Given that this is the case, Swinburne has failed to demonstrate that seemingly gratuitous natural evils are not really gratuitous. Given in addition Swinburne's principle of credulity ('things are as they seem to be, unless and until proved otherwise' (1979: 168)) we may conclude that in the light of the considerations Swinburne has offered, it is reasonable to conclude that there are gratuitous natural evils. On the same basis, it is reasonable to conclude that God does not exist, since God is omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good and thereby would not permit any gratuitous natural evil. But since gratuitous natural evils are precisely what we would expect if a malevolent spirit created the universe, it follows that h' is confirmed. More exactly, P(h'/ee'k) >> P(h/ee'k) since P(h'/ek) = P(h/ek) and P(h'/e'k) >> P(h/e'k). If any spirit created the universe, it is malevolent, not benevolent.
