Does the Presence of Natural Evil Preclude the Existence of God A Christian Response

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Does the Presence of Natural Evil Preclude the
Existence of God?A Christian Response

• Richard Deem

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Argument Against God from Evil

• God is all-powerful, loving, and perfect.
• A perfect, loving God would create a universe
  that was perfect (e.g., no evil and suffering).
• The universe is not perfect but contains evil and
  suffering.
• Therefore, an all-powerful, loving, and perfect
  God does not exist.

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Kinds of Evil

• Moral Evil Bad things that happen to us that
  are perpetrated by moral agents (e.g., human
  beings)
• Natural Evil Bad things that happen to us that
  are the result of the nature of the universe

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Natural Evil and Gods Existence

• Although an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly
  good God could be justified in allowing moral
  evil, such a God is never justified in creating a
  world in which natural evil occurs.
• Brian Marston, atheist philosopher
• Because natural evil is gratuitous, its
  existence is incompatible with the existence of
  God.
• Fëdor Mikhailovich Dostoevski

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Rejected Christian Arguments

• Satan (or demons) are responsible for all natural
  evil
• The Fall of mankind, due to sin, caused Gods
  physically-perfect creation to become imperfect,
  resulting in moral and natural evil (young-earth
  argument)
• Natural evil is always due to Gods judgment
• Natural evil is required for spiritual growth
  (not completely rejected)

• Example
• Satan harassed Job and his family through fire
  and wind

• The Bible clearly indicates that the current laws
  of physics were operating prior to the fall
  (e.g., the laws of thermodynamics)

• Examples
• The great flood, drought
• Earthquakes, drought, famine, asteroid, hail,
  fire, disease

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The Primary Reason for Existence of Natural Evil

• The physical laws and processes that are required
  for human existence produce, on occasion,
  instances of natural evil.
• Without these laws, Gods purposes for mankind
  could not be accomplished on earth

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Argument For Natural Evil

• There exists an omnipotent, omniscient, wholly
  good Being.
• An omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good Being
  would prevent the occurrence of any intense
  suffering it could, unless it could not do so
  without thereby losing some greater good or
  permitting some evil equally bad or worse.
• It is not the case that there exist instances of
  intense suffering which an omnipotent, omniscient
  Being could have prevented without thereby losing
  some greater good or permitting some evil equally
  bad or worse.

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Natural Evil(According to Atheists)

• Collisions in the universe (Crabtree, 2007)
• Earthquakes (Tattersall, 1998, Marston, 1998,
  Crabtree, 2007)
• Volcanic eruptions (Marston, 1998, Crabtree,
  2007)
• Landslides (Tattersall, 1998)
• Floods (Marston, 1998, Crabtree, 2007)
• Hurricanes (Marston, 1998)
• Tornadoes (Marston, 1998, Crabtree, 2007)
• Lightening strikes (Rowe, 1979)
• Fires (Tattersall, 1998)
• Painful death from an incurable terminal disease
  (Marston, 1998)
• Infectious disease (Crabtree, 2007)
• Animal pain (Rowe, 1979, Marston, 1998)

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Gods Requirements for the Universe

• The universe must allow for the existence of
  sentient creatures
• These sentient creatures must have the ability to
  make moral choices
• The universe must operate by physical laws that
  are reliable, so that the sentient creatures can
  interact reliably with their surroundings and
  each other
• The universe must declare the power and glory of
  God

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Requirement 1 Sentient Creatures

• Humans to rule over the earth
• And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be
  fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,
  and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of
  the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
  every living thing that moves upon the earth.
  (Genesis 128)
• The LORD God took the man and put him in the
  Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
  (Genesis 215)
• You made him ruler over the works of your hands
  you put everything under his feet all flocks and
  herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of
  the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim
  the paths of the seas. (Psalm 83-9)

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Requirement 1 Sentient Creatures

• Humans to be in relationship with God
• "You shall love the LORD your God with all your
  heart and with all your soul and with all your
  might. (Deuteronomy 65)
• "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
  only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
  shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John
  316)
• "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is
  God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and
  His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation
  with those who love Him and keep His
  commandments (Deuteronomy 79)
• and hope does not disappoint, because the love of
  God has been poured out within our hearts through
  the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 55)
• But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
  that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
  us. (Romans 58)
• But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from
  the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ
  Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
  mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in
  you. (Romans 811)
• For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
  nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
  present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
  height, nor depth, nor any other created thing,
  will be able to separate us from the love of God,
  which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans
  838-39)
• Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus
  Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive
  together with me in your prayers to God for me,
  (Romans 1530)
• Don't you know that you yourselves are God's
  temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? (1
  Corinthians 316)
• Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be
  comforted, be like-minded, live in peace and the
  God of love and peace will be with you. (2
  Corinthians 1311)
• The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love
  of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be
  with you all. (2 Corinthians 1314)
• But God, being rich in mercy, because of His
  great love with which He loved us, even when we
  were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
  together with Christ (by grace you have been
  saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us
  with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
  so that in the ages to come He might show the
  surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward
  us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 24-7)
• Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no
  purpose "He jealously desires the Spirit which
  He has made to dwell in us"? (James 45)
• keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting
  anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
  to eternal life. (Jude 121)

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Requirement 2 Moral Choice

• "I call heaven and earth to witness against you
  today, that I have set before you life and death,
  the blessing and the curse. So choose life in
  order that you may live, you and your
  descendants, (Deuteronomy 3019)
• "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the
  LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will
  serve whether the gods which your fathers served
  which were beyond the River, or the gods of the
  Amorites in whose land you are living but as for
  me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua
  2415)
• "Let us choose for ourselves what is right Let
  us know among ourselves what is good. (Job 344)
• Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose
  any of his ways. (Proverbs 331)
• "He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows
  enough to refuse evil and choose good. (Isaiah
  715)
• This is good and acceptable in the sight of God
  our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and
  to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy
  23-4)
• The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
  some understand slowness. He is patient with you,
  not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to
  come to repentance. (2 Peter 39)

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Requirement 3 Reliable, Fixed Physical Laws

• Fixed physical laws are required for sentient
  creatures to reliably interact with the world and
  each other
• God fixes the laws of the universe
• Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or
  fix their rule over the earth? (Job 3833)
• Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light
  by day And the fixed order of the moon and the
  stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so
  that its waves roar The LORD of hosts is His
  name If this fixed order departs From before
  Me, declares the LORD, Then the offspring of
  Israel also will cease From being a nation before
  Me forever. (Jeremiah 3135-36)

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Requirement 4 Universe Must Declare the Power
and Glory of God

• For the choir director on the Gittith. A Psalm
  of David. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your
  name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your
  splendor above the heavens! (Psalm 81)
• The heavens declare the glory of God the skies
  proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 191)
• Be exalted above the heavens, O God Let Your
  glory be above all the earth. (Psalm 575)
• And blessed be His glorious name forever And may
  the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen,
  and Amen. (Psalm 7219)
• The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD
  Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the
  holy ones. (Psalm 895)
• Tell of His glory among the nations, His
  wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great
  is the LORD and greatly to be praised He is to
  be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the
  peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.
  (Psalm 963-5)
• The heavens declare His righteousness, And all
  the peoples have seen His glory. (Psalm 976)
• For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
  So great is His lovingkindness toward those who
  fear Him. (Psalm 10311)
• Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your
  glory above all the earth. (Psalm 1085)
• The LORD is high above all nations His glory is
  above the heavens. (Psalm 1134)
• To Him who made the heavens with skill, For His
  lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalm 1365)
• Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His
  name alone is exalted His glory is above earth
  and heaven. (Psalm 14813)
• And one called out to another and said, "Holy,
  Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth
  is full of His glory." (Isaiah 63)
• "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So
  are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts
  than your thoughts. (Isaiah 559)
• Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be
  measured And the foundations of the earth
  searched out below, Then I will also cast off all
  the offspring of Israel For all that they have
  done," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 3137)
• For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
  against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
  men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
  because that which is known about God is evident
  within them for God made it evident to them. For
  since the creation of the world His invisible
  attributes, His eternal power and divine nature,
  have been clearly seen, being understood through
  what has been made, so that they are without
  excuse. (Romans 118-20)

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Is Natural Evil a Necessity Under All Possible
Creations?

• Is natural evil necessary given the current laws
  of physics?
• Could God have used other laws of physics to
  accomplish the same goals, but without the
  possibility of natural evil?

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Fundamental Forces of Physics

• Strong nuclear force (keeps protons within atomic
  nuclei from flying away)
• Weak nuclear force (responsible for phenomena
  within the atomic nucleus, such as radioactive
  decay)
• Gravity (attraction between masses)
• Electromagnetic force (which governs interactions
  of charged particles)

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Can the Laws Be Tweaked?
No!
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Lets Try to Eliminate All Forms of Natural Evil

• Cant change the fundamental forces of nature
  significantly and retain life
• Can attempt to eliminate underlying causes of
  natural evil
• Elimination of natural evil must not cause
  additional evil
• Elimination of natural evil must not negatively
  impact Gods requirements for the universe

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Natural Evil from Extraterrestrial Sources
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Meteorites

• Every year, a few people are killed by falling
  meteorites
• Couldnt God just eliminate all space junk in
  the Solar System?
• Produces a contradiction, since planetary systems
  are produced by accretion of material
• A solar system without any small objects would be
  telling a lie about the way it was formed
  (Violates requirement 3)

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Create the Earth Another Way?

• God could have created only one star and one
  planet?
• Violates requirement 4, since the universe would
  not declare Gods glory

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Natural Evil Due toTectonic Activity
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Earthquakes

• On average, thousands of people are killed every
  year by earthquakes.
• How do we prevent the earth from shaking?

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Earth Science 101

• The earths continents are floating on a molten
  mantle
• When the plates that make up these continents
  drift into each other, stress builds up until one
  of the plates gives
• Energy released results in an earthquake

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Eliminate the Earths Molten Interior?

• None of the other rocky planets in the solar
  system have a molten core
• Also removes the earths magnetic field,
  eliminating the Van-Allen radiation shield
• Resulting radiation results in a greater evil.

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Get Rid of All Radiation?

• Nuclear fusion (which produces heat and
  radiation) is required to produce elements
  heavier than helium (for rocky planets)
• Fusion cannot be made radiation-free without
  messing with the weak nuclear force, which would
  prevent life from existing at all

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Earthquakes are Good!

• Without movable continental plates, no dry land
  would exist on earth.
• Colliding continental plates build mountains and
  volcanoes
• Without land-building processes, erosion would
  result in a waterworld
• Advanced spiritual life is not possible in purely
  aquatic animals (contradicts requirement 4)

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Fault Zones and Civilization

• 13 out of 15 of the first civilizations developed
  in the vicinity of earthquake fault zones (the
  exceptions being ancient Egypt and China)
• Due to
• More abundant underground water supplies
• Rich volcanic soils

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Tsunamis

• Tsunamis occur when earthquakes happen under
  large bodies of water
• Energy released by the earthquake is transferred
  to the water, resulting in a very large wave
• Cant get rid of earthquakes or oceans and still
  have advanced life

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Volcanoes

• Are caused by plate tectonics
• Relatively minor impact on human populations,
  with some notable exceptions
• Cannot be stopped without serious impacts to the
  land masses of the earth

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Natural Evil Due to Weather
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Landslides

• Every year Californians experience landslides due
  to sporadic heavy rains
• Dozens to hundreds of people are left homeless
  and occasionally people are killed
• In order to eliminate landslides, one would have
  to eliminate mountains (i.e., plate tectonics) or
  rain

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Floods

• Kill an average of 146 people in the U.S. every
  year
• Caused by flat land and excessive rain
• Cannot eliminate the water cycle
• It is unclear how atheists propose that both
  floods (flat land) and landslides (not flat land)
  can be eliminated simultaneously

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Floods are Good!

• Some rivers throughout the world used to flood
  every year (e.g., the Nile)
• Flooding brought much needed silt and minerals to
  the surrounding land, making it more fertile
• In New Orleans, control of flooding (levees) has
  caused the delta to sink, since all the silt is
  funneled into the Gulf of Mexico

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Floods are Good!

• Some rivers throughout the world used to flood
  every year (e.g., the Nile)
• Flooding brought much needed silt and minerals to
  the surrounding land, making it more fertile
• In New Orleans, control of flooding (levees) has
  caused the delta to sink, since all the silt is
  funneled into the Gulf of Mexico

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Hurricanes/Cyclones/Typhoons

• Are tropical storms that gain energy over warm
  waters to produce winds in excess of 100 mph
• Caused by uneven heating of the earth, so that
  they are found in tropical locations

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Fixing Uneven Heating

• Multiple Suns?
• Cannot be made to orbit each other to produce
  even heating on the earth

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Orbital Parameters Obliquity
Both Poles Freeze
One Pole Freezes
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Tornadoes

• Although most tornadoes occur in the Midwest part
  of the United States, they can occur in numerous
  locations throughout the world
• Wind speeds can exceed 200 mph
• Tornadoes cannot be prevented except by
  preventing storms or preventing uneven heating of
  the earth

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Lightning

• Lightning strikes from thunderstorms kill 100
  people every year in the United States
• Lightning is caused by the differential charges
  generated within clouds
• Eliminate lightning?
• Eliminate storms
• Reduce the electromagnetic force constant
  (violates requirement 1)

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Lightning is Good!

• High energy electrical discharge results in the
  splitting of molecular nitrogen and oxygen, When
  these atoms recombine, they form nitric oxide,
  which is delivered to plants in the rain
• Molecular nitrogen is inert, so other than the
  action of some prokaryotes, is the way in which
  nitrogen becomes available for use by plants

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Wildfires

• In California, wildfires cause millions of
  dollars in destruction and usually a few
  fatalities every year
• Atheist William Rowe used the example of fire as
  natural evil, in which lightning started a fire
  in a forest, which eventually burned a young deer
  (read "Bambi") that suffered for several days
  before dying

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Get Rid of Fires?

• Fire requirements
• Fuel
• Heat
• Oxygen
• Cant eliminate any sources of fire
• Cellular metabolism is form of combustion
• C6H12O6 6O2?6CO2 6H2O Heat

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Biological Forms of Natural Evil
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Genetic Diseases

• Caused by mutation
• Some genetic diseases are good (i.e.,
  adaptations)
• Sickle-cell disease
• Mutation in hemoglobin gene
• Confers resistance to malaria (which kills 1
  million people/year)
• Homozygous individuals die young
• Heterozygous individuals suffer minimal morbidity

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Malaria Life Cycle
Sporozoites infect liver cells
Human Host
Merozoites infect red blood cells
Mosquito injects sporozoites Into human blood
stream
Mosquito drinks blood containing gametocytes
Merozoites multiply In red blood cells
Sperm and egg develop from gametocytes
Some merozoites develop into male and female
gametocytes
Mosquito Host
Oocyst
Fertilized egg differentiates and moves into
stomach
Sporozoites migrate To salivary gland
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Cancer

• Caused by mutation (or viruses) which cause cells
  to replicate uncontrollably
• Couldnt God have done a better job designing
  life so that mutation was not possible?

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Mutation Error Rate

• Slower replication results in fewer errors
• However, given the laws of thermodynamics, there
  is no way to make the error rate zero

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How DNA Replication Occurs
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Molecular Machines Required for DNA Replication
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Bacteria

• Single-celled prokaryotes
• Indispensible to the biomes of the world,
  recycling carbon and minerals from dead organisms
• Present at greater than 107 organisms/g in soil
• Greater than 1030 bacteria on earth
• First trophic level in a food chain

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Bacteria in Humans

• 10X more bacteria than human cells
• Colonize the intestinal tract
• Metabolize indigestible material
• Prevent the overgrowth of pathogens
• Make biotin and vitamin K for us
• Pathogens
• Recent, poorly adapted bacteria
• Usually originate from other species in which
  they are better adapted
• Cant prevent bacteria from translocating

Neisseria gonorrhoeae
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Viral Diseases

• Obligate intracellular parasites
• Probably originated as prokayotic parasites that
  lost much of their molecular machinery, since
  they could exploit the hosts molecular machinery
• Mycoplasma genitalium is an obligate
  intracellular parasite that can no longer exist
  as a free-living bacterium
• No way to prevent virus formation other than
  direct intervention when they arise

H1N1 virus
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Viruses are Good!

• 1030 viruses in the ocean
• These viruses positively impact the marine
  nutrient cycleDellAnno, A., et al. 2008. Major
  viral impact on the functioning of benthic
  deep-sea ecosystems. Nature 454,
  1084-1087.Rohwer, F. and R. Vega Thurber. 2009.
  Viruses manipulate the marine environment. Nature
  459 207-212.

H1N1 virus
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Animal Pain

• Produced by carnivores on their prey
• Elimination of carnivores would result in
  over-population of herbivore populations and
  starvation
• Starvation is much more painful than being eaten
• Produced by disease
• Removes weak members
• Strengthens gene pool

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Pain is Good!

• Pain is produced by pain receptors, which
  transmit the signal via nerves to our brain
• Tell us that something is wrong
• People with genetic disorders that prevent pain
  reception must be constantly watched so that they
  dont do things that destroy parts of their bodies

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Extent of Natural Evil
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Natural Evil Conclusions

• All physical processes that produce natural evil
  are required for the proper functioning and
  existence of life on earth
• It is not the case that there exist instances of
  intense suffering which an omnipotent, omniscient
  Being could have prevented without thereby losing
  some greater good or permitting some evil equally
  bad or worse.

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The Tinkering God?

• Yes, God can (and has) intervened in the laws of
  physics to prevent some natural evil (i.e.,
  miracles)
• Why couldnt God intervene to prevent all natural
  evil?
• People would become complacent, expecting God to
  rescue them whenever they messed up
• The laws of physics would be deemed unreliable,
  since God would be constantly breaking them

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Different Laws of Physics?

• Nearly all natural evil is the direct result of
  the laws of thermodynamics
• Eliminate the laws of thermodynamics
• no stars
• no electromagnetic radiation (including light
• no machines (including biological ones) that
  depend on heat/energy flow

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The Perfect Universe