John Mackie:Evil And Omnipotence

In the essay, “Evil and Omnipotence� John L. Mackie states the problem of evil, as a contradiction between the propositions “God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists� (p.160). This contradiction is made apparent as Mackie explains that if any two of the propositions are held to be true, the third is always false. As all three propositions appear essential from a theistic perspective, it seems that God’s omnipotence and complete goodness are being decisively argued against. In this paper, I hope to explore in more detail, Mackie’s claim that a good omnipotent being cannot exist alongside evil.
Mackie opens his writing by stating a few rules. Mackie states that one must “be prepared to believe, not merely what cannot be proved, but what can be disproved from other beliefs that he also holds� (pg. 160). This is an important consideration from Mackie, which he uses to preface his following arguments. Mackie next outlines the
problem of evil and how it applies to the reader. “The problem of evil, in the
sense in which I shall be using the phrase, is a problem only for someone who
believes that there is a God who is both omnipotent and wholly good. And it

powerful omnipotent being can make things that he cannot control. If one

states that they do not clearly oppose each other, but first order good

Mackie addresses Solution (3) by saying, “The universe is better with some evil

different types of freedom. One of the freedoms is the third order good. The

section. It is here that the solutions to the problem of evil will prove

Mackie concludes his work by stating that through all the examined solutions

denying his omnipotence because there would be things that he cannot do. If one