GOD AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
FIVE VIEWS
edited by CHAD MEISTER and JAMES K. DEW JR.
CONTRIBUTIONS BY
Phillip Cary, William Lane Craig, William Hasker, Thomas Jay Oord, and Stephen Wykstra
An imprint of InterVarsity Press
Downers Grove, Illinois
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
©2017 by Chad V. Meister and James K. Dew Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.
InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Figure 1: Used by permission of Mission Frontiers magazine published by Frontier Ventures. The chart originally appeared in the November 1990 edition of Mission Frontiers on page 18.
Cover design: David Fassett
Images: © Clayton Bastiani / Trevillion Images
ISBN 978-0-8308-9174-0 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-4024-3 (print)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Meister, Chad V., 1965- editor.
Title: God and the problem of evil : five views / edited by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr.
Description: Downers Grove : InterVarsity Press, 2017. | Series: Spectrum multiview books | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017000165 (print) | LCCN 2017008459 (ebook) | ISBN 9780830840243 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780830891740 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Theodicy. | God--Christianity. | Good and evil--Religious aspects--Christianity.
Classification: LCC BT160 .G58 2017 (print) | LCC BT160 (ebook) | DDC 231/.8--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017000165
Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr.
PART ONE: PERSPECTIVES ON THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
Phillip Cary
William Lane Craig
William Hasker
Thomas Jay Oord
Stephen Wykstra
Phillip Cary
William Lane Craig
William Hasker
9 The Essential Kenosis Response
Thomas Jay Oord
10 The Skeptical Theist Response
Stephen Wykstra
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About God and the Problem of Evil: Five ViewsThe problem of evil is a constant challenge to faith in God. How can we believe in a loving and powerful God given the existence of so much suffering in the world? Philosophers and theologians have addressed this problem countless times over the centuries. New explanations have been proposed in recent decades drawing on resources in Scripture, theology, philosophy, and science. According to the classic position, associated especially with the Augustinian tradition, God permits evil and suffering as part of the grand narrative of divine providence to bring about the redemption of creation. Molinism modifies the classic view by adding God’s middle knowledge to the picture, in which God has knowledge of what creatures would do in all possible worlds. Open theism rejects the determinism of the classic view in favor of an account of God as a risk-taker who does not know for sure what the future holds. Essential kenosis goes further in providing a comprehensive theodicy by arguing that God cannot control creatures and thus cannot unilaterally prevent evil. Skeptical theism rejects the attempt to provide a theodicy and instead argues that, if God exists, we should not expect to understand God’s purposes. |
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