The Concept and Existence of God OUTLINE NOTES FOR 10/23/2000 IN CLASS ONLY   Is it Possible to Prove that God Exists?

Experiential Arguments

Arguments based on Miracles

Arguments based on Revelations

Arguments based on Faith

The Ontological Argument for God's Existence

The Cosmological Argument for God's Existence

The Teleological Argument for God's Existence
 

What are the Essential Characteristics of an Ultimate Being?

Omnibenevolence
    How can you explain the existence of an ultimate good God and the obvious existence of evil in the universe?

Omniscience
    Is this compatible with free will?

Omnipotence
    Can God do that which is logically impossible?
        The Rock Problem

The Problem of Evil

    Is God's goodness compatible with the existence of evil?

    What are the types of evil?  Moral/Natural (or Active/Passive)
 
    Theodicy as a solution

    Could (and should) God have created us differently to remove the source of moral evil?
        - Incapable of doing moral evil
        - Impossible for our moral evils to have negative effects
        - Minimization of suffering
        - Would a world with no chance for evil be the best possible world?  Would it even be the best imaginable world?

Divine Commands:  Some Problems and Discussion

Does God command X because it is good?

OR

Is X good because God commands it?