Topic: Arg 3 for Atheism: Divine Silence (Read 16876 times)

cimics · « **Reply #120 on:** April 11, 2006, 08:38:52 PM »

The point was to show scale, not to find something per se.

I used the keyword phrases supplied in this thread. Pairing "free will defense" with "problem of evil" results in thousands of hits. On its face, that seems to be no broader a search paramenter than pairing "free will defense" with "divine silence" which only produces nine (three of which YOU effectively created). You are ragging on Elisha about the religious/philosophical literature: if FWD is so broadly associated as a defense against the argument from divine silence, then we should see those two buzzwords together often -- like we do when FWD is paired with the problem of evil. But clearly we don't.

cimics · « **Reply #121 on:** April 11, 2006, 08:47:34 PM »

OK, I broadened my search to "silence" and "free will defense": 408 results

Oddly enough transposing the search terms results in only 273.

But then, we have to broaden our other pairing too, right. What happens if we pair "evil" with "free will defense" (my oh my): over 20,000 results

Copernicus · « **Reply #122 on:** April 11, 2006, 08:53:50 PM »

Quote from: cimics

But then, we have to broaden our other pairing too, right. What happens if we pair "evil" with "free will defense" (my oh my): over 20,000 results

You seem to be ignoring what I said in response to your original point. The PoE entails Divine Silence.

cimics · « **Reply #123 on:** April 11, 2006, 09:00:11 PM »

That's what you SAY, but a google search doesn't seem to bear out the claim that that's what the literature has been saying. At least not an "ages old" significant part of the literature. :)

Plus, remembering back to my old philosophy days in college, I would disagree that divine silence is a necessary part of the problem of evil. Those who pose the problem would be satisfied with a God who prevented all evil without anyone knowing about it. So, while you can make a connection, there is no necessary connection.

Copernicus · « **Reply #124 on:** April 11, 2006, 09:09:49 PM »

Quote from: cimics

Plus, remembering back to my old philosophy days in college, I would disagree that divine silence is a necessary part of the problem of evil. Those who pose the problem would be satisfied with a God who prevented all evil without anyone knowing about it. So, while you can make a connection, there is no necessary connection.

I'm not looking to split philosophical hairs with you, and I'm not demanding necessary connections. I think that the Pope backed up my interpretation, so I'll be content with that.

Author Topic: Arg 3 for Atheism: Divine Silence (Read 16876 times)