Final Paper, Essay Proposal, & Outline · The final essay should be about 6-7 pages in length · The focus of this essay will be to state, explain, develop, and defend a particular thesis based upon some theme in philosophy of religion related to the texts we’ve been reading. · The thesis needs to make some specific claim (or closely interrelated set of claims) about some topic or theme that we’ve touched on this term, (see list of possible topics below). · This claim needs to be stated clearly, explained carefully, fully developed in relation to the kinds of arguments and objections we’ve encountered in texts, by at least two different authors, and defended with philosophical arguments and reasons drawing upon texts we’ve read, ideas of your own, and your own experiences and beliefs. · Be sure to relate the theme of your essay to our lives. Why does this claim matter? What difference does it make if you’re right about the thesis? Topics: Possible theses can respond to the following topics… · Is it appropriate to claim that there is only one true religion? (Please don’t pick this one, if your answer is “no…”). · Do all religions share some common core, so that differences don’t really matter? · Does the existence of evil and suffering logically disprove a good all-powerful God? (Please don’t choose this one if your answer is “yes…”) · Does the amount and kind of evil and suffering count against the existence of God? Is any evil truly pointless? (Again, please don’t choose this one if your answer is “yes…”) · Does claiming we cannot know whether any evil is pointless also entail that we cannot know (apart from divine revelation) that God really intends our good? · Is it possible for God to make genuinely free creatures who are guaranteed never to do wrong (Please don’t choose this one if your answer is “yes…” either). · Is evil and suffering in the world justified by bringing a greater good? (Please don’t choose this one, if your answer is “no…”). · Does Christian belief in the incarnation, suffering, , death, and resurrection of Jesus make a difference for the problem of evil and suffering? · What is the nature of evil? Is it a “thing” in this world or is it merely the privation of good? · Do even secular values (moral, political, social, etc.) function ultimately in a kind of religious way? What are the limits of tolerance? · How can a loving God judge evil and how can God allow some people to choose an ultimate destiny that ends in their own destruction (i.e. Hell)? · If Darwinian explanations of the natural order of the world are true, does that exclude the existence of God or make God’s existence superfluous (Please don’t choose this one if your answer is “yes…”). · If Darwinian explanations of the natural order of the world are true, what does that suggest about the nature of divine providence and God’s relation to the creation? (Please try not to pick this one; thank you) .