gwern comments on How confident is your atheism? - Less Wrong

12 Post author: r_claypool 14 June 2012 08:18PM

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Comment author: Logos01 18 June 2012 01:30:47PM *  2 points [-]

I am thiiiiiiiiis confident!

I'm surprised to see this dialogue make so little mention of the material evidence* at hand with regards to the specific claims of Christianity. I mean; a god which was omnipotent and omnibenevolent would surely create a world with less suffering for humanity than what we conjecture an FAI would orchestrate, yes? Color me old-fashioned but I assign the logically** impossible a zero probability (barring of course my being mistaken about logical impossibilities).

* s/s//
** s/v/c/

Comment author: gwern 18 June 2012 03:54:07PM *  4 points [-]

See Plantinga's free will defense for human and the variant for natural evils; it defuses the logical argument from evil. (Of course it does this by postulating 'free will', whatever that is, but I don't think free will is nearly as clear cut a p=~0 as the existence of evils...)

Comment author: Logos01 19 June 2012 12:12:32PM 3 points [-]

I don't buy it. A superhuman intelligence with unlimited power and infinite planning time and resources could create a world without suffering even without violating free will. And yet we have cancer and people raping children.

Comment author: gwern 19 June 2012 01:33:30PM 3 points [-]

A superhuman intelligence with unlimited power and infinite planning time and resources could create a world without suffering even without violating free will.

Oh, it did try. Unfortunately, Adam exercised his free will in the wrong way. Better luck next universe.

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 26 June 2012 08:10:31AM 3 points [-]

Perhaps betting huge amounts of other people's suffering on Adam's ability to resist eating an apple was a really stupid idea.

Comment author: Logos01 20 June 2012 07:22:41PM -1 points [-]

"If it weren't for my horse, I never would've graduated college." >_<