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THE PROBLEM OF WORSHIP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2010

Scott F. Aikin
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Extract

Theism is a cluster of views. The first of which is that God exists. Others are that God has all the relevant omni-attributes, that He created the world, and that He communicates with and performs miracles on behalf of humans. There is one additional view that is often overlooked. It is that humans are obligated to worship God. Importantly, this issue of worship is of central importance to traditional theism. And it extends into pagan thought that predates Christianity. Take, for example Epicurus' deployment of the argument from evil:

If god is willing to prevent evil, then he is not omnipotent. If he is able but unwilling, then he is malevolent. If he is able and willing, from whence comes evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?

Type
Research Article
Information
Think , Volume 9 , Issue 25 , Summer 2010 , pp. 101 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2010

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