(1) The philosophical problem of evil basically involves three claims which seem to be mutually incompatible: (1) God is all-powerful and all-knowing. (2) God is perfectly good. (3) Evil exists. The reason that these claims are considered to be incompatible is that if God is all good and all-knowing, then it seems likely He would not allow evil to exist, if He could help it. Thus, if God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then God should be able to prevent evil. Yet evil exists. Thus, the existence of evil seems to imply that God does not exist, or He is either not all-powerful or not all-knowing. This argument, in short, is the problem of evil. Do you find this argument convincing or is the problem of evil similar to asking whether God could create a rock so large that He cannot move it? Why or why not? When answering this question make sure to include references to the assigned readings in your response.
(2) Briefly summarize Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense argument, making sure to outline Plantinga's argument in detail. Did you find Plantinga's argument confusing or convincing? How does Plantinga's argument relate to the problem of evil? Do you think Plantinga's argument has solved the problem of evil? Why or why not? When answering this question make sure to include references to the assigned readings in your response.