God, Freedom and Evil

[fivepointcalvinist]

Anyone familiar with Plantinga's work? Apparently he is a Calvinist, yet he uses the Free Will Defense to answer the problem of evil. Thoughts?

 

[B.J.]

Paul,
DO you have ant names of Atheologians that have concede to Plantiga's argument?

 

[fivepointcalvinist]

Originally posted by Paul manata

Originally posted by fivepointcalvinist
Anyone familiar with Plantinga's work? Apparently he is a Calvinist, yet he uses the Free Will Defense to answer the problem of evil. Thoughts?

He's not a Calvinist.

His free will argument (though he believes in libertarian free will) is meant to be a response ot the *logical* problem of evil.

As he says, it does not assume that we really have free will. All it seeks to establish is that there is a possible world where God and evil can coexist (i.e., since the *logical* problem implies that God's existence is *impossible* then if it can be shown that there can be a *possible* world where evil and God can co-exist, then he's defeated the charge of contradiction, *even if* libertarian will is false in this world).

This possible world argument is what he developes in his Free Will Defense.

Most atheologians admit that Plantinga has shown that the *logical* problem of evil has no teeth.

Obviously, we don't agree with argument. Also, there's no possible world where God is the sovereign Lord over all amd omniscient in the reformed sense (i.e., the biblical God) and libertarian free will simultaneously exists.

thanks for the reply Paul. Here's why i had a problem:

"He is a Calvinist, despite his professorial enrollment at a Catholic University."

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga

 

[fivepointcalvinist]

Paul, realistically, doesnt plantingas argument deprive God of His omnipotence?

 

[jaybird0827]

Originally posted by fivepointcalvinist
...

"He is a Calvinist, despite his professorial enrollment at a Catholic University."

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga

 

[caddy]

Yes, but would Notre Dame really hire a "true" Calvinist ? It just doesn't seem a good "fit" for Catholic theology.

Not that familiar with Plantinga. Is he anything like Kreeft, who teaches at Boston College? Kreeft is an old Calvin College Grad from the late 50s, turned Catholic in early 60s I believe.

Originally posted by Paul manata

Originally posted by jaybird0827

Originally posted by fivepointcalvinist
...

"He is a Calvinist, despite his professorial enrollment at a Catholic University."

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Plantinga

I'd work for Notre Dame.

Since when did being a calvinist mean you couldn't work for Notre Dame?

Wiki says some funny stuff.

[Edited on 10-1-2006 by caddy]

 

[ChristianTrader]

If Plantinga is not reformed, then what is he? I thought he was reformed but not always fully reformed in his argumentation.

 

[fivepointcalvinist]

Originally posted by ChristianTrader
If Plantinga is not reformed, then what is he? I thought he was reformed but not always fully reformed in his argumentation.

im not sure if you can embrace libertarian free will and hold to calvinistic thought concommitantly...