Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle?
This paper criticises James Sterba’s use of the Pauline principle to formulate a logical version of the problem of evil. Sterba’s argument contains a crucial premise: If human agents are always prohibited from doing some action, God is also prohibited from doing that action. This implies that the Pa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/11/1050 |
| _version_ | 1797466648632885248 |
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| author | Matthew Flannagan |
| author_facet | Matthew Flannagan |
| author_sort | Matthew Flannagan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper criticises James Sterba’s use of the Pauline principle to formulate a logical version of the problem of evil. Sterba’s argument contains a crucial premise: If human agents are always prohibited from doing some action, God is also prohibited from doing that action. This implies that the Pauline principle applies to both Divine and human agents. I argue that any Theist who affirms a divine command theory of ethics can consistently and coherently deny this premise and its implication. If a divine command theory is coherent, a theist can affirm that the Pauline principle governs human agents’ actions but not God’s actions. I will also criticise Sterba’s criticisms of a divine command theory and argue that they fail. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:41:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1584a7c3e76c4bd8bf767d9ab0f02d99 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:41:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-1584a7c3e76c4bd8bf767d9ab0f02d992023-11-24T06:35:57ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-11-011311105010.3390/rel13111050Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle?Matthew Flannagan0Faculty of Theology and Philosophy, St Peter’s College, Grafton, Auckland 1023, New ZealandThis paper criticises James Sterba’s use of the Pauline principle to formulate a logical version of the problem of evil. Sterba’s argument contains a crucial premise: If human agents are always prohibited from doing some action, God is also prohibited from doing that action. This implies that the Pauline principle applies to both Divine and human agents. I argue that any Theist who affirms a divine command theory of ethics can consistently and coherently deny this premise and its implication. If a divine command theory is coherent, a theist can affirm that the Pauline principle governs human agents’ actions but not God’s actions. I will also criticise Sterba’s criticisms of a divine command theory and argue that they fail.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/11/1050divine command theoryevilgodsterbaplantingamackie |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Flannagan Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle? Religions divine command theory evil god sterba plantinga mackie |
| title | Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle? |
| title_full | Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle? |
| title_fullStr | Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle? |
| title_short | Is Theism Incompatible with the Pauline Principle? |
| title_sort | is theism incompatible with the pauline principle |
| topic | divine command theory evil god sterba plantinga mackie |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/11/1050 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewflannagan istheismincompatiblewiththepaulineprinciple |