5. The Free-Will Defence

The Free-Will Defence explored

-The FWD argues that the existence of pain and suffering is a necessary by-product of a world in which humans are truly free to love God. -Keith Ward says that for God the highest good is not the 'maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain', but rather is the concept of human freedom since this is necessary to facilitate a relationship with God. -For Ward, the existence of evil and suffering is the necessary price that has to be paid for this as God could order the world in no other way if this objective [human relationship with God] were to be achieved.

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-The FWD claims that when creating the world God faced a choice between creating a world with little or no pain, but no free will, or a world with pain, but free-will, which is more important than minimising pain. -John Mackie claims that if God is truly omnipotent (capable of anything) then it is possible for him to create a world with genuine free-will where humans always choose to do the right thing

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For Swinburne the FWD requires the function of death to give life purpose and meaning. Only with a limited life-span will human beings have genuine responsibility

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Swinburne , who supports the FWD, argues that a world that includes death would be better at achieving the higher good of freedom and virtue, than a world without it. He argues: -Without death, there could be no ultimate self-sacrifice -A limited life-span focuses a person' attention on how they should live their life, it makes them aware of their responsibilities as there is no second chance -A world with birth, but no death, would mean the young would always be dominated by the old -Death limits the amount of suffering one person can inflict on another

The Free-Will Defence - Outline

The FWD works by claiming that God has a legitimate reason for allowing evil in the world: 1.God created human beings for the purpose of being in a love relationship with Him 2.Love cannot be forced, but must be freely chosen. Human freedom is a necessary condition for Loving God and others 3.If humans can choose to be courageous, just and merciful, they must also be able to choose to be cowardly, unjust and cruel 4.If some people are to alleviate misery and pain, then pain and distress must be real possibilities 5.Although God could have prevented evil and suffering, this would have taken away human freedom, which is a higher good, than minimising pain