An Argument against Islam and Calvinism
I was recently asked by a friend to watch and respond to this short clip in which William Lane Craig offers an argument against God as defined in Islam:
In that clip, Craig appears to present an argument like this:
(1) If God exists, God is the greatest conceivable being.
(2) For any being to be the greatest conceivable being, it must be omnibenevolent (i.e. love all people perfectly and equally).
(3) Allah is not omnibenevolent.
(4) Therefore, Allah is not the greatest conceivable being.
(5) Therefore, Allah is not God.
Interestingly, we can apply that same argument to Calvinism since Calvinism also denies God’s omnibenevolence:
(1) If God exists, God is the greatest conceivable being.
(2) For any being to be the greatest conceivable being, it must be omnibenevolent (i.e. love all people perfectly and equally).
(6) God in Calvinism is not omnibenevolent.
(7) Therefore, God in Calvinism is not the greatest conceivable being.
(8) Therefore, God in Calvinism is not God.
What do you think? Is this a good argument? If it works against Islam, does it work against Calvinism as well?
The post An Argument against Islam and Calvinism appeared first on Randal Rauser.
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WLC's argument is pretty bad here. I'm sure the retort that Muslims and Calvinists would make is that the greatest conceivable being WOULDN'T in fact show love to all people, because part of what makes a being so great would be that he dooms certain people to hell to show his glorious wrath. Now I COMPLETELY disagree with Calvinists and Muslims here. That being said this shows another problem with the ontological argument, which is that people define the term great in tons of different ways. Some people would say that the greatest possible being should in fact hate most people and that hating most people is a great thing.
WLC would first have to convince Muslims and Calvinists why the greatest possible being would't love certain people less, before this argument could ever work, and well when it comes to Calvinists.......good luck.
