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Divine FreedomDissertation, University of Notre Dame. 1980.Though the problem of divine freedom is thus resolved in Chapter III, several closely connected difficulties remain. In Chapter IV, I discuss three of these issues. Though I argue for the traditional view that God was free to refrain from creating and is both omnipotent and morally praiseworthy despite his inability to do evil, I concede that an Anselmian libertarian could coherently reach different conclusions on each of these matters. ;The dissertation concludes with a brief closing section wh…Read more
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1Trinity, Incarnation, and Atonement: Philosophical and Theological EssaysInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion 32 (3): 186-188. 1992.
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3Should concretists part with mereological models of the incarnation?In Anna Marmodoro & Jonathan Hill (eds.), The Metaphysics of the Incarnation, Oxford University Press Usa. 2011.
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5The Molinist Debate: A Reply to HaskerIn Ken Perszyk (ed.), Molinism: The Contemporary Debate, Oxford University Press. pp. 37. 2011.
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Fittingness and divine action in Cur Deus homoIn Kevin Timpe (ed.), Metaphysics and God: Essays in Honor of Eleonore Stump, Routledge. 2009.
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32Review of John Kekes, The Roots of Evil (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2006 (1). 2006.
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6Two Accounts of ProvidenceIn Thomas V. Morris (ed.), Divine and human action: essays in the metaphysics of theism, Cornell University Press. pp. 147-181. 1988.
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5The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology (edited book)Oxford University Press UK. 2008.Philosophical theology is aimed primarily at theoretical understanding of the nature and attributes of God and of God's relationship to the world and its inhabitants. During the twentieth century, much of the philosophical community had grave doubts about our ability to attain any such understanding. In recent years the analytic tradition in particular has moved beyond the biases that placed obstacles in the way of the pursuing questions located on the interface of philosophy and religion. The r…Read more
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1Christian Philosophy (edited book)Univ Notre Dame Pr. 1990.Christian Philosophy contains seven essays that provide evidence of the diversity of subjects considered to be part of Christian philosophy today. Originally presented at a Conference on Christian and Theistic Philosophy (sponsored by the Notre Dame Center for Philosophy of Religion and held at the University of Notre Dame in 1988), these essays represent the efforts of seven of the major thinkers in the field to reflect upon and/or exhibit what they take to be Christian philosophy.
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25Compatibilism and the argument from unavoidabilityJournal of Philosophy 84 (August): 423-40. 1987.
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6ProvidenceIn Charles Taliaferro & Philip L. Quinn (eds.), A Companion to Philosophy of Religion, Wiley-blackwell. 1997.This chapter contains sections titled: The Traditional Notion of Providence Problems with the Tradition Reactions to these Problems Applications to Predestination Evaluating the Four Pictures Works cited.
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3Providence and TheodicyIn Justin P. McBrayer & Daniel Howard-Snyder (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to The Problem of Evil, Wiley. 2014.This chapter describes the three main theories of divine providence (what the author calls the Molinist, the Thomist, and the Open Theist views) and considers the implications that endorsing one or another theory might have for what kind of theodicy (and what kind of defense) one can offer in response to arguments from evil. The chapter also briefly considers the author's reasons for thinking that the Molinist position leaves one the best equipped to deal with such arguments.
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87Divine providenceIn Thomas P. Flint & Michael C. Rea (eds.), The Oxford handbook of philosophical theology, Oxford University Press. 2008.This article attempts to spell out more clearly the Thomist, the Openist, and the Molinist approaches to divine providence, and to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of these three positions. It begins by discussing both the traditional notion of divine providence and the libertarian picture of freedom. The article then argues that each theory of divine providence has its advantages and disadvantages. Each has had numerous able and creative defenders. As with most philosophical disputes, one …Read more
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1Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom (review)International Studies in Philosophy 26 (1): 107-107. 1994.
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3Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom (review)International Studies in Philosophy 26 (1): 107-107. 1994.
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19A Death He Freely AcceptedFaith and Philosophy 18 (1): 3-20. 2001.Traditional Christians face a puzzle concerning the freedom and perfection of Christ. Jesus the man, it seems, must have possessed significant freedom forhim to serve as a moral example for us and for his death to have been truly meritorious. Yet Jesus the Son of God must be incapable of sinning if he is trulydivine. So if Jesus is both human and divine, one of these two attributes - significant freedom or moral perfection - apparently needs to be surrendered. In thisessay, it is argued that if …Read more
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15A Death He Freely AcceptedFaith and Philosophy 18 (1): 3-20. 2001.Traditional Christians face a puzzle concerning the freedom and perfection of Christ. Jesus the man, it seems, must have possessed significant freedom forhim to serve as a moral example for us and for his death to have been truly meritorious. Yet Jesus the Son of God must be incapable of sinning if he is trulydivine. So if Jesus is both human and divine, one of these two attributes - significant freedom or moral perfection - apparently needs to be surrendered. In thisessay, it is argued that if …Read more
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