : History and recent developments
Author(s) -
LancasterThomas Asha
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/phc3.12502
Subject(s) - monotheism , exposition (narrative) , philosophy , problem of evil , moral evil , theology , existence of god , epistemology , political ponerology , theism , literature , art , islam
The Evil‐god challenge has enjoyed a flurry of attention after its resurrection in Stephen Law's, [Law, S., 2010] paper of the same name. Intended to undermine classical monotheism, the Evil‐god challenge rests on the claim that the existence of all‐powerful, all‐knowing, all‐evil god (Evil‐god) is roughly as likely as the existence of an all‐powerful, all‐knowing, all‐good god (Good‐god). The onus is then placed on those who believe in Good‐god to explain why their belief should be considered significantly more reasonable than belief in Evil‐god. In this paper, I provide a comprehensive exposition of the Evil‐god challenge by exploring its history and recent developments. The forthcoming part II paper will present and address the main objections that have been posed to the Evil‐god challenge and consider its implications for classical monotheism.