Analysis of J.L. Mackie's, Evil and Omnipotence
The question of the existence of God has been brought up endlessly time and time again throughout the history of the world. Countless discussions take place daily by people of all religious beliefs in regards to the existence of a God and if a God did exist, then why is there so much evil in the world we live in. J.L. Mackie in his argument from "Evil and Omnipotence", brings forth the discussion problem that 1) God is omnipotent; 2) God is wholly good; 3) Yet evil exists (Mackie). The word omnipotence is defined as a God/deity that is all-powerful, and/or has infinite power (www.allwords.com). Mackie states that an omnipotent god would not allow evil to exist because an omnipotent god would ensure that evil was eliminated, and since an omnipotent god has no limits on their powers evil could not exist, PERIOD. His view is that these three propositions cannot exist together without one of them having to be false.
Mackie claims that the problem of evil is only a problem for those who believe in the existence of God and that God is omnipotent and wholly good. He states that theologian beliefs and doctrines are inconsistent with each other and that all they do is lead to further unanswerable questions that have no logical solutions regarding the existence of God and why evil is so prevalent in our world. This paper attempts to breakdown Mackie's argument in regards to his view of the three propositions, then comes to this writer's conclusion that God is not infinitely powerful and that evil can exist in our world and that God does not have control over it.
Mackie has laid some ground rules to establish his assumptions from. These are ...