Pick one of the three following and present a 3- page Research Paper on them, their views, and their specific Philosophical underpinnings to religion using the rubric below.

Please look briefly at each and pick the one that will give you the most rewarding experience to learn more about.

Free Will vs. Omnipotence

• How can we have Free Will if God knows everything that has or will happen, and therefore it has already happened or couldn’t be known?

Evil and Suffering

• How does a purely good God allow evil to happen to good people?

Thomas Paine and God

• Although a humanist, Paine believed in God and the afterlife. Explain his logic and offer your own.

 

In the paper, identify your topic of choice in the title and opening sentences.

From there:

• Describe the challenge through the open-minded lens of philosophical inquiry

• Give several examples of the arguments for and against the prevailing logic, for example:

• For Free Will, for example, you may wish to discuss the ramifications of Free Will vs. a God who knows everything

• For Evil and Suffering, you may want to explore why evil is necessary or could be argued to be so

• For Thomas Paine, you may want to discuss how a humanist could also believe in a God and still be an actual humanist

• Why is it still something modern students of philosophy are compelled to study? Why is this topic still important to the philosophy or religion?

Assignment Guidelines

Write a fully APA-compliant 3- page paper for this Unit

• You should include a reference page, with APA citations, at the end of your paper. This page is not part of the 3-pages of written work

• Standard margins, 12-point font, New Times Roman or similar

• Do not write less, do not write more

• Be sure to read the assessment criteria before you begin writing

For more information on APA formatting:  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Assessment Criteria

• Does the paper clearly identify the chosen topic and why they chose it?

• Does the paper consider the historical, theological, and cultural context of the chosen topic?

• Does the writer give at least two examples of the argument and defends them in a meaningful way?

• Presentation of reasonable argument for why the chosen topic is important to the philosophy of religion.

• APA and overall look and feel of the paper is college-level work