On another blog, FideCogitActio, some theists of a "classical" stripe (that's to say, like Brian Davies, Edward Feser) are criticisng the Evil God Challenge (or I suppose, trying to show how it can be met, or sidestepped). The main post includes this: In book I, chapter 39 , Aquinas argues that “there cannot be evil in God” (in Deo non potest esse malum). Atheists like Law must face the fact that, if the words are to retain any sense, “God” simply cannot be “evil”. As my comments in the thread at Feser’s blog aimed to show, despite how much he mocks “the privation theory of evil,” Law himself cannot escape its logic: his entire argument requires that the world ought to appear less evil if it is to be taken as evidence of a good God. Even though he spurns the idea that evil is a privation of good, his account of an evil world is parasitic on a good ideal; this is no surprise, though, since all evil is parasitic on good ( SCG I, 11 ). Based on the conclusions of se...
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Dear Stephen,
For several years I've told my family not to get me anything for Xmas, both because Xmas is meaningless and I don't want anything they could get me, but they usually get me stuff anyway. Usually it's stuff I didn't want. This year I'm going to ask them to donate to the Secular Coalition of America for me. I'm donating to my parent's causes for their gifts. I'm thinking of getting my brother a pet nail trimmer to lesson the likelihood of his poodle scratching my legs when I visit. I have no idea what to do for my sister. She has way too much stuff as it is. She could use some more common sense, logic, rationality, a better marriage, a few fewer pets, more free time... things I can't give her. What should I do?
Sighned, Grinch in MA
My wife has banned me from buying philosophy books as I overdo it. Perhaps I need a book on self-control......
*ducks*
Study examines motives behind Santa myth
The researchers seem to be keen to tackle the big one next...