Read complete books and articles on: Theodicy

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11 of the Best Books and Articles on: Theodicy

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

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...
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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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2.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

". . . 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
3.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

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...
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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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4.

Theodicy: A Neglected Aspect of the Psychology of Religion, in International Journal for the Psychology of Religion » Read Now
by Adrian Furnham, Laurence B. Brown. 9 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Psychology, Entire Library

...Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Theodicy: A Neglected Aspect of the Psychology...about the problems of evil, and so with theodicy. More than 100 subjects completed a...
5.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

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.
6.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

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.
7.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...IMMORTALITY AND THE NEW THEODICY BY GEORGE A. GORDON MINISTER...the essay is indicated by the term theodicy. The shadow that lies upon the universe...INFINITE 105...
8.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...cognitive coherence, and one for an interactive theodicy effect . Most research on the effects of social...that the environment is threatening. THE THEODICY HYPOTHESIS The...
9.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

...himself and in nature. Pessimism and theodicy both reveal mans character: his grievous...dualism: Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman.--Theodicy in the Old Testament, and the...
10.

(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") » Read Now
by Zachary Braiterman. 208 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

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...
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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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11.

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

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

...412 17. Soul Making Theodicy Some General Problems with the...413 Hicks Soul Making Theodicy Explained / 418 Hicks Soul Making Theodicy Evaluated / 423 18...