Theodicy

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Theodicy

1 .

Providence and the Problem of Evil (Chap. 1 "The Need for Theodicy" and Chap. 2 "Theodicy in Christian Tradition")
by Richard Swinburne. 263 pgs.

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Why does a loving God allow humans to suffer so much? This is one of the most difficult problems of religious belief. Richard Swinburne gives a careful, clear examination of this problem, and offers an answer: it is because God wants more for us than just pleasure or freedom from suffering. Swinburne argues that God wants humans to learn and to love, to make the choices which make great differences for good and evil to each other, to form our characters in the way we choose; above all to be of great use to each other. If we are to have all this, there will inevitably be suffering for the short period of our lives on Earth. But because of the good that God gives to humans in this life, and because he makes it possible for us, through our choice, to share the life of Heaven, he does not wrong us if he allows suffering. Providence and the Problem of Evil is the final volume of Richard Swinburne's acclaimed tetralogy on Christian doctrine. It may be read on its own as a self-standing treatment of this eternal philosophical issue. Readers who are interested in a unified study of the philosophical foundations of Christian belief will find it now in the tetralogy and in his trilogy on the philosophy of theism.

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Title Page

Acknowledgements

Contents

Introduction

I: The Problem of Evil

1: The Need for Theodicy

2: Theodicy in Christian Tradition

II: The Good Goals of Creation

3: Beauty

4: Thought and Feeling

5: Action

6: Worship

III: The Necessary Evils

7: The Fact of Moral Evil; and Free Will

8: The Range of Moral Evil; and Responsibility

9: Natural Evil and the Scope for Response

10: Natural Evil and the Possibility of Knowledge

11: The Evils of Sin and Agnosticism

Conclusion to Part III

IV: Completing the Theodicy

12: God's Right

13: Weighing Good against Bad

Additional Notes

Index
2 .

Evil and a Good God (Chap. 4 "Theodicy for Moral Evils" and Chap. 5 "Theodicy for Natural Evils")
by Bruce R. Reichenbach. 198 pgs.

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". . . a comprehensive review and criticism of the major deductive and inductive arguments against theism [and] a morally sufficient reason for the presence of evil." -Religious Studies Review

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Title Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Contents

Preface

NOTES

1: The Deductive Argument from Evil

NOTES

2: The Inductive Argument from Evil

NOTES

3: Presuppositions

NOTES

4: Theodicy for Moral Evils

5: Theodicy for Natural Evils

CONCLUSION

6: Must God Create the Best Possible World?

CONCLUSION

NOTES

7: Why is God Good?

8: Is God Omnipotent or Finite in Power?

Index
3 .

Learning Theodicy: The Problem of Evil and the Praxis of Religious Education
by Paul Vermeer. 202 pgs.

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Title Page

Contents

Acknowledgement

Introduction

1: Theodicy Models

2: Theodicy Logic

3: Theodicy Judgment

4: Theodicy Education

5: Theodicy Research

6: Perspectives on Theodicy Education

Bibliography

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Index
4 .

God and Evil: An Introduction to the Issues (Chap. 6 "The Task of Theodicy")
by Michael L. Peterson. 136 pgs.

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This concise, well-structured introductory survey examines the problem of evil in the context of the philosophy of religion. One of the core topics in the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is an ever-present dilemma that Western philosophers have pondered for almost two thousand years. The main problem of evil consists in reconciling belief in one's theistic deity while believing in the existence of evil at the same time. Michael Peterson presents this issue through a series of questions & cites theodicy as an appropriate response to the various arguments of evil. Peterson concludes with a discussion of how the problem of evil has evolved, where it stands today, & in what direction it is headed. Contents: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL & ITS PLACE IN PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. Evil in Human Existence. Evil & Religious Belief. The Classification of Evil. THE LOGICAL PROBLEM OF EVIL. The Structure of the Problem. Versions of the Problem. Locating the Burden of Proof. THE FUNCTION OF DEFENSE. The Free Will Defense. Reformed Epistemology. The Current State of the Debate. THE EVIDENTIAL PROBLEM OF EVIL. The Structure of the Problem. Versions of the Problem. The Argument from Gratuitous Evil. IMPORTANT THEODICIES. The Prospects for Theodicy. Augustine's Free Will Theodicy. Leibniz's Best Possible World Theodicy. Griffin's Process Theodicy. Hick's Soul-Making Theodicy. THE EXISTENTIAL PROBLEM OF EVIL. Various Kinds of Existential Problems. Key Existential Questions Related to Evil. The Relation Between Rational Argument & Religious Faith. The Ongoing Discussion.

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Title Page

Contents

Preface

1: The Problem of Evil and Its Place in Philosophy of Religion

Notes

2: The Logical Problem of Evil

Notes

3: The Function of Defense

Notes

4: The Probabilistic Problem of Evil

Notes

5: The Problem of Gratuitous Evil

Notes

6: The Task of Theodicy

Notes

7: The Existential Problem of Evil

Notes

Index
5 .

God and Goodness: A Natural Theological Perspective (Chap. 4 "Theodicy in an Ecological Mode")
by Mark Wynn. 228 pgs.

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God and Goodness , takes the experience of value, in moral and aesthetic contexts, as a starting point for natural theology. The book seeks to respond to contemporary indifference to religious questions by representing religious commitment as a natural extension of our value commitments in other spheres.

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Title Page

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I: The Goodness of the World as Its Reason for Existence

1: Providence and Beauty

2: The World as a Source of Value

Part II: Disvalues and the Goodness of the World

3: Providence and Evil

4: Theodicy in an Ecological Mode

Part III: Moral Commitment to the Goodness of the World

5: A Non-Epistemic Case for Trusting in the Goodness of the World

Part IV: The Goodness of the World and the Concept of God

6: Worship and the Concept of God

7: Salvation and the Concept of God

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index
6 .

The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia (Chap. 12 "Theodicy")
by Gary B. Ferngren, Edward J. Larson, Darrel W. Amundsen, Anne-Marie E. Nakhla. 587 pgs.

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Spanning from 5th century Greece to today, this volume describes the relationship of science and religion throughout history. From ancient cosmology to modern physics, every major intellectual movement and discipline is covered.

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Title Page

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I: The Relationship of Science and Religion

1: The Historiography of Science and Religion

2: The Conflict of Science and Religion

Bibliography

3: The Demarcation of Science and Religion

4: Epistemology

5: Causation

6: Views of Nature

7: God, Nature, and Science

8: Varieties of Providentialism

Bibliography

9: Natural Theology

10: The Design Argument

Bibliography

11: Miracles

Bibliography

12: Theodicy

13: Genesis and Science

14: Nineteenth-Century Biblical Criticism

Part II: Biographical Studies

15: Galileo Galilei

16: Blaise Pascal

17: Isaac Newton

18: Charles Darwin

Part III: Intellectual Foundations and Philosophical Backgrounds

19: Plato and Platonism

Bibliography

20: Aristotle and Aristotelianism

Bibliography

21: Atomism

Bibliography

22: Epicureanism

23: Stoicism

24: Augustine of Hippo

25: Thomas Aquinas and Thomism

26: Skepticism

27: Cartesianism

28: Mechanical Philosophy

29: The Cambridge Platonists

30: Deism

Bibliography

31: The Enlightenment

32: Baconianism

33: German Nature Philosophy

34: Materialism

35: Atheism

36: Positivism

Bibliography

37: Pragmatism

38: Evolutionary Ethics

39: Scientific Naturalism

40: Secular Humanism

Bibliography

41: Process Philosophy and Theology

Bibliography

42: The Social Construction of Science

43: Gender

44: Postmodernism

Part IV: Specific Religious Traditions and Chronological Periods

45: Judaism to 1700

46: Early Christian Attitudes Toward Nature

47: Islam

48: Medieval Science and Religion

49: Orthodoxy

50: Roman Catholicism Since Trent

51: Early-Modern Protestantism

52: Judaism Since 1700

53: Modern American Mainline Protestantism

54: Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism

55: America's Innovative Nineteenth-Century Religions

56: Creationism Since 1859

Part V: Astronomy and Cosmology

57: The Calendar

58: Comets and Meteors

Bibliography

59: Pre-Copernican Astronomy

60: The Copernican Revolution

61: The Eternity of the World

62: The Plurality of Worlds and Extraterrestrial Life

63: Macrocosm/Microcosm

64: Cosmogonies from 1700 to 1900

Bibliography

65: Geocentricity

66: Flat-Earthism

67: Twentieth-Century Cosmologies

68: The Anthropic Principle

Bibliography

Part VI: The Physical Sciences

69: Physics

70: Chemistry

Bibliography

71: Electricity

72: Chaos Theory

Part VII: The Earth Sciences

73: Theories of the Earth and Its Age Before Darwin

Bibliography

74: The Genesis Flood

75: Geology and Paleontology from 1700 to 1900

Bibliography

76: Uniformitarianism and Actualism

Bibliography

77: Geography

78: Earthquakes

79: Meteorology

80: Ecology and the Environment

Part VIII: The Biological Sciences

81: Natural History

Bibliography

82: The Great Chain of Being

83: Taxonomy

84: The Origin and Unity of the Human Race

85: Evolution

86: Anatomy and Physiology to 1700

87: Premodern Theories of Generation

88: Genetics

89: Eugenics

Part IX: Medicine and Psychology

90: Medicine

91: Epidemic Diseases

92: European Psychology

93: Psychology in America

94: Theories of Religious Insanity in America

95: Phrenology

96: Theories of the Soul

Part X: The Occult Sciences

97: Astrology

Bibliography

98: Magic and the Occult

Bibliography

99: Alchemy

Bibliography

100: Hermeticism

101: Numbers

102: The Cabala

Bibliography

103: Spiritualism

Bibliography

Index
7 .

God, Medicine and Suffering (Chap. II "Theology, Theodicy, and Medicine")
by Stanley Hauerwas. 154 pgs.

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Title Page

Contents

Preface

Chapter I: A Child's Dying

Chapter II: Theology, Theodicy, and Medicine

Chapter III: Medicine as Theodicy

Index
8 .

Immortality and the New Theodicy (1897)
by George A. Gordon. 130 pgs.

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Title Page

Preface

Contents

I: Conditions of the Discussion

II: Signs of Hope

III: The Deeper Issues of the Debate

IV: The Evidence for the Denial

V: Value of the Evidence for Denial

VI: Postulates of Immortality

VII: Illogical Limitations

VIII: The New Humanity

IX: The New Theatre for the Absolute Moral Purpose

X: Determinism and Freedom

XI: The Verdict of the Infinite
9 .

Religious Involvement and the Health of the Elderly: Some Hypotheses and an Initial Test, in Social Forces
by Ellen L. Idler. 13 pgs.

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10 .

The Nature of Evil (1931) (Chap. IV "Scepticism and Theodicy")
by Radoslav A. Tsanoff. 446 pgs.

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Title Page

Preface

Table of Contents

Chapter I: The Problem of Evil in the Great Religions

Chapter II: The Christian-Medieval Tradition

Chapter III: Pascal's Despair of Reason

Chapter IV: Scepticism and Theodicy

Chapter V: Eighteenth Century Optimism

Chapter VI: The Despair of Civilization

Chapter VII: The Devil in Modern Poetry

Chapter VIII: Leopardi's Lyrical Pessimism

Chapter IX: Aristocracy without Illusions: Alfred de Vigny

Chapter X: The Warp of Schopenhauer

Chapter XI

Chapter XII: Hartmann's Philosophy of the Unconscious

Chapter XIII: A German Slough of Despond

Chapter XIV: A Gradational View of the Nature of Evil

Notes

Index
11 .

(God) after Auschwitz: Tradition and Change in Post-Holocaust Jewish Thought (Chap. One "Theodicy and Its Others: Forms of Religious Response to the Problem of Evil" and Chap. Three "Theodicies in Modern Jewish Thought")
by Zachary Braiterman. 208 pgs.

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The impact of technology-enhanced mass death in the twentieth century, argues Zachary Braiterman, has profoundly affected the future shape of religious thought. In his provocative book, the author shows how key Jewish theologians faced the memory of Auschwitz by rejecting traditional theodicy, abandoning any attempt to justify and vindicate the relationship between God and catastrophic suffering. The author terms this rejection "Antitheodicy," the refusal to accept that relationship. It finds voice in the writings of three particular theologians: Richard Rubenstein, Eliezer Berkovits, and Emil Fackenheim.This book is the first to bring postmodern philosophical and literary approaches into conversation with post-Holocaust Jewish thought. Drawing on the work of Mieke Bal, Harold Bloom, Jacques Derrida, Umberto Eco, Michel Foucault, and others, Braiterman assesses how Jewish intellectuals reinterpret Bible and Midrash to re-create religious thought for the age after Auschwitz.In this process, he provides a model for reconstructing Jewish life and philosophy in the wake of the Holocaust. His work contributes to the postmodern turn in contemporary Jewish studies and today's creative theology.

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(God) after Auschwitz: Tradition and Change in Post-Holocaust Jewish Thought

Contents

Acknowledgments

(God) after Auschwitz

Introduction: Modernity Surpassed Jewish Religious Thought after Auschwitz

Part I

One: Theodicy and Its Others Forms of Religious Response to the Problem of Evil

Two: Anti/theodicy in Bible and Midrash

Three: Theodicies in Modern Jewish Thought

Part II

Four: Hitler's Accomplice?! Revisioning Richard Rubenstein

Five: Do I Belong to the Race of Words? Anti/theodic Faith and Textual Revision in the Thought of Eliezer Berkovits

Six: Why is the World Today Not Water? Revelation, Fragmentation, and Solidarity in the Thought of Emil Fackenheim

Conclusion: Discourse, Sign, Diptych Remarks on Jewish Thought after Auschwitz

Notes

Bibliography

Index
12 .

Atheism: A Philosophical Justification (Chap. 17 "Soul Making Theodicy")
by Michael Martin. 546 pgs.

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Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part I Negative Atheism

Chapter 1: The Justification of Negative Atheism: Some Preliminaries

Chapter 2: The Meaningfulness of Religious Language

Chapter 3: The Ontological Argument

Chapter 4: The Cosmological Argument

Chapter 5: The Teleological Argument

Conclusion

Conclusion

Conclusion

General Conclusion

Chapter 6: The Argument from Religious Experience

Chapter 7: The Argument from Miracles

Chapter 8 Some Minor Evidential Arguments for God

Chapter 9 Beneficial Arguments for God

Chapter 10: Faith and Foundationalism

Part II Positive Atheism

Chapter 11 the Justification of Positive Atheism: Some Preliminaries

Chapter 12: Divine Attributes and Incoherence

Chapter 13: Atheistic Teleological Arguments

Chapter 14: The Argument from Evil

Chapter 15: The Free Will Defense

Chapter 16: Natural Evil

Chapter 17 Soul Making Theodicy

Chapter 18: Some Minor Theodicies

Conclusion

Appendix

Conclusion

Notes and Index

Index

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