The Problem of Evil and the Power of God
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The Problem of Evil and the Power of God: (8 Studies in Systematic Theology)

The Problem of Evil and the Power of God: (8 Studies in Systematic Theology)


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About the Book

The problem of evil can be defined theoretically as the apparent inconsistency between, on the one hand, belief in the existence of a perfectly good and omnipotent God and, on the other hand, the existence of evil. This book discusses four different solutions to this problem, provided by Richard Swinburne, Keith Ward, David Griffin and Johan Hygen, with the goal of finding the most coherent solution. The author makes several suggestions for improvement and concludes that there is a coherent answer to the problem of evil. While the focus is on Christian approaches to the problem, many of the approaches and solutions are applicable to other religions as well.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction ... 1 The Problem of Evil ... 1 Responses to the Problem of Evil not Discussed in this Book .... 5 Material ...13 Method and Outline ...16 PART ONE PRESENTATION OF THE FOUR THEODICIES 2. Richard Swinburne’s Theodicy ... 23 Greater Goods ... 25 Necessary Evils ... 27 Swinburne’s Theodicy ... 31 3. Keith Ward’s Theodicy ... 34 Concept of God ... 35 Goals for Creation ... 38 Ward’s Theodicy ... 3 4. David R. Griffin’s Theodicy ... 47 Critique of Traditional Th eism ... 49 Introduction to Process Theism ... 52 Griffin’s Theodicy ... 57 5. Johan B. Hygen’s Theodicy ... 61 The Problem of Evil ... 61 The Concept of Almightiness ... 66 Hygen’s Theodicy ... 69 PART TWO CRITERIA AND TERMINOLOGY 6. First Criterion: Coherence ... 81 Puntel on Coherence ... 81 Theory of Truth ... 85 Value Judgments ... 89 7. Second Criterion: Authenticity ... 95 Pannenberg on Systematic Theology ... 98 The Philosophical Idea of God ... 106 The Problem of Evil ... 108 8) Terminology ... 112 ‘Evil’ ... 116 ‘The Problem of Evil’ ... 119 ‘God’ as Concept ... 121 God as a Perfectly Good Moral Actor in the World ... 126 God as Personal ... 128 God as Immutable, Impassible, Timeless and Omniscient ... 129 God as Trinitarian ... 134 God as Necessary ... 136 God as Infi nite ... 146 God as Creator ... 150 God’s Power ... 152 PART THREE DISCUSSION OF THE FOUR THEODICIES 9) Swinburne ... 161 Some Evils do not Lead to Greater Goods ... 163 God Ought not to Use Evils as a Means ... 173 There are Better Ways to Reach God’s Goals ... 176 Some Evils are not Outweighed ... 185 10) Ward ... 196 God Ought not to Allow Genuine Evils ... 197 Independence does not Require Suffering ... 202 Independence is not Worth the Suffering ... 213 Less Independent Beings would be Better ... 218 11) Griffin ... 220 God’s Non-Coercion is Incoherent ... 221 God’s Non-Coercion is Inauthentic ... 229 12) Hygen ... 240 Hygen’s God is not Praiseworthy ... 241 Why does God only Perform Miracles Sometimes? ... 243 There are no Supernatural Evil Powers ... 245 God’s Fight is not Genuine ... 24 13) Conclusion ... 252 Constructive Proposals ... 252 Final Conclusion ... 260 Bibliography ... 265 Index ... 269

About the Author :
Atle Ottesen Søvik, PhD (2009) in systematic theology, is a postdoctoral fellow at MF Norwegian School of Theology, working on a project on free will and naturalism. He has published various articles on the problem of evil and other subjects.

Review :
Atle Ottesen Søvik deftly maneuvers through major options in theodicy, pointing out strengths and weaknesses in each. Time and again, issues of God’s power take center stage in his exploration. Readers would be wise to join Søvik in assessing significant ways of envisioning God’s power, while moving toward a conscientious response to the problem of evil. This book forces us to think more deeply than we are typically accustomed to thinking! - Thomas Jay Oord, Ph.D., Northwest Nazarene University, Author of Defining Love: A Philosophical, Scientific, and Theological Engagement “Søvik’s The Problem of Evil and the Power of God is an important contribution to research within philosophy of religion and theology. It holds a high international level and must be considered to be an outstanding work.” - Mikael Stenmark, University of Upsala. The author considers four modern attempts to deal philosophically with the problem of evil. He does so helpfully and clearly, and adds relevant comments of his own. This, in my view, is an excellent creative treatment of the problem which will be very helpful for students as well as for the general reader. - Keith Ward, Christ Church College Oxford, UK. The Problem of Evil and the Power of God is a brilliant and very well argued analysis of some of the most important modern Christian theodices. In particular, the author has developed a careful analysis of philosophers like Swinburne, Ward, and Griffin. The book is one of the best accounts of the challenges of modern theodices that presently exists. It is also highly readable. - Professor Nils Gilje, University of Bergen.


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9789004205604
  • Publisher: Brill
  • Publisher Imprint: Brill
  • Height: 235 mm
  • No of Pages: 274
  • Returnable: Y
  • Spine Width: 21 mm
  • Width: 155 mm
  • ISBN-10: 9004205608
  • Publisher Date: 23 May 2011
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Language: English
  • No of Pages: 274
  • Series Title: 8 Studies in Systematic Theology
  • Weight: 594 gr


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