God, Freedom and Evil

This book discusses and exemplifies the philosophy of religion, or philosophical reflection on central themes of religion.

Part 1: Natural atheology
The problem of evil
The question: why does God permit evil?
Does the theist contradict Himself?
Can we show that there is no inconsistency here?
The free will defence
Was it within God's power to create any possible world He pleased?
Could God have created a world containing moral good but no moral evil
Transworld depravity and essence
The free will defence vindicated
Is God's existence compatible with the amount of moral evil the world contains?
Is God's existence compatible with natural evil?
Does the existence of evil make it unlikely that God exists?
Other atheological arguments

Part 2: Natural theology
The cosmological argument
The teleological argument
The ontological argument
Gaunilo's objection
Anelm's reply
Kant's objection
The irrelevance of Kant's objection
The argument restated
Its fatal flaw
A modal version of the argument
A flaw in the ointment
The argument restated
The argument triumphant

Alvin Plantinga is John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.