Hume and Blackburn on Miracles Some actual newspaper headlines: Bush changing his name to ‘God’ Bush changing his name to ‘God’ Beer makes you smarter Beer makes you smarter Aliens claim Jacko is their son Aliens claim Jacko is their son Pope John Paul II keeps a pair of Mother Teresa’s unwashed panties for good luck Pope John Paul II keeps a pair of Mother Teresa’s unwashed panties for good luck UFO found on beach after killer tsunami UFO found on beach after killer tsunami Post Office to offer XXX stamps to honor porn stars Post Office to offer XXX stamps to honor porn stars

Compare: Man claims God ordered him to kill son Man claims God ordered him to kill son Talking reptile gets couple evicted from dream home Talking reptile gets couple evicted from dream home Man heals lepers with bare hands Man heals lepers with bare hands Border guard thwarted by parting sea Border guard thwarted by parting sea Homeless man, claiming to be lovechild of God and virgin, rises from dead Homeless man, claiming to be lovechild of God and virgin, rises from dead

When anyone reports anything: S says that p, So we know that: S said that p and p is true S said that p and p is trueor S said that p and p is not true S said that p and p is not true Believe whatever is most likely Believe whatever is most likely i.e., believe whatever is least miraculous

Hume: “No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavours to establish”

Some actual newspaper headlines: Bush changing his name to ‘God’ Bush changing his name to ‘God’ Beer makes you smarter Beer makes you smarter Aliens claim Jacko is their son Aliens claim Jacko is their son Pope John Paul II keeps a pair of Mother Teresa’s unwashed panties for good luck Pope John Paul II keeps a pair of Mother Teresa’s unwashed panties for good luck UFO found on beach after killer tsunami UFO found on beach after killer tsunami Post Office to offer XXX stamps to honor porn stars Post Office to offer XXX stamps to honor porn stars

Compare: Man claims God ordered him to kill son Man claims God ordered him to kill son Talking reptile gets couple evicted from dream home Talking reptile gets couple evicted from dream home Man heals lepers with bare hands Man heals lepers with bare hands Border guard thwarted by parting sea Border guard thwarted by parting sea Homeless man, claiming to be lovechild of God and virgin, rises from dead Homeless man, claiming to be lovechild of God and virgin, rises from dead

Miracles and testimony When S reports that p, we know that: S said that p and p is true S said that p and p is trueor S said that p and p is not true S said that p and p is not true Which should we believe? Which should we believe? whatever is most likely i.e., believe whatever is least miraculous

Hume: “No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavours to establish”

The Problem of Evil Why does God allow evil, unnecessary suffering? Why does God allow evil, unnecessary suffering? The existence of evil is thought by some to prove that God does not exist

An Incompatible Triad God is omnipotent God is wholly good Evil exists “Omnipotent”: can do anything that is possible “good”: opposed to evil “evil”: suffering, especially unnecessary suffering Can’t all be true, yet each is essential to standard theism

Standard Responses: Good cannot exist without evil ---so even God can’t make a good world without evil in it Incompatible with God’s omnipotence, unless read as logical necessity: evil logically necessarily accompanies good Is so much evil necessary? Was there good before the Holocaust?

Standard Responses: 2. Evil is necessary means to good Incompatible with God’s omnipotence. God is not bound by causal law Surgeon has to cause pain in order to heal; God doesn’t

Standard Responses: 3. Universe better with some evil than with none nd order goods (e.g., courage, generosity) logically require some 1 st order evil (e.g., hunger, pain) But then there are 2 nd order evils: cowardice, callousness, selfishness So there is no net gain of good

Standard Responses: 4. Free will ---evil is the logically necessary result of free will, and it is better to have free will and consequent evil than to be mere automata (robots). (a) Free will is incoherent. (b) God could let people act freely when they’re doing good things, prevent them from doing bad things. Could allow them to choose bad things, but not allow that choice to have bad consequences (c) Only takes care of some evils: moral evil (caused by human choice), but not natural evil (e.g., plagues, earthquakes, etc.)

Swinburne’s theodicy Theodicy: explanation of why a good God allows evil We have influence on our own destiny, destiny of others on the planet, and it’s good for us that it’s like that

Suppose you have the choice to experience a few moments of bliss, or pain that’s going to make a difference. You’d pick the second. Good and evil not merely pleasure, pain. That wouldn’t account for why free will is good

Free will: responsibility, ability to do good or harm. Free and responsible choice. Father leaves older son with younger son; wouldn’t be giving him responsibility if he kept watchful eye, made it impossible for him to do harm I must be able to do you harm to have real choice