Religious Studies (2010) 46, 353–373 f Cambridge University Press 2010

doi:10.1017/S0034412509990369

The evil-god challenge

STEPHEN LAW
Heythrop College, University of London, Kensington Square, London, W8 5HN
e-mail : [email protected]

Abstract: This paper develops a challenge to theism. The challenge is to

explain why the hypothesis that there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and
all-good god should be considered significantly more reasonable than the hypothesis
that there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and all-evil god. Theists typically
dismiss the evil-god hypothesis out of hand because of the problem of good – there
is surely too much good in the world for it to be the creation of such a being.
But then why doesn’t the problem of evil provide equally good grounds for
dismissing belief in a good god? I develop this evil-god challenge in detail,
anticipate several replies, and correct errors made in earlier discussions of the
problem of good.

The evil-god challenge

Let’s call the central claim classical of monotheism – that there exists
an omnipotent, omniscient, and supremely benevolent creator – the good-god
hypothesis. Typically, those who believe this hypothesis, while perhaps insisting
that it is a ‘faith position ’, nevertheless consider it not unreasonable. Believing in
the existence of God, they maintain, is not like believing in the existence of Santa
or fairies. It is much more reasonable than that.
In response, critics often point out that, even if most of the popular arguments
for the existence of God do provide grounds for supposing that there is some sort
of supernatural intelligence behind the universe, they fail to provide much clue
as to its moral character. Suppose, for example, that the universe shows clear
evidence of having been designed. To conclude, solely on that basis, that the
designer is supremely benevolent would be about as unjustified as it would
be to conclude that it is, say, supremely malevolent, which clearly would not be
justified at all. Critics may add that there is, in addition, ample empirical evidence
against the existence of such a supremely benevolent being. In particular, they
may invoke the evidential problem of evil.
353

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 354 STEPHEN LAW

The problems of evil

There are at least two problems of evil. The logical problem begins with the
thought that the claim :
(1) There exists an omnipotent, omniscient and maximally good god,
is logically inconsistent with the claim:
(2) Evil exists.
Under ‘ evil ’ I mean to include both suffering and morally blameworthy actions.
The argument then proceeds as follows. Clearly, (2) is true. Therefore, (1) is false.
Note that the amount of evil is irrelevant to this version of the argument – all it
requires is that there is some, no matter how little. Perhaps the logical problem of
evil does not pose such a great challenge to theism. To deal with it, it would
suffice to show that an all-powerful, all-knowing and maximally good god might
allow some evil for the sake of a greater good.
A second problem – the evidential problem – rests not on the thought that (2) is
logically incompatible with (1), but on the thought that (2) provides us with good
evidence against (1). The amount of evil does now become relevant. Even if we
acknowledge that God might have reason to allow some evil, surely there can be
no good reason for quite so much ? We can sharpen the problem by noting that
God will presumably not allow any gratuitous suffering to exist. There must be a
good reason for every last ounce of it.
Many argue that not only is there little reason to suppose that the god of
classical monotheism exists, the sheer quantity of evil that exists provides us
with overwhelming empirical evidence that he doesn’t. Those theists who
maintain that belief in God, if not proved, is at least not unreasonable, are
mistaken. Far from being a question reason cannot decide, the claim that the
god of classical monotheism exists seems to be straightforwardly empirically
falsified.

Theodicies
Faced with this objection, theists may respond in various ways. They may
suggest we possess good grounds for believing that, not only is there a creator,
this being does indeed have the properties attributed to him by traditional
monotheism. I will return to that suggestion later. They may also suggest that
the problem of evil can, to a significant extent, be dealt with. Many theistic
explanations of evil have been offered, including the following.

Simple free-will solution We are not blind automata, but free agents. As a
consequence of God having given us free will, we sometimes choose to do wrong.
Suffering ensues. However, free will allows for certain important goods, such as
the possibility of morally virtuous action. God could have created a universe
populated with puppet beings that always did as God wants. But the behaviour

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 The evil-god challenge 355

of such puppet beings lacks the dimension of moral responsibility that makes our
actions morally virtuous. By cutting our strings and setting us free, God inevitably
allowed some evil. But this evil is more than outweighed by the important goods
that free will allows.

Character-building solution This is, to borrow John Hick’s phrase, a ‘ vale of

soul making ’.1 We know that a bad experience can sometimes make us stronger.
People who have suffered a terrible disease sometimes say they gained greatly
from it. Similarly, by causing us pain and suffering, God allows us to grow and
develop both morally and spiritually. It is only through our experiencing this
suffering that we can become the noble souls God wants us to be.

Second-order goods require first-order evils Theists may remind us that God had
inevitably to include quite a bit of suffering in His creation in order that certain
important goods could exist. Take, for example, charity. Charity is a great virtue.
Yet we can only be charitable if there exist others who are needy. Charity is a so-
called second-order good that requires first-order evils like neediness and suffering
(or at least their appearance) to exist. The second-order good outweighs the first-
order evils, which is why God allows them.

When offered in response to the evidential problem of evil, such explanations

are sometimes called theodicies. It is on the evidential problem of evil and on
theodicies that I focus here. Of course, as theodicies, these explanations have
obvious limitations. For example, even if the simple free-will solution succeeds
in explaining the evil we bring about by our own free action, it fails to explain
so-called natural evils – such as the suffering brought about by natural disasters.
Arguably, all three theodicies fail to explain why there is quite so much suffering
in the world. True, other, sometimes more sophisticated, explanations have
been also offered, as we shall see. Some believe these theodicies, if not individ-
ually, then at least collectively, largely take the sting out of the evidential problem
of evil. The problem, they suppose, may not have been entirely solved, but it has
at least been brought down to manageable proportions.
Still, there remains an acknowledgement by many serious-minded theists
that it certainly isn’t easy to explain quite why an omnipotent, omniscient, and
supremely benevolent being would unleash so much horror on the sentient
inhabitants of this planet over hundreds of millions of years. This leads some to
supplement these explanations with a further appeal – to mystery. God works in
mysterious ways. Because God is infinitely intelligent and knowledgeable, His
divine plan is likely to be mostly ‘ beyond our ken’2. In which case, the fact that
the reason for much of the evil that exists is beyond our understanding is not
good evidence for His nonexistence.
As I say, the three theodicies outlined above have been challenged. I too intend
to challenge them, and also several others, but in an unusual way. I intend to take

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 356 STEPHEN LAW

a step back and question the character and plausibility of such explanations
collectively, by means of an analogy.

The evil-god hypothesis

Consider a different hypothesis. Suppose the universe has a creator.
Suppose also that this being is omnipotent and omniscient. But suppose he is
not maximally good. Rather, imagine that he is maximally evil. His depravity is
without limit. His cruelty knows no bounds. There is no other god or gods – just
this supremely wicked being. Call this the evil-god hypothesis.
How reasonable is the evil-god hypothesis ? I have already pointed out that,
certainly in their simplest versions, most of the popular arguments for the exist-
ence of God fail to provide any clue as to our creator’s moral character. In which
case, to the extent that they support the good-god hypothesis (that’s to say, not
very much, if at all), they also support the evil-god hypothesis.

The problem of good

Still, isn’t there overwhelming evidence against the evil-god hypothesis ? I
am referring, of course, to what might be called the evidential problem of good.
The problem is that of explaining why an omnipotent, omniscient, and supremely
evil being would allow quite so much good into his creation. Why, for example,
would an evil god :

(i) Give some of us immense health, wealth and happiness ?

(ii) Put natural beauty into the world, which gives us pleasure?
(iii) Allow us to help each other, thereby reducing suffering and increasing
the amount of things evil god despises, such as love?
(iv) Give us children to love who love us unconditionally in return ?
(v) Equip us with beautiful, healthy young bodies ?

Surely, if a supremely evil being is going to introduce sentient beings into his
creation, it will to torture them and have them do evil. Surely he won’t allow love,
laughter, and rainbows. Nor will he permit us to perform the kind of selfless and
courageous acts that ennoble us and reduce the pain and suffering of others. So,
yes, the world contains much evil. But there is also a great deal of good – far too
much good, in fact, for this plausibly to be the creation of such a limitlessly
powerful and malignant being.
Notice how the evidential problem of evil mirrors the evidential problem of
good. If you believe in an omnipotent, omniscient, and maximally good god, then
you face the challenge of explaining why there is quite so much evil in the world.
Similarly, if you believe in an omnipotent, omniscient and maximally evil god,
then you face the challenge of explaining why the world contains quite so
much good.

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 The evil-god challenge 357

Some reverse theodicies

Of course, few, if any, of us believe the evil-god hypothesis. Prima facie,
not only is there little reason to suppose such a being exists, there is also over-
whelming evidence against his existence. When presented with the evil-god hy-
pothesis, most of us immediately dismiss it as absurd, typically because we
consider the problem of good decisive.
But notice that, just as there are moves theists make to try deal to with the
problem of evil, so there are similar moves we might make to try to deal with
the problem of good. Here are some examples.

Simple free-will solution Evil god gave us free will. Having free will means
we sometimes choose to do good, which evil god hates. However, it also
introduces the possibility of evil acts for which agents can be held morally
responsible. An evil god could have created a universe populated with puppet
beings that he ensured always behaved unpleasantly. But the behaviour of such
puppet beings lacks the dimension of moral responsibility that transforms
such acts into actions of the most depraved and despicable kind. To maximize
evil, an evil god will want us to perform cruel and selfish acts of our own
volition.

In response to this first suggestion, some may object : ‘But why is a world
such as this, in which we possess free will, worse than a world in which we
possess no freedom and are simply compelled to cause endless misery to each
other ? Surely the latter would be far more evil. So why didn’t evil god create
it ? ’ But this is to forget that a world in which we are compelled to maximize
suffering is a world in which no morally evil actions are performed. And moral
evil is a particularly profound and important form of evil (as even theists
typically acknowledge). Just as, from the point of view of a good god, a world
lacking morally good actions is gravely deficient, so similarly, from the point
of view of an evil god, a world lacking morally evil actions is also gravely
deficient.
In response, it may be said: ‘But still, a world in which there is a free will
is far preferable to us than a world in which we are compelled to cause each
other endless misery. The second hellish sort of existence would be far worse.
And thus preferable from an evil god’s point of view. So why didn’t evil god
create it ? ’
There is some plausibility to this response. Notice, however, that much the
same kind of worry can be, and has been, raised about the standard free-will
theodicy. Dostoyevsky’s Ivan Karamazov, for example, asks whether our freedom
isn’t bought at an unacceptably high price if it results in the torture of innocent
children. Surely, Ivan and others suggest, given the choice between creating a
heavenly world in which we are made noble and virtuous and enjoy a profoundly
joyful existence, and a world in which, as a result of our having been given have

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 358 STEPHEN LAW

free will, humanity as a consequence endures endless war, murder, rape, torture,
the Holocaust, and so on, a good god would choose the former (certainly many
of us would much prefer to occupy the former heavenly world ; indeed, many
theists hope and pray they will eventually do so).
So, while there may be a difficulty here for the free-will solution to the problem
of good, that does not reveal it to be any less plausible than the standard free-will
solution to the problem of evil, given that this kind of worry is common to both.
Here are two more solutions.

The character-destroying solution Hick was mistaken: this is a vale, not of soul
making, but of soul-destruction. Evil god wants us to suffer, do evil and despair.
Why, then, does an evil god create natural beauty ? To provide some contrast. To
make what is ugly seem even more so. If everything were uniformly, maximally
ugly, we wouldn’t be tormented by the ugliness half as much as if it was peppered
with some beauty.
The need for contrast also explains why evil god bestows lavish lifestyles and
success upon a few. Their happiness is designed to make the suffering of the rest
of us even more acute. Who can rest content knowing that they have so much
more, that they are undeserving, and that no matter how hard we might strive,
we will never achieve what they have (and remember, too, that even those lucky
few are not really happy).
Why does evil god allow us to have beautiful children to love and that
love us unconditionally in return ? Because we will worry endlessly about them.
Only a parent knows the depths of anguish and suffering that having children
brings.
Why does an evil god give us beautiful, healthy young bodies ? Because we
know that out health and vitality will be short-lived, that we will either die young
or else slowly wither. By giving us something wonderful for a moment, and then
gradually pulling it away, an evil god can make us suffer even more than if we had
never had it in the first place.

First-order goods allow second-order evils Some evils are second-order evils
requiring first-order goods. Take jealousy. I cannot feel jealous unless I perceive
others to have something worth being jealous of. Evil god had to allow a few of us
to have goods (or perceived goods) so that jealousy might exist.

Let us call such attempts to explain the problem of good reverse theodicies.
If these reverse theodicies leave you unconvinced, remember that, like a defender
of the good-god hypothesis, we can also play the ‘mystery ’ card. Being infinitely
intelligent and knowledgeable, evil god’s supremely ingenious and diabolical
plan is likely to be largely beyond our ken. In which case, the fact that we can’t
understand why there is so much good in the world if he exists is not good
evidence of his nonexistence.

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 The evil-god challenge 359

The symmetry thesis

The three reverse theodices introduced above to deal with the evidential
problem of good obviously mirror the three theodicies we looked at earlier.
In fact, other theodices can be mirrored in this way too (see below). This suggests
an interesting way to challenge theism.
How persuasive are our three reverse theodicies? Intuitively, not at all. Rather
than being taken seriously, they usually provoke amusement among theists
and non-theists alike. But this raises the question : if the reverse theodicies are
feeble and ineffective, why should we consider the standard theodicies any more
effective ?
We may also raise a larger question. In terms of reasonableness, isn’t there a
broad symmetry between the good-god hypothesis and the evil-god hypothesis ?
Take arguments supporting the two hypotheses. I pointed out earlier that many
of the popular arguments in support of the good-god hypothesis turn out
to provide much the same sort of support (i.e. not very much) for the evil-god
hypothesis. Moreover, when it comes to dealing with the evidence against the
respective hypotheses provided by the enormous quantities of both good and
evil that we find in the world, we can construct similar kinds of explanation. In
particular, the three theodicies offered to deal with the evidential problem of God
are mirrored by the reverse theodicies outlined above.
I shall call the suggestion that, in terms of reasonableness, there is indeed such
a rough symmetry between the good-god and evil-god hypotheses, the symmetry
thesis.

The scales analogy

Suppose the reasonableness of the good-god and evil-god hypotheses is in
each case indicated by a pointer on a set of weighing scales. Depending on how
each of our two scales is loaded – considerations adding to reasonableness being
placed on the left of each scale ; considerations subtracting from reasonableness
being added to the right – the pointer on each scale moves from highly reason-
able through a range of positions (fairly reasonable, not unreasonable. etc.) to
highly unreasonable.
Certainly, we find that many of the popular arguments loaded by some theists
onto the left side of the good-god scale can just as effectively (or ineffectively) be
loaded onto the left side of the evil-god scale. We also find the weighty problem
of evil on the right side of the good-god scale is mirrored by the hefty problem of
good on the right side of the evil-god scale. And we find that three theodicies we
have seen used by theists to try to remove or lessen the weight of the problem of
evil on the good-god scale (perhaps we might think of them as large helium
balloons that can be attached to the problem to lighten the load) are mirrored by
reverse theodicies that might be used to reduce the weight of the problem of
good.

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 360 STEPHEN LAW

The symmetry thesis says that, when we load the scales correctly with all the
available evidence and other considerations pertinent to the reasonableness of a
belief (incidentally, I make no commitment to evidentialism here),3 the two scales
settle in roughly similar positions.
Now most of us, theists included, consider the evil-god hypothesis highly
unreasonable. We suppose that there is little of any substance to place on the
left-hand side of the scale, and that, when the boulder that is the problem of good
is added, the scale lurches violently to the right, notwithstanding the effects of
any reverse-theodicy helium balloons we might then try to attach. Yet adherents
of the good-god hypothesis typically suppose the good-god scale far more evenly
balanced. To believe in a good god, they think, is not like believing in fairies,
Santa or, indeed, an evil god. When this scale is properly loaded and the pointer
observed, they say, we find it points to ‘not unreasonable ’ or even ‘ quite
reasonable ’.
In short, those who embrace the good-god hypothesis typically reject the
symmetry thesis. The challenge I am presenting to those who believe in the
god of classical monotheism, then, is to explain why, if belief in an evil god is
highly unreasonable, should we consider belief in a good god significantly more
reasonable ?
We might call this the evil-god challenge.

The problem of good in the literature

I am not the first to note how the problem of good might be used to
generate a problem for theists.
The earliest discussion appears to be in the 1968 volume Evil and the Concept
of God by Edward Madden and Peter Hare,4 in which the authors devote three
pages to the problem of good. After briefly sketching some reverse theodicies,
Madden and Hare conclude :
The point should be clear by now that the problems of evil and good are completely
isomorphic; what can be said about one can be said about the other in reverse.
For any solution to one problem there is a parallel solution to the other, and for every
counter-argument in the one there is a parallel counter argument in the other.5

In his 1976 paper ‘Cacodaemony ’,6 Stephen Cahn (quite independently) draws
the same conclusion, claiming that : ‘ classic arguments in defence of the view
that every evil in the world makes possible a world containing even greater goods
can be exactly paralleled by arguments in defence of the view that every good in
the world makes possible a world containing even greater evils ’.7 In ‘ God, the
demon, and the status of theodicies ’,8 published in 1990, Edward Stein concurs
with Hare, Madden, and Cahn that ‘[a] demonist can constrict a demonology
which is isomorphic for any theodicy ’.9
Christopher New (also unaware of the earlier literature), in his 1993 paper,
‘Antitheism ’,10 develops some mirror arguments for, and reverse theodicies in

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 The evil-god challenge 361

defence of, belief in an evil god. Finally, in ‘ God, demon, good, evil ’,11 published
in 1997, Charles Daniels attempts to deal with the arguments of Hare, Madden,
Cahn, and Stein by suggesting that there is a crucial asymmetry between the
good and evil-god hypotheses – Daniels argues that an evil god is actually an
impossibility. I respond to Daniels’s objection at the end of this paper.
There are a number of important differences between my evil-god challenge
and the earlier challenges raised by Madden and Hare, Cahn, Stein, and New.
First, as will become clear, I reject Hare, Madden, Cahn, and Stein’s central
claim: that the problems of good and evil and their respective solutions are
‘ exactly parallel ’(Madden and Hare). The solutions are not exactly parallel. I will
indicate some asymmetries between the two problems and sets of theodicies
(and also asymmetries in the arguments that might be mounted for these re-
spective gods). However, I will explain why these local asymmetries need not,
and probably do not, threaten the symmetry thesis.
Second, I find fault with New’s attempt to deal with certain seemingly non-
reversible arguments for a good god, and provide a better response to those
arguments.
Third, I intend my evil-god hypothesis to provide a more nuanced and tougher
challenge to theism than those raised by earlier contributors to this discussion,
not just by acknowledging and responding to the problem of local asymmetries,
but also by anticipating and dealing with a broader range of potential theistic
responses.

Responses to the evil-god challenge

Some may think the evil-god challenge easily met. For example, haven’t
we omitted several important arguments for the existence of God which are
arguments specifically for a good god, and which are not mirrored by any corre-
sponding arguments for an evil god ? Don’t these arguments show that belief in a
good god is, after all, rather more reasonable than belief in an evil god ?

Miracles and religious experience

Take for example, the argument from miracles. Miracle cures and other
supposedly supernatural phenomena are regularly observed. Some are officially
investigated and confirmed by religious authorities such as The Catholic
Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Don’t such events provide at least some
evidence for the existence of, not just a god, but a good god prepared to perform
great works of good in response to our prayers?
Or consider the argument from religious experience. Religious experiences are
almost always judged to be experiences of something immensely positive. Again,
don’t they provide us with at least some evidence that, not only is there some

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 362 STEPHEN LAW

sort of intelligence behind the universe, but this intelligence is a force for good,
not evil ?
Even if such arguments are far from conclusive when considered individually,
we might suppose that they contribute towards making a cumulative case for the
existence of, not just a god, but the supremely benevolent god of classical
monotheism. But if this is true, then the balance of the good-god scale now shifts.
We have something rather more weighty to place on the left side of the good-god
scale, something to which there corresponds nothing that might be placed on the
left side of the evil-god scale. Do we now have grounds for rejecting the symmetry
thesis?

New on arguments from miracles and religious experience

In ‘Antitheism ’,12 New attempts to deal with this seeming asymmetry
by constructing mirror arguments for an evil god. He asks us to imagine a world
in which the inhabitants have experiences as of an evil god (New calls them ‘ anti-
religious experiences ’) and who note harmful or evil events that cannot be
explained scientifically (New calls them ‘anti-miracles ’). We have now imagined
evidence for an evil god that precisely mirrors the evidence for a good god. The
problem with New’s strategy, however, is that imaginary evidence isn’t really
evidence. I can’t provide evidence against a scientific theory simply by imagining
some.13 If evidence is to count, it must actually exist.
Many theists insist that we have real evidence for a good god – the evidence
provided by miracles and religious experience. The problem for the symmetry
thesis, the theist may insist, is that there simply isn’t anything like this sort
of evidence for anti-religious experiences and anti-miracles. New’s attempt to
mirror the arguments from miracles and religious experiences fails. However, as
I now explain, there is a better way of responding to the arguments from miracles
and religious experience.

A better response
Do the arguments from miracles and religious experience provide better
evidence for a good god then they do an evil god ?
Suppose that the evil-god hypothesis is true. This malignant being may not
want us to know of his existence. In fact, it may help him maximize evil if he
deceives us about his true character. An evil and omnipotent being will have no
difficulty duping human beings into believing he is good. Taking on a ‘good ’
guise, he might appear in one corner of the world, revealing himself in religious
experiences and performing miracles in response to prayers, and perhaps also
giving instructions regarding what his followers should believe. He might then do
the same in another part of the globe, with the exception that the instructions he
leaves regarding what should be believed contradict what he has said elsewhere.

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 The evil-god challenge 363

Our evil being could then stand back and watch the inevitable conflict develop
between communities to whom he has now misleadingly revealed himself, each
utterly convinced by their own stock of miracles and religious experiences that
the one true all-good god is on their side. Here we have a recipe for ceaseless
conflict, violence and suffering.
When we observe how religious experiences and miracles are actually dis-
tributed, this is more or less the pattern we find. So, even if they are genuinely
supernatural, do these miraculous phenomena provide better evidence for a good
god than an evil god ? While a good god might create miracles and religious
experiences, it is difficult to see why he would produce them in this way, given the
predictably horrific consequences. Perhaps miracles and religious experiences do
indicate the activity of a supernatural agency, but it is arguable that their actual
arrangement fits the evil-god hypothesis rather better than it does the good-god
hypothesis. We should not, at this stage, rule out the possibility that, if there is an
asymmetry between the two hypotheses, it is because the evil-god hypothesis is
actually rather more reasonable than the good-god hypothesis.14
In reply to the above defence of the evil-god hypothesis, it may be asked: ‘But
why would an evil god bother to deceive us about his true character, given that
full knowledge of this merciless and all-powerful torturer would actually be
far more terrible ? ’
The answer, of course, is that an evil god will want to allow for the performance
of morally evil acts within his creation. As already noted, a world lacking moral
agents able to perform actions of a profoundly wicked character is a world that is
seriously deficient from his point of view. So not only does evil god create a world
in which we are free moral agents, he also engineers the kind of circumstances
in which we are, then, likely freely to choose to do evil. Religiously motivated
conflicts clearly have been, and continue to be, a major source of moral evil in the
world. By means of this deception, an evil god is able to create an environment
within which moral evil is likely to flourish.
One may still raise this objection : ‘ But surely nothing could be worse than
hell as traditionally conceived ? Why doesn’t an evil god just send us straight to
hell ? ’ However, as already noted, a mirror puzzle faces those who believe in a
good god. Given that a heavenly environment would be profoundly more joyful
than this, why doesn’t a good god send us straight to heaven? Why are so many
of us allowed to go through such appalling suffering here?
Given that both god hypotheses face this kind of objection, it constitutes, as
it stands, no threat to the symmetry thesis. Moreover, we can, in both cases,
attempt to deal with the objection by appealing to an afterlife. We are sent to
this world first, where we have the opportunity to act in profoundly morally
good and evil ways (this being important to both the good and evil gods). We
then pass on to an afterlife : an eternity in heaven or (on the evil-god hypoth-
esis) hell, where joy or (on the evil-god hypothesis) pain and suffering are

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 364 STEPHEN LAW

maximized and any earlier evils or (on the evil-god hypothesis) goods in the first
stage of our existence are compensated. I will look at examples of such afterlife
theodicies shortly.

Historical evidence
Incidentally, the above response can be extended to deal with arguments
for a good god based on historical evidence, such as the evidence provided by
scripture (not all of which is rooted in religious experiences and miracles). Some
will suggest there is much textual and other historical evidence that might be
marshalled to support belief in a good deity, but no corresponding evidence
to support belief in an evil deity – and this constitutes a significant asymmetry
between our two god hypotheses.
In response, we may again ask – does this historical evidence really fit the
good-god hypothesis better than the evil ? Not if our evil god wishes to create
the illusion that he is good, in order to foster the deception outlined above.
It may well be in his interest to fabricate misleading evidence about his own
character.
When we consider the spread of evidence supplied by the miracles, religious
experiences, and also the historical evidence associated with the various different
faiths, it is at least arguable that the pattern we find fits the evil-god hypothesis
better than the good. For, to repeat, why on earth would a good god produce
these phenomena in such a way as to guarantee endless religious strife ? Surely
their actual, disastrous arrangement is rather more likely to be the handiwork
of a malignant being ?

A moral argument
Another strategy the theist might adopt, in order to establish a significant
asymmetry between the good- and evil-god hypotheses, would be to maintain
that there are moral arguments for the existence of a good god that cannot be
mirrored by parallel arguments for an evil god. For example, they may argue that
our moral sense could only have a supernatural origin, and that only a good god
would have an interest in providing it. So the fact that we have a sense of right
and wrong is powerful evidence favouring the good-god hypothesis over the evil-
god hypothesis.
This particular argument fails, however. While it might be true that only a
supernatural being is capable of furnishing us with a moral sense, the fact is that
an evil god might well also have an interest in providing such a sense. For by
providing us with both free will and knowledge of good and evil, an evil god can
allow for the very great evil of our freely performing evil actions in the full
knowledge that they are, indeed, evil.
Why, then, is the fact that we do possess knowledge of good and evil evidence
favouring the good-god hypothesis over the evil ?

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 The evil-god challenge 365

A second moral argument

A different kind of moral argument for the existence of a specifically
good god focuses not on knowledge of objective moral value, but on its existence.
Some will insist that moral facts are both non-natural and objective, and that a
good god is therefore required to underpin them (or at least provides the best
explanation of them).
It is at least contentious whether a cogent argument along these lines can be
constructed. Notoriously, such arguments face the Euthyphro dilemma. Suppose
we say that God, as divine law-maker, decrees that certain things, such as stealing
and murder, are wrong. Does God decree this because He recognizes that stealing
and murder are, independently, wrong, or are they wrong only because He
decrees them to be so ? The first answer makes God redundant so far as setting up
a standard of right and wrong is concerned – murder would have been wrong
anyway, whether or not God exists, or, indeed, whether or not God Himself
happens to be good or evil. But then the objective, non-natural wrongness of
murder would obtain anyway, even if there were an evil god. On the first answer,
there can exist both a non-natural, objective standard of right and wrong, and an
evil god.
The second answer, notoriously, appears to make the moral wrongness of
murder arbitrary and relative. Notice that this is a problem whichever of our two
god hypotheses we favour. In short, on the first answer, there is no problem for
the evil-god hypothesis ; on the second, there is, prima facie, equally a problem
for both hypotheses. The Euthyphro dilemma thus constitutes a major obstacle to
the construction of a moral argument for the existence of a specifically good,
rather than evil, god.
Of course, it remains possible that a cogent moral argument along the above
lines might yet be constructed. I suspect that, for those who reject the symmetry
thesis, this is the most promising line of attack. However, to date, it remains, even
among theists, controversial whether any such argument exists.

More reverse theodicies

Let’s now return to standard theodicies and their mirror versions. Perhaps
we have underestimated the range and efficacy of the standard theodicies on
offer. Are there some that are not reversible ? Certainly there are many we have
not yet discussed. However, in many, if not all, cases, reverse theodicies quickly
suggest themselves. To illustrate, I will sketch out three more examples : (1) a
reverse laws-of-nature theodicy, (2) a reverse afterlife theodicy, and (3) a reverse
semantic theodicy.

Laws-of-nature theodicy Effective purposeful action requires that the world

behave in a regular way (for example, I am able deliberately to light this fire by
striking my match only because there are laws that determine that, under such

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 366 STEPHEN LAW

circumstances, fire will result). That there are laws of nature is a prerequisite of
our having the ability both to act on our natural environment and interact with
each other within it. These abilities allows for great goods. They give us the op-
portunity to act in a morally virtuous way, for example.
However, such a law-governed world inevitably produces some evils. For
instance, the kind of laws and initial conditions that produce stable land masses
on which we can survive and evolve also produce tectonic shifts that result in
earthquakes and tidal waves. Still, the evil of earthquakes and tidal waves is more
than outweighed by the goods those laws allow. We might think we can envisage
possible worlds that, as a result of being governed by different laws and/or initial
conditions, contain a far greater ratio of good to evil (that contain stable land
masses but no earthquakes, for example), but, due to consequences we have
failed to foresee (perhaps the absence of earthquakes is at the cost of some even
worse kind of global catastrophe), such worlds will, in reality, always be worse
than the actual world.

A reverse laws-of-nature theodicy can be constructed like so.

Reverse laws-of-nature theodicy Effective and purposeful action requires that

the world behave in a regular way. That there are laws of nature is a prerequisite
of our having the ability both to act on our natural environment and interact with
each other within it. These abilities allow for great evils. For example, they give us
the opportunity to act in morally depraved ways – by killing and torturing each
other. By giving us these abilities, evil god also allows us to experience certain
important psychological forms of suffering such as frustration – we cannot try,
and become frustrated through repeated failure, unless we are first given the
opportunity to act.
True, such a law-governed world inevitably produces some goods. For
example, by giving us the ability to act within a physical environment, evil god
gave us the ability to avoid that which causes us pain and seek out that which
gives us pleasure. Still, such goods are more than outweighed by the evils these
laws allow. We might think we can envisage possible worlds that, as a result of
being governed by different laws and/or initial conditions, contain a far greater
ratio of evil to good (that contain far more physical pain and far less pleasure,
for example), but, due to consequences we have failed to foresee (perhaps the
greater suffering will result in us being far more charitable, sympathetic and
generally good towards others), such worlds will, in reality, always be better than
the actual world.

To this, some may object : ‘ Very well, an evil god will produce laws of nature
so we can possess the power to do evil – but surely he will also sometimes
suspend those laws in order to cause us confusion and frustration and to produce
evils to which the laws of nature would otherwise prove an obstacle. ’

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 The evil-god challenge 367

Notice, however, that both theodicies face this type of objection. A similar
concern can be raised about the standard laws of nature theodicy. Yes, a good god
will produce a regular universe so that we are able to do good, but surely he would
be prepared to suspend those laws and intervene in order, say, to thwart some
particularly morally despicable act (e.g. stop Hitler’s rise to power) or to prevent
some particularly terrible natural disaster, or to help us achieve some very great
good (perhaps arranging for a stroke of good fortune in a science lab that then
leads to a cure for cancer). A good god would not just stand back and allow
thousands of children to be buried alive in an earthquake, even if the earthquake
does happen to be the result of natural laws that are otherwise largely beneficial.
After-life theodicies are also popular. Take the following version presented by
T. J. Mawson in his Belief in God.15

Compensatory afterlife theodicy The pain and suffering we experience in this

world is more than compensated for in the afterlife – where we will experience
limitless good. The explanation for why a good god would not simply send us
straight to heaven is that it is only within a law-governed world within which
we have free will (something which, according to some theists, such as Mawson,16
we lack in heaven) that we can enjoy important goods, including the very great
good of doing good of our volition. As a consequence of inhabiting this world for a
short while, we suffer, but this suffering is more than compensated for by
an eternity of communion with God in heaven.

Mawson’s afterlife theodicy can also be mirrored like so.

Reverse compensatory after-life theodicy The joy and happiness we experience

in this world is more than compensated for in the afterlife – where we experience
limitless evil. The explanation for why an evil god would not simply send us
straight to this endlessly cruel world is that it is only within a law-governed world
within which we have free will that we can experience important evils, including
the very great evil of doing evil of our volition. As a consequence of inhabiting this
world for a short while, we experience some goods, but this is more than
compensated for by what follows : an eternity of suffering in the company of a
supremely malignant being.

Semantic theodicy It is also possible to reverse the standard semantic responses

to the problem of evil. Consider this example. When we describe God as being
‘ good’, the term means something different to what it means when applied to
mere humans. This difference in meaning at least partly explains why a good god
would do things that we would not call ‘good ’ if done by us.

We can reverse this theodicy like so.

Reverse semantic theodicy When we describe god as being ‘ evil’, the term
means something different to what it means when applied to mere humans. This

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 368 STEPHEN LAW

difference in meaning at least partly explains why an evil god would do things
that we would not call ‘ evil ’ if done by us.

With a little ingenuity, reverse theodicies can be constructed for many other
standard theodicies too. However, as I now explain, we should probably concede
that – contrary to the claims made by Madden, Hare, Cahn, and Stein – in some
cases, no ‘exactly parallel ’ theodicy can be constructed.

Asymmetries
Take for example, theodicies founded in a particular Christian story about
the Fall and redemption. When we examine Augustine’s explanation of natural
and moral evils – that both are rooted in the original sin of Adam and Eve – no
parallel narrative suggests itself. An attempt to construct a reverse story about
a reverse Adam and Eve, who, through disobedience to their evil creator, bring
about a reverse ‘ Fall’ runs into insuperable obstacles.
For example, while a good god might have some reason to allow the natural
evils brought about by original sin to continue (for these evil consequences,
being brought on ourselves, are deserved, and there remains, in addition,
God’s offer of redemption) why would an evil god allow the continued exist-
ence of the natural goods brought about by the disobedience of a reverse
Adam and Eve? It may be that, with some ingenuity, a rather different sort of
narrative involving an evil god might be constructed to account for natural
goods, but it is hard to see how it could mirror the Christian story of the Fall
in sufficient detail to qualify as a reverse theodicy. Pace Madden, Hare, Cahn,
and Stein, it seems that not every theodicy even has a parallel, let alone an
exact one.
Even where a parallel theodicy can be constructed, there may still be
asymmetries. For example, if we suppose free will is itself an intrinsic good,
then the reverse free-will theodicy involves an evil god imbuing us with the
good of free will. While an evil god may still be able to maximize evil by
giving us free will, he will nevertheless have to pay a price (introducing that
intrinsic good) – a price for which there is no parallel in the standard free-will
theodicy. Arguably, this makes the standard free-will theodicy much more
effective than the reverse version. The theist may insist that because free will
is not just an intrinsic good, but a very great good, so very great additional
quantities of evil are required to outweigh it – so great, in fact, as to render
the reverse free-will theodicy significantly less plausible than the standard
theodicy.
So it appears that there are some asymmetries between the two sets of
theodicies. However, the effect of these asymmetries appears to be comparatively
minor, having little effect on the overall balance of reasonableness. For example,
given the mythic status of Adam, Eve, and the Fall, Augustine’s theodicy fails.

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 The evil-god challenge 369

But then the absence of a parallel theodicy does not affect the balance of
reasonableness very much (and in any case, we might be able to construct a
different sort of narrative to accompany the evil-god hypothesis that accounts
for natural goods in another way).
What of the asymmetry between the free-will and reverse free-will theodicies ?
Stein attempts to defend the thesis that for each theodicy there is an ‘ exact
parallel ’ by arguing that free will is not, in fact, an intrinsic good. However, sup-
pose we grant, for the sake of argument, that free will is an intrinsic good. That
requires we abandon the Madden-Hare-Cahn-Stein thesis that for each theodicy
there is a reverse theodicy that is its ‘ exact parallel ’. But does it require that we
abandon my symmetry thesis – the thesis that when we load the good-god and
evil-god scales correctly, with all the available evidence and other considerations
pertinent to the reasonableness of a belief, that the two scales settle in roughly
similar positions ?
I don’t believe so, for at least three reasons.
First, this asymmetry between the two theodicies may very well be neutralized
by another. In order for us to have a full range of free choices between good and
evil, God, whether good or evil, must introduce pain, suffering and death not just
as possibilities but as realities. Not only must He make us vulnerable to pain,
suffering and death (to give us the option of torturing or murdering others),
He must actually inflict pain and death so that we have the free choice to help
alleviate or prevent it. Now if it is prima facie plausible that free will is an intrinsic
good, it is no less plausible that pain, suffering, and death are intrinsic evils.
In which case both free-will theodicies require the introduction of intrinsic goods
and intrinsic evils. While the intrinsic goods give the evil-god hypothesis some
additional explaining to do, the intrinsic evils give the good-god hypothesis some
additional explaining to do. In which case, it appears that the two asymmetries
balance out.
Second, even if it were true that the free-will theodicy is significantly
more effective then the reverse theodicy, that might not greatly affect the
balance of reasonableness between the good-and evil-god hypotheses.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the standard free-will theodicy is
entirely effective in accounting for moral evils, and that the reverse theodicy
wholly ineffective in accounting for moral goods (this being a far more
dramatic asymmetry than even the one proposed). Thus, we leave the full
weight of moral good on the evil-god scale, but entirely remove the weight
of moral evil from the good-god scale. Does this change in the balance of the
two scales result in the two pointers indicating very different levels of reason-
ableness?
Arguably not. For, ceteris paribus, there still remains an enormous amount
of evil on the good-god scale (such as the extraordinary quantities of suffering
unleashed on sentient creatures over hundreds of millions of years before moral

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 370 STEPHEN LAW

agents even made an appearance on Earth). It may be argued (I think with

some plausibility) that when those evils explained by the free-will theodicy are
removed, there remains more than enough weight of evil to keep the needle
pointed firmly at ‘ highly unreasonable ’. The needle does not now point at
‘not unreasonable ’ or ‘ quite reasonable ’ – it remains stuck down the ‘ highly
unreasonable’ end of the scale. The scale has shifted a little, perhaps, but not by
very much. If that is so (and I do think it at least arguable), then the symmetry
thesis remains true.
Third, let’s remember that even if the standard free-will theodicy is rather
more effective than the reverse theodicy, this asymmetry might in any case be
counterbalanced or outweighed by other asymmetries favouring the evil-god
hypothesis over the good-god hypothesis. In fact, we have already discovered one
example : prima facie, the evidence concerning miracles and religious experience
appears to support the evil-god hypothesis rather more than it does the good-god
hypothesis.
To conclude, then, it seems that – pace Madden, Hare, Cahn, and Stein – the
two sets of theodicies do not precisely parallel each other. There are asym-
metries. However, we have found little reason to suppose these asymmetries
have much effect on the overall level of reasonableness of our respective
god hypotheses. We have not yet found good reason to suppose that our two
sets of scales do not, as the symmetry thesis states, settle in roughly similar
positions.

Other moves
To finish, I now anticipate five responses that the evil-god challenge may
provoke, and briefly sketch out some of the difficulties they face.

Significantly more good than evil We might try to meet the challenge by
showing that there is significantly more good than evil in the world. This will
be hard to establish, however, not least because good and evil are difficult to
quantify and measure. Some theists consider it just obvious that the world con-
tains more good than evil, but then many (including some theists) are struck by
the exact opposite thought. Appeals to subjective estimations can carry little
weight.

Ontological arguments Might ontological arguments provide a priori grounds

for supposing that not only is there a god, but that he is good ? The most obvious
difficulty here is that it is debatable, to say the least, whether any cogent onto-
logical argument can be constructed. The cogency of those arguments that have
been offered remains unrecognized not just by non-theists, but also by many
theists – perhaps the majority of philosopher-theists. They, certainly, will not be
reaching for the ontological argument in order to demonstrate why the symmetry
thesis fails.

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 The evil-god challenge 371

New notes that some ontological arguments are, in any case, reversible.17 Take
this example (my own – based on New and Anselm):

I can conceive of an evil god – a being than whom no worse can be conceived.
But it is worse for such being to exist in reality than in the imagination.
Therefore, the being of which I conceive must exist in reality.

Impossibility arguments Could we meet the evil-god challenge by showing that

an evil god is actually an impossibility, for the very notion of an evil god contains
a contradiction ? Here are two examples of such an argument.
In ‘God, demon, good, evil ’,18 Daniels suggests the resources to deal with the
evil-god challenge can be found in Plato’s Gorgias. Daniels believes that Plato
has shown that an evil god is an impossibility. His ‘platonic refutation ’ of the
evil-god hypothesis is as follows. First, Daniels claims that we always do what
we judge to be good. Even when I smoke, despite judging smoking to be bad,
I do it because I judge that it would be good to smoke this cigarette here and
now. It follows, says Daniels, that no-one does bad knowingly. But then it follows
that if a being is omniscient, he will not do bad. There cannot exist an omniscient
yet evil being. The notion of an omniscient yet evil being involves a contradiction.
I believe Daniels’s argument trades on an ambiguity in his use of the word
‘ good’. True, whenever I do something deliberately, I judge, in a sense, that what
I do is ‘ good ’. But ‘ good’ here need mean no more than, ‘ that which I aim to
achieve’. We have not yet been given any reason to suppose I cannot judge to be
‘ good’, in this sense, what I also deem to be evil, because I desire evil. Yes, an evil
god will judge doing evil to be ‘ good ’, but only in the trivial sense that evil is
what he desires. Pace Daniels, there is no contradiction involved in an omniscient
being judging evil to be, in this sense, ‘ good ’.
A rather different argument would be : ‘But by bringing about evil, your evil god
thereby aims to satisfy his own desire for evil ; and the satisfaction of a desire is an
intrinsic good. Thus the idea of a maximally evil god aiming to produce an in-
trinsic good involves a contradiction. ’
This argument also fails. Even if we grant the dubious assumption that the
satisfying of any desire – even an evil one – is an intrinsic good, the most we have
revealed, here, is another local asymmetry – that, in aiming to maximize evil,
evil god would have also to aim to achieve at least one intrinsic good (namely,
the satisfaction of his desire to maximize evil). What we have established,
perhaps, is that there are certain logical limits on God’s evilness (just as there are
also logical limits on His power : He can’t make a stone so heavy that it cannot be
lifted). Evil god can still be maximally evil – as evil as it is logically possible to be.
We have not yet established a contradiction in the notion of a maximally evil
being.
There is, in any case, a more general point to be made about arguments
attempting to show that an evil god is an impossibility and that the evil-god

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 372 STEPHEN LAW

challenge is thus met. The point is this: even supposing an evil god is, for some
reason X, an impossibility, we can still ask the hypothetical question: setting aside
the fact that so-and-so establishes that an evil god is an impossibility, how
reasonable would it otherwise be to suppose that such an evil being exists ?
If the answer is ‘highly unreasonable’, i.e. because of the problem of good, then
the evil-god challenge can still be run. We can still ask theists to explain why,
if they would otherwise reject the evil-god hypothesis as highly unreasonable, do
they not take the same view regarding the good-god hypothesis ?
Arguments from simplicity What if the good-god hypothesis is significantly
simpler than the evil-god hypothesis ?
For example, we might suggest that a good god can be defined in a simple way,
e.g. as possessing every positive attribute. As goodness is a positive attribute,
it follows that this god is good. The concept of an evil god, by contrast, is more
complex, for he possesses both positive attributes (omniscience and omnip-
otence) and negative attributes (evil). Principles of parsimony require, then, that
we favour the good-god over the evil-god hypothesis.
I acknowledge that there may indeed be asymmetries between the good- and
evil-god hypotheses in terms of simplicity and economy. However, note that
the fact that one theory is much more economical than another lends it little
additional credibility if what evidence (and other considerations pertaining to
reasonableness) there is overwhelmingly favours the view that both theories are
false.
Take, for example, these two hypotheses : (i) Swindon is populated with 1,000
elves, and (ii) Swindon is populated with 1,000 elves, each of which has a fairy
sitting on its head. The first hypothesis is more economical, as it posits half as
many entities as the first. But is the first hypothesis significantly more reasonable
than the second ? No. For not only is there little reason to suppose that either
hypothesis is true, there is overwhelming evidence that both are false.
Similarly, if the reasonableness of both the good and the evil-god hypotheses is
very low, pointing out that one hypothesis is rather more economical than
the other does little to raise the probability of one hypothesis with respect
to the other. The suggestion that the two hypotheses are more or less equally
unreasonable remains unthreatened.

Conclusion

The focus of this paper has been on the evil-god challenge : the challenge
of explaining why the good-god hypothesis should be considered significantly
more reasonable than the evil-god hypothesis. We have examined several of the
most popular arguments for the existence of a good god and found that they
appear to provide little if any more support for the good-god hypothesis than they
do for the evil-god hypothesis. We have also seen that many of the theodicies

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 The evil-god challenge 373

offered by theists to deal with the problem of evil are mirrored by reverse
theodicies that can then be applied to the problem of good. Prima facie, our two
sets of scales seem to balance out in much the same way.
Now I do not claim that the symmetry thesis is true, and that the evil-god
challenge cannot be met. But it seems to me that it is a challenge that deserves to
be taken seriously. The problem facing defenders of classical monotheism is this :
until they can provide good grounds for supposing the symmetry thesis is false,
they lack good grounds for supposing that the good-god hypothesis is any more
reasonable than the evil-god hypothesis – the latter hypothesis being something
that surely even they will admit is very unreasonable indeed.
While I acknowledge the possibility that the evil-god challenge might yet
be met, I cannot myself see how. Perhaps there are grounds for supposing that
the universe was created by an intelligent being. But, at this point in time, the
suggestion that this being is omnipotent, omniscient, and maximally good seems
to me hardly more reasonable than the suggestion that he is omnipotent,
omniscient, and maximally evil.

Notes

1. See John Hick (ed.) Classical and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Religion, 2nd edn
(Englewood Cliffs NJ : Prentice-Hall, 1970), 515.
2. See e.g. Stephen Wykstra ‘ The Humean obstacle to evidential arguments from suffering : on avoiding
the evils of ‘‘ appearance ’’’, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 16 (1984), 73–93, in which
Wykstra writes ‘[I]f we think carefully about the sort of being theism proposes for our belief, it is entirely
expectable – given what we know of our cognitive limits – that the goods by virtue of which this Being
allows known suffering should very often be beyond our ken. ’
3. I allow that considerations pertinent to reasonableness may include the fact that a belief is, in the
terminology of reformed epistemology, ‘ properly basic ’.
4. Edward Madden and Peter Hare Evil and the Concept of God (Springfield IL: C. Thomas, 1968).
5. Ibid., 34.
6. Stephen Cahn ‘ Cacodaemony’, Analysis, 37 (1976), 69–73.
7. Ibid., 72.
8. Edward Stein ‘God, the demon, and the status of theodicies ’, American Philosophical Quarterly,
27 (1990), 163–167.
9. Ibid., 163.
10. Christopher New ‘ Antitheism ’, Ratio, 6 (1993), 36–43.
11. Charles Daniels ‘ God, demon, good, evil ’, Journal of Value Inquiry, 31 (1997), 177–181.
12. Ibid.
13. With the exception, of course, of a few scientific thought-experiments – such as Galileo’s experiment
involving chained falling balls, designed to show that two balls of different weights must fall at the
same speed.
14. Between acceptance and publication of this paper I discovered an excellent early discussion of the
evil-god hypothesis: Peter Millican ‘ The devil’s advocate ’, Cogito, 3 (1989), 193–207. Millican makes
much the same move as I make here, and also offers a similar treatment of the first moral
argument below.
15. T. J. Mawson Belief in God (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), ch. 12.
16. Ibid., ch. 12.
17. See New ‘ Antitheism ’, 37.
18. Daniels ‘ God, demon, good, evil ’.

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