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Free Will, Gratuitous Evil, & Natural Law
Free Will, Gratuitous Evil, & Natural Law are all topics that are related in the free-will theodicy.
Free will must deal with the same implications that compatibilists deal with and that’s the appearance of evil without purpose. We look at the different theories free will theists put out to explain those evils and also the troubles those explanations run into.
A close relationship between the free will defense and the natural law defense helps with the other side of evil – evils that occur in nature apart from moral actors (people). This idea that the world must be the way it is in order for humans to be humans seems to run into not just one big, real-world example – but two!
For your sci-fi reference this week we turn to Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Don’t worry, there’s no Vogon poetry. No promises on bad (good) dad jokes.
Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction
01:43 – A Review Of Molinism
04:17 – Free Will Allows Gratuitous Evil
11:47 – Theory 1 – God Cannot Prevent Evil
12:23 – Theory 2 – Free Will Over Stopping Evil
14:36 – Theory 3 – God Sometimes Intervenes But Every Time
19:39 – Issues Of Prophecy And Free Will
21:03 – Theodicy Can’t Compromise The Theology Of God
24:24 – Natural Law Defense Works With The Free Will Defense
29:04 – Problems With The Natural Law Defense
33:46 – Natural Law Defense Compromises The Theology Of God
38:08 – Conclusion
The episode link is cavetothecross.com/ep149/
Books mentioned in this episode:
What about Evil? A Defense of God’s Sovereign Glory by Scott Christensen
Kindle – https://amzn.to/2UeV3tt
Hardcover – https://amzn.to/3xGsxP6
Logos Link
ChristianBook Link
What About Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty by Scott Christensen
Kindle – https://amzn.to/37SNE6i
Paperback – https://amzn.to/37ZLyl7
God, Freedom, And Evil by Alvin Plantinga
Kindle – https://amzn.to/3o0cxo1
Paperback – https://amzn.to/3wgHJmQ
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
Kindle – https://amzn.to/3mKFaGB
Paperback – https://amzn.to/3k6G4eV
Audible – https://amzn.to/3k7y5y2
Try Audible For Free – https://amzn.to/3cN0giE
Excusing Sinners and Blaming God: A Calvinist Assessment of Determinism, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Involvement in Evil by Guillaume Bignon
Kindle – https://amzn.to/3vYQjqe
Paperback – https://amzn.to/3muT1Rj
Hardcover – https://amzn.to/3nENffb
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