Author : Bruce A. Little
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 18,68 MB
Release : 2005
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780761829898
Does the existence of evil disprove the existence of God? Little (philosophy of religion, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) examines the "Greater-Good" theodicy, which he considers an especially useful tool by atheists, and finds it flawed at its foundation. To prove his assertions Little examines how the "Greater-Good" theodicy came about.
Author : Hugh J. McCann
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 44,11 MB
Release : 2012-07-20
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0253357144
Creation and the Sovereignty of God brings fresh insight to a defense of God. Traditional theistic belief declared a perfect being who creates and sustains everything and who exercises sovereignty over all. Lately, this idea has been contested, but Hugh J. McCann maintains that God creates the best possible universe and is completely free to do so; that God is responsible for human actions, yet humans also have free will; and ultimately, that divine command must be reconciled with natural law. With this distinctive approach to understanding God and the universe, McCann brings new perspective to the evidential argument from evil.
Author : Gregory A. Boyd
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 460 pages
File Size : 26,31 MB
Release : 2001-10-08
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780830815500
Gregory Boyd seeks to defend his scripturally grounded trinitarian warfare theod-icy with rigorous philosophical reflection and insights from human experience and scientific discovery.
Author : Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Publisher : DigiCat
Page : 409 pages
File Size : 44,89 MB
Release : 2022-11-13
Category : Philosophy
ISBN :
"Theodicy" is a book of philosophy by the German polymath Gottfried Leibniz published in 1710, whose optimistic approach to the problem of evil is thought to have inspired Voltaire's "Candide". Much of the work consists of a response to the ideas of the French philosopher Pierre Bayle, with whom Leibniz carried on a debate for many years. The "Theodicy" tries to justify the apparent imperfections of the world by claiming that it is optimal among all possible worlds. It must be the best possible and most balanced world, because it was created by an all powerful and all knowing God, who would not choose to create an imperfect world if a better world could be known to him or possible to exist. In effect, apparent flaws that can be identified in this world must exist in every possible world, because otherwise God would have chosen to create the world that excluded those flaws. Leibniz distinguishes three forms of evil: moral, physical, and metaphysical. Moral evil is sin, physical evil is pain, and metaphysical evil is limitation. God permits moral and physical evil for the sake of greater goods, and metaphysical evil is unavoidable since any created universe must necessarily fall short of God's absolute perfection.
Author : Anthony MacPherson
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 16,40 MB
Release : 2021-07-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1666709840
"Why God?" Everyday this question is uttered in sorrow, bewilderment, or anger. This cry is the problem of suffering. It is also known as the problem of evil. It asks why a good, all-powerful God allows evil and pain. Theodicy is the name of the theological responses that seek to defend God against charges of unfairness. Traditional theodicies have been accused of intensifying the problem by claiming that God is justified in allowing evil because he uses it to bring about a greater good. This greater-good approach has been criticized in more recent times. It seems to uncomfortably align God and evil too closely together. Does God need evil in order to bring good? This study explores an alternative stream of theodicy found in the idea of cosmic warfare. In this theodicy God fights evil in its moral, physical, spiritual, and supernatural forms. This book explores the world of theodicy and its cosmic warfare forms. It navigates the theological and ethical minefields involved. Building on the idea that God is in the midst of a great cosmic controversy, it seeks to further the conversation and articulates a new alternative "redeemed good defense."
Author : Vince R. Vitale
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 44,37 MB
Release : 2020
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0198864221
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Questions as personal as those about suffering require a very personal response. However, the most popular responses to the problem of evil revolve around abstract discussions of greater goods, maximization of value, and best possible worlds, depicting God as at best an impartial bureaucrat and at worst a utility fanatic, rather than as a loving parent concerned first and foremost for his children. Vince R. Vitale develops Non-Identity Theodicy as an original response to the problem of evil. He begins by recognizing that horrendous evils pose distinctive challenges for belief in God. The book constructs an ethical framework for theodicy by sketching four cases of human action where horrendous evils are either caused, permitted, or risked, either for pure benefit or for harm avoidance. This framework is then brought to bear on the project of theodicy. The initial conclusions drawn impugn the dominant structural approach of depicting God as causing or permitting horrors in individual lives for the sake of some merely pure benefit. This approach is insensitive to relevant asymmetries in the justificatory demands made by horrendous and non-horrendous evil and in the justificatory work done by averting harm and bestowing pure benefit. Vitale then critiques theodicies that depict God as permitting or risking horrors in order to avert greater harm. The second half of this book develops a theodicy that falls outside of the proposed taxonomy. Non-Identity Theodicy suggests that God allows evil because it is a necessary condition of creating individual people whom he desires to love. This approach to theodicy is unique because the justifying good recommended is neither harm-aversion nor pure benefit. It is not a good that betters the lives of individual human persons--for they would not exist otherwise, but it is the individual human persons themselves.
Author : Richard Rice
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 172 pages
File Size : 38,92 MB
Release : 2014-06-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0830880208
Suffering is a deeply personal problem. Why is this happening to me? Guiding readers through the seven most significant theodicies, Richard Rice uses theory and personal stories to help each of us form a response to suffering that is both intellectually satisfying and personally authentic.
Author : Jill Graper Hernandez
Publisher : MDPI
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 36,14 MB
Release : 2019-05-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 3038972282
The problem of evil has vexed for centuries: is pain and suffering in the world consistent with the existence of God? Theodicy attempts to demonstrate or explain why the answer could be ‘yes’. Some think that the problem of evil was solved a long time ago, but theodicy in the 21st-century has thus far produced novel approaches, uncovered new dilemmas, juxtaposed itself with other philosophical and religious fields, listened to new voices, and has even been explored through uncommon methodologies. This is a new era of, and for, theodicy. Though never removed from the logical problem of evil, theodicy at least in the near future will generate unique arguments related to the phenomenology of lived suffering, modal claims across worlds, the possibility of ameliorative analysis, narrative theodicy, and standpoint difficulties in generating theodical discourse. This special issue is dedicated to extending the platform for clear and interesting perspectives on new dimensions of theodicy, and in reclaiming perspectives on the problem of evil that have been largely ignored in philosophy of religion.
Author : Bethany N. Sollereder
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 299 pages
File Size : 34,13 MB
Release : 2018-10-29
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0429881851
After the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, theologians were faced with the dilemma of God creating through evolution. Suddenly, pain, suffering, untimely death and extinction appeared to be the very tools of creation, and not a result of the sin of humanity. Despite this paradigm shift, the question of non-human suffering has been largely overlooked within theodicy debates, overwhelmed by the extreme human suffering of the twentieth century. This book redresses this imbalance by offering a rigorous academic treatment of the questions surrounding God and the suffering of non-human animals. Combining theological, philosophical, and biblical perspectives, this book explores the relationship between God and Creation within Christian theology. First it dismantles the popular theological view that roots violence and suffering in the animal kingdom in the fall of humanity. Then, through an exploration of the nature of love, it affirms that there are multiple reasons to suggest that God and creation can both be "good", even with the presence of violence and suffering. This is an innovative exploration of an under-examined subject that encompasses issues of theology, science, morality and human-animal interactions. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars and academics of religion and science, the philosophy of religion, theodicy, and biblical studies.
Author : Bruce A. Little
Publisher : University Press of America
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 39,82 MB
Release : 2012-07-10
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0761852557
God: Why This Evil? examines the more traditional Christian explanation for why God permits evil in this world and offers an alternative explanation. After reviewing several greater-good explanations, that is God allows evil in order to bring about some greater good, Professor Little concludes that such explanations are neither theologically necessary nor practically helpful. In response, theological and philosophical issues related to this great question are clarified, concluding with an alternative explanation for the existence of evil in this world. The major point being that some evil may very well be gratuitous (i.e., has a reason, but no purpose), but does not count against the moral perfections of God, limit His power, or restrict His sovereignty. In conclusion, key Bible passages are examined with an application of the alternative position to the great question of why God allows so much evil in this world.
