The power of choice under this definition has the potential for as much harm as it does good, and open theists see free will as the best answer to the problem of evil.

This experience inspired the text, which reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God ( the problem of theodicy ), and how happiness can be attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God.

As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so too does Candide in this short novel, albeit more directly and humorously.

Thus, in such systems, the Demiurge acts as a solution to the problem of evil.

It appears that Plotinus attempted to clarify how the philosophers of the academy had not arrived at the same conclusions ( such as Dystheism or misotheism for the creator God as an answer to the problem of evil ) as the targets of his criticism.

The " Epicurean paradox " is a version of the problem of evil.

Despite the fact that Brite's first novel was criticized by some mainstream sources for allegedly " lack a moral center: neither terrifyingly malevolent supernatural creatures nor ( like Anne Rice's protagonists ) tortured souls torn between good and evil, these vampires simply add blood-drinking to the amoral panoply of drug abuse, problem drinking and empty sex practiced by their human counterparts ", many of these so-called " human counterparts " identified with the teen angst and goth music references therein, keeping the book in print.

The Neoplatonic philosophers, including Plotinus, rejected followers of gnosticism as being un-Hellenistic and anti-Plato due to their vilification of Plato's creator of the universe ( the demiurge ), arriving at dystheism as the solution to the problem of evil, taking all their truths over from Plato.

Thus, in such systems, the Demiurge acts as a solution to the problem of evil.

He is the author of a best selling book on the problem of evil, When Bad Things Happen to Good People.

The problem of evil is the argument that the existence of evil is incompatible with the concept of an omnipotent and perfectly good God.

Mani's teaching dealt with the origin of evil, by addressing a theoretical part of the problem of evil by denying the omnipotence of God and postulating two opposite powers.

Philosophy of religion is frequently discussed outside of academia through popular books and debates, mostly regarding the existence of God and problem of evil.

The collapse of logical positivism renewed interest in philosophy of religion, prompting philosophers like William Alston, John Mackie, Alvin Plantinga, Robert Merrihew Adams, Richard Swinburne, and Antony Flew not only to introduce new problems, but to re-open classical topics such as the nature of miracles, theistic arguments, the problem of evil, ( see existence of God ) the rationality of belief in God, concepts of the nature of God, and many more.

Plantinga, Mackie and Flew debated the logical validity of the free will defense as a way to solve the problem of evil.

Evil results from the will of creatures, not from their nature per se ( see the problem of evil ).

This form of panentheism helps in overcoming the problem of evil and in proposing that God's love for the world is essential to who God is.

Another objection to reliabilism is called the new evil demon problem.

The evil demon problem originally motivated skepticism, but can be resuited to object to reliabilist accounts as follows: If our experiences are controlled by an evil demon, it may be the case that we believe ourselves to be doing things that we are not doing.

In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil with that of a deity who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent ( see theism ).

A wide range of responses have been given to the problem of evil.

Ptolemy's problem is to forecast where, against the inverted bowl of night, some particular light will be found at future times.

He cannot describe eclipses without entertaining some form of a three-body problem.

`` I've been in government and I can tell some pretty hairy stories about personnel difficulties, so I know what a problem he was ''.

The new column by Maurice Stans regarding business scandals, is fair and accurate in most respects and his solution to the problem has some merit.

The senior policy officer may be moved to think hard about a problem by any of an infinite variety of stimuli: an idea in his own head, the suggestions of a colleague, a question from the Secretary or the President, a proposal by another department, a communication from a foreign government or an American ambassador abroad, the filing of an item for the agenda of the United Nations or of any other of dozens of international bodies, a news item read at the breakfast table, a question to the President or the Secretary at a news conference, a speech by a Senator or Congressman, an article in a periodical, a resolution from a national organization, a request for assistance from some private American interests abroad, et cetera, ad infinitum.

Rather, such assignments are made, as they must be, on the basis of certain overall rules and standards, representing to some extent a statistical approach to the problem, taking into account for each situation some of the variables ( e.g., power and station separations ) and averaging out others in order to achieve the balance which must be struck between protection against destructive interference and the assignment of a number of stations large enough to afford optimum radio service to the Nation.

It is more than just lack of dance training that is our problem, for just as gymnastics can learn from dance, dance has some very important things to learn from gymnastics.

The problem arises, if it does arise, when the educator has to make a choice or a decision within the area of his professional competence, but which bears some relation to the social structure.

`` Both because of our culture's stress on beauty and our improved economic conditions, some parents demand that the dentist try to correct a problem before it is wise to do so.

In the Negro neighborhoods and also to some extent in the mixed neighborhoods the problem may be one of identification and motivation.

He considered them with brooding eyes, brows bunched as his brain grappled with the problem and tried to find some solution.

The governor wrote Miss Grant that he has been concerned for some time `` with the continuous problem which confronts our local and state law enforcement officers as a result of the laws regulating Sunday sales ''.

And then, some churchmen remarked, there is a more classical church-state problem:

In some instances, the computer could, after a certain running time interval, repeatedly return to the initial-conditions state to reset the problem, and run it again.

The problem became so large that some carriers required the use of a PIN before making calls.

A similar problem affected some models of the Supermarine Spitfire.

At some moment a price difference exists, and the problem is to execute two or three balancing transactions while the difference persists ( that is, before the other arbitrageurs act ).

Instead, the philosopher encounters a problem :" Now, if the ' to be ' of a thing could be conceived apart from that which exists, it should be represented in our mind by some note distinct from the concept of the thing itself ....

Low concentrations are not a problem for bacteria because they simply ignore the waste that surrounds the metals, attaining extraction yields of over 90 % in some cases.

Weeds are a considerable problem in agriculture, and botany provides some of the basic science used to understand how to minimize ' weed ' impact in agriculture and native ecosystems.

Cooking beans in a slow cooker, because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste ' bad ' ( though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling temperature and stays there for some time ).

: When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries.

Brooks stopped teaching recently to " devote 100 % of his time on solving the problem as to why he needed to eat some type of food to keep his physical body alive and allow his light body to manifest completely.