Is there as much reason to believe in an evil God as a good God? Max Baker-Hytch vs Asha Lancaster-Thomas hosted by Vince Vitale

Unbelievable?

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Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 April 2024

⏱️ 80 minutes

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Summary

In the discussion on the plausibility of an all-evil God versus an all-good God, Dr. Max Baker-Hytch delivered a compelling argument that encapsulated the essence of the debate. He highlighted the inherent scepticism that arises when considering the 'evil God' hypothesis, pointing out that if such a malevolent deity were to exist, it would provide ample reason to doubt the reliability of our cognitive faculties. According to Dr. Baker-Hytch, the very nature of an evil God would entail a desire to deceive humanity, leading to pervasive doubts and uncertainties. In contrast, the 'good God hypothesis' stands in stark contrast, lacking the motive for such pervasive deception. Dr. Asha Lancaster-Thomas, whose scholarly contributions have ignited significant discourse on this topic, brought her insights to bear on the discussion. Holding a PhD from the University of Birmingham and teaching philosophy at Atlanta Classical Academy, Dr. Thomas is no stranger to the complexities of metaphysics and epistemology. Her paper on the 'evil God challenge' has been a focal point for philosophical inquiry, prompting responses such as Dr. Baker-Hytch's co-authored rebuttal, "Meeting the Evil God Challenge." Dr Max Baker-Hytch, lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Oxford received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oxford and subsequently held research positions at the University of Oxford and the University of Notre Dame. Max has published more than a dozen scholarly articles and book chapters on various topics within the fields of philosophy of religion and epistemology This intellectual but friendly exchange between Dr. Baker-Hytch and Dr. Lancaster-Thomas, is hosted by fellow philosopher Vince Vitale. #evilgodchallenge #philosophy #morality #philosophyofreligion #goodgod #evil SOCIAL LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefe Facebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable Asha Lancaster Thomas Read Asha's chapter in Jack Symes' Philosophers on God: Talking About Existence (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophers-on-god-9781350227286/)https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phc3.12543https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/phc3.12502Twitter: @asha_lancaster For Max Baker Hytch: Twitter: @MaxBakerHytchMax Baker Hytch and Ben Page's paper https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/papq.12304 • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/courses • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in partnership with our friends at Green Pastures.
0:03.6	For 25 years Green Pastures has been enabling local Christian ministries to house and support the homeless across the UK,
0:10.1	funded by everyday investors who lent some of their savings to help buy homes for those in need.
0:15.0	Listen out for more information about green pastures during the show and head to
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0:25.0	I look at it less as a debunking argument, you know, not trying to undermine classical monotheism but rather just as a really helpful framework
0:36.4	to understand why those like Swinburne for example who say that belief in God is cumulative
0:41.8	and it's a combination of all these, I call them in one of my papers,
0:45.4	belief bricks and we're constructing this wall about why we believe in God.
0:49.2	If we can analyze each of these belief bricks through the lens of the Evil God challenge,
0:55.0	then we can figure out which belief bricks
0:57.0	does my wall of belief actually really fundamentally rest on.
1:01.0	It's not just there's an absence of reason to trust in our competitive
1:05.3	faculties, but if we were to accept the evil God hypothesis, we would have
1:10.2	positive reason to distrust our competitiveive faculties because the evil God, by hypothesis,
1:15.7	would want to deceive us in all sorts of ways. And the good God hypothesis doesn't have that upshot. In fact, it's the opposite.
1:25.0	Hello and welcome back to the unbelievable podcast where we bring together Christians, skeptics, agnostics, and everyone in between to discuss and debate the topics that matter most to all of us.
1:39.0	I'm your host, Vince Vitali, and today's discussion is one I'm really looking forward to. We'll be discussing the evil God challenge, which is as provocative and intriguing as it sounds. It raises this question. Could it be that there is as much reason to believe in an all evil
1:56.7	God as there is to believe in an all good God? That may be a completely new thought to you, but thankfully my guest today are two of the very best people to help us get our heads around this challenge.
2:08.5	Dr. Asha Lancaster Thomas is with us. Her research on this topic has sparked substantial debate. She holds a
2:15.9	PhD from the University of Birmingham and teaches high school philosophy at Atlanta Classical Academy.
2:22.4	Be sure to check out her contribution to Jack Simes new book philosophers
	...

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