Date
5-25-2023
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics (MA)
Chair
Douglas K. Blount
Keywords
Problem of Evil, Apologetics, Problem of Good, The Compass Effect, Objective Morality, Greater Goods Defense
Disciplines
Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
Davis, Bruce Leroy, "The Atheistic Problem of Good" (2023). Masters Theses. 1024.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/1024
Abstract
The purpose of this work is to bring attention to goods in philosophical and theological circles. More precisely this thesis argues for the atheistic problem of good. The problem of good comes as a byproduct of the problem of evil. The argument seeks to show that if the atheist insists on holding to an understanding that evil exists and is problematic for theism, then the same can be stated in the reverse. The atheist will need to deal with their problem of good because if evil exists, necessarily so does good, in at least the same abundance as evils. The argument inferred by first bringing attention to the problem of evil and the responses that have successfully blunted such charges against the theist. Leaving the atheist to defend their position against theism by maintaining their view and accepting their problem of good or abandoning the problem of evil; something that they are not willing to do. Finally, the work will express a view, “The Compass Effect” that argues a theistic solution to both goods and evils found in the world.
