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Tag Archives: theodicy
Creation, Theodicy, and the Problem of Evil
by Robert F. Fortuin This essay sets forth the claim that the absolute freedom of God’s act of creation informs the nature and meaning of evil. Because God created the universe without prior constraint or necessity, His moral nature and … Continue reading
Posted in Robert Fortuin
Tagged creatio ex nihilo, evil, God, Gregory of Nyssa, suffering, theodicy, universalism
109 Comments
Suffering, Theodicy, and Apokatastasis
“What then, one might well ask, is divine providence?” David Bentley Hart poses this question after pondering upon the evil and suffering of the world in his beautiful little book The Doors of the Sea. In the preceding eighty-one pages Hart compares the … Continue reading
Posted in David B. Hart
Tagged apocatastasis, damnation, David Hart, evil, God, hell, Hugh McCann, providence, suffering, theodicy, universalism
82 Comments
Is God the Author of Sin?
Is God the author of sin? The question assumes paramount importance when evaluating the construal of divine and human agency advanced by Hugh J. McCann. Popular theodicies seek to protect God from responsibility for human evil. That’s the upshot of … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Theology
Tagged creation, divine sovereignty, evil, free will, God, human freedom, Kathryn Tanner, providence, sin, theodicy
51 Comments
The Free-Will Defense and the Impossible Worlds of Molinism
The free-will defense against the problem of evil is a failure–at least that’s what Hugh McCann believes. This verdict surprises, given the opinion of so many philosophers that Alvin Plantinga’s argument succeeds resoundingly. But it succeeds, suggests McCann, only because … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Theology
Tagged divine sovereignty, evil, free will, God, human freedom, middle knowledge, Molinism, providence, theodicy
5 Comments
C. S. Lewis, Alvin Plantinga, and the Free-Will Defense
Why did God create a world filled with evil and horrific violence? In the midst of World War II, C. S. Lewis offered what has become a classic Christian response: God created things which had free will. That means creatures which … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Theology
Tagged Alvin Plantinga, C. S. Lewis, evil, free will, freedom, God, providence, theodicy
20 Comments
Jerry Walls: Heaven and the New Jerusalem
“The Alpha who created us for happiness,” states Jerry Walls, “is the Omega who is the fountain of happiness. This is the foundational truth that holds out the delicious prospect that the human story is destined for a glorious end that … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Eschatology
Tagged afterlife, death, eschatology, heaven, Jerry Walls, theodicy
17 Comments
Creatio ex Nihilo: The Oordian Demiurge
Thomas Jay Oord: creatio ex creatione a natura amoris “Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice after falling down the rabbit hole. Like most of his fellow contributors to Theologies of Creation, Thomas Jay Oord believes that “we need an alternative … Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Philosophical Theology
Tagged Aquinas, cosmology, creatio ex nihilo, creation, God, multiverse, theodicy, Theologies of Creation, Thomas Oord
5 Comments
