Sterba’s Problem of Evil and a Penal Colony Theodicy

a critical examination of swinburne’s teleological theodicy concerning the problem of evil

the existence of different kinds of evil in the world has always been taken to criticize the rationality of theism by atheists. the swinburne’s teleological theodicy is a significant response to the problem of evil among theists’ different answers. in his theodicy, swinburne contends that his theodicy may answer the problem of moral evil besides answering the problem of natural evil. the purpos...

Robert Garrett, Tasmanian penal colony surgeon: alcoholism, medical misadventure and the penal colony of Sarah Island.

Robert Garrett emigrated from Scotland to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in 1822. Within a few months of arrival he was posted to the barbaric penal colony in Macquarie Harbour, known as Sarah Island. His descent into alcoholism, medical misadventure and premature death were related to his largely unsupported professional environment and were, in many respects, typical of those subjected to t...

Animal Suffering: A Moorean Response to a Problem of Evil

In this paper, I propose a new response to a particular instance of the problem of evil: the problem of animal suffering. My solution, in brief, is that the rational theist may argue, justifiably, that an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God would not allow gratuitous animal suffering to occur, and, therefore, all instances of animal suffering that are encountered are not instanc...

Plantinga and the Logical Problem of Evil

Divine Exultation and Agony in the Face of Evil, a Creation Theodicy of Divine Restraint

Horrendous evil describes the anthropological view of excessive evils which devastate and dehumanise both victim and perpetrator, casting doubt as to whether life is worth living. Divine exultation and divine agony are viewed from the perspective of divinity, whose initial creation brought God pleasure and its fall an offence so deep that, though he considered its total destruction, God instead...