an argument developed by Alvin Plantinga that contends there is no logical contradiction between the coexistence of evil and God because it is at least possible that evil exists because even an omniscient deity could not create a world in which human beings simultaneously possess free will yet never choose to do evil.

a term used to identify the fallacious thinking that ideas of an older time are inherently inferior to present ideas simply by virtue of their temporal priority.

the belief that God directly determines and causes every single action in the universe.

that which embodies or reflects God’s original design.

that which deviates from good; the privation of good.

 the supposed state of awareness wherein individuals realize their divinity and the divine interconnectedness of all things.

 a theistic worldview centered on the life of the prophet Muhammad that derives its understanding of the world through the teachings of the Quaran, Hadith, and Sunnah.

a concept found in Eastern religions that states good is returned to those who do good, and evil is returned to those who do evil (either in this life or the next).

an atheistic and materialistic worldview based on the ideas of Karl Marx that promotes the abolition of private property, the public ownership of the means of production (such as socialism), and the utopian dream of a future communistic state.

evil brought about by the actions of human beings (for example, rape, murder, and genocide).

first proposed by the Jesuit priest Luis de Molina; the belief that God knows all the future contingent possibilities and that through his omniscience can accomplish his divine will through the lives of free human beings.

evil brought about by acts of nature, such as fires, earthquakes, and diseases.

a pantheistic worldview that teaches that everything and everyone are connected through divine consciousness.

God’s unique ability to know everything that can be known.

the belief that God does not have divine foreknowledge but that through his omniscience is able to deduce the most probabilistic future.

the belief that everything in the universe is ultimately divine.

a term used in Marxist theory to describe the working-class wage earners who do not own the means of production.

the belief that after biological death, the soul is reborn in a new body -- either animal, human, or spirit -- to continue its quest for enlightenment.

possessing supreme authority.

pain or discomfort that results from such things as disease, injury, oppression, fatigue, old age, loneliness and betrayal.

a rational justification for why God would allow evil.

being included as a rightful member of God’s eternal family.

the belief that damned souls are utterly destroyed rather than tormented in hell for eternity.

a turning from idolatry to the one true God

the point at which believers become closely identified with Christ.

the act of ruling or sentencing based on the careful deliberation of evidence and circumstances.

the act of making things legally and morally right.

being declared righteous by God through the work of Jesus Christ.

not receiving what one deserves.

God’s making people through his Holy Spirit.

God’s making people through his Holy Spirit.

the process whereby believers advance in holiness.

the belief that all human beings will eventually be restored to a right relationship with God, either while alive or sometime after death.

retributive punishment for an offense.