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Is God Our Benefactor?
: An Argument from Suffering

Dagfinn Sjaastad Karlsen

Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.3, No.3 (September 2013):145-167

Abstract

Modern theodicies normally involve the premise that God benefited us through creation. The assumptions on which such a premise relies have, however, rarely been discussed in this context. I argue that causing someone to exist cannot benefit the person whose existence is at stake, and hence that God is not our benefactor. If anti-frustrationism is a correct theory of welfare, the concept of a benevolent Creator is incoherent.

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