Creation and the Persistence of Evil [Paperback]

Jon D. Levenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0691029504 | ISBN-13: 978-0691029504 | Edition: Reprint

This paperback edition brings to a wide audience one of the most innovative and meaningful models of God for this post-Auschwitz era. In a thought-provoking return to the original Hebrew conception of God, which questions accepted conceptions of divine omnipotence, Jon Levenson defines God's authorship of the world as a consequence of his victory in his struggle with evil. He traces a flexible conception of God to the earliest Hebrew sources, arguing, for example, that Genesis 1 does not describe the banishment of evil but the attempt to contain the menace of evil in the world, a struggle that continues today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A doctrine of creatio ex nihilo and a perception of creation as essentially a fait accompli `in the beginning' have stripped much of the drama from the views of creation found in the Hebrew Bible. Levenson seeks--with impressive success--to restore that drama. He provides, thereby, a reflective biblical foundation, based in solid philological and comparative study. (Lee Humphreys Hebrew Studies )

This masterful biblical and rabbinic study of creation and evil may challenge Christian proponents of creation theology and spirituality and adherents of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo. (John C. Endres, S.J. Theological Studies )

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (November 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691029504
• ISBN-13: 978-0691029504
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Theology
  • #23 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Jewish Life

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bold, persuasive, and thought-provoking August 12, 2000

By spidir

Format:Paperback

Creation and the Persistence of Evil is a startling and challenging book. Levenson makes a compelling case for the idea that the act of creation consisted (and consists!) of God's mastering preexistent forces of chaos rather than the simple, unopposed production of something out of nothing--and that these forces were not vanquished but continue to exist under restraints that are subject to fluctuations in God's vigilance. In this view, creation is neither static nor finished but is, as the subtitle suggests, a drama requiring ongoing application of divine attention and energy. And creation was, and is, a process of ordering reality by separating things, by establishing and maintaining boundaries.

This is not an easy book in any respect. I thought I had a fairly workable theological vocabulary until the list of terms I had to look up filled an entire page. The section about the heptadic structure of creation and the Temple as an idealized microcosm of the created world was particularly difficult going. But it was well worth the effort; this is one of the most exciting and insightful books I have read in a long time.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Provocative in proposing that God fails and can be faulted November 2, 1998

By Allan M. Gathercoal

Format:Paperback

Jon Levenson, unable to hide behind God's goodness and omniscience has written an erudite and ponderous examination of theodicy in his work, Creation and the Persistence of Evil. He avoids a quick solution and bravely faces and retains both his belief in God's goodness and God's justice when both are juxtaposed with the "enormous suffering with which humanity seems forever cursed". Ultimately Levenson vindicates God by postulating the belief that God purposely limits His intervention and power to eradicated evil while showing that God continues His march towards the "reign of the perfect justice He so ardently desires". No small feat.

At the core of Christian/Jewish Theology is the belief that God is the creator of all - absolutely all - and he continues to be in complete control of his creation. The firm belief in the absolute deity of God has given rise to Levenson's view of the universe. The problem confronting Levenson is the concealment or hiddenness of God when Evil not only persists but prevails. Levenson, wrestles empirically with the questions "What kind of God is this God who fails to do what he is obligated by character to do?" and "Is a concealed God, a nonexistent God?". Because of the dreadful cognitive dissidence between faith and fatalism Levenson is forced to come up with an answer that a least adequately helps him and us get through our despair, pain and injustice and survive the respective nights of isolation.

The Theology of the Limited God....

Provocative in proposing that God fails, that God can be faulted and even goaded Levenson push his readers to consider the theological construct - the theology of the limited God. Levenson in his reflection on "creation theology" sees God as the creator of both the world and all forces of evil that oppose him within the world, IE: disorder, injustice, affliction and chaos are to viewed as much a part of God as is His creation. He goes on to say "God is the author of everything, even of evil." God created these forces to demonstrate His dominant mastery over them. For God's Lordship is meaningful only if the powers he subjugates are formidable. Levenson underscores this thought by comparing God to an emperor who has vanquished his foes, "No emperor will achieve heroic status in the eyes of his subjects if all he forces to march through his streets is a sunken-chested weakling."

To Levenson, God created this world out of disorder, injustice affliction and chaos; and thus when "justice replaces oppression, when disease and death yield to vitality and longevity, this is the creation of something out of nothing." For Levenson creation still goes on each and every time good prevails and evil fails, thus "we are a junior partner in his continual ordering of the world".

In the face of evil, when the suffering does not end, when God's silence and inactivity prevails, when all the "how to" books fail and the popular confessional theologies are but vain and useless incantations Levenson gives us three options... 1) Argue with God in the hope that God maybe "cajoled, flattered, shamed or threatened into action", 2) Abandon God and find another god that may resolve your suffering, 3) Retain your confession in God, believing that God's deliverance of you from your suffering is not a precondition of your faith as exemplified by Shadrach, Meshach and Abend-nego (Dan. 3:16-18) when they entered the flames of the king's furnace. Thus, to retain your confession you must also be willing to face and even embrace imminent suffering and possibly death.

In Levenson mind we can become co-creators along with God when we partake in reordering the world, by creating good out of evil, or creatio ex nihilo. We are enabled by faith in God to not only cope with evil but to transform evil into good. It is through our obedience and confession of allegiance to the divine creator that we too become co-creators, even gods. Our continued faith in God, a God who may even be absent from us in the face of evil, is part of the confession of a co-creator. We, in our frail humanity, are called to partake in the creative reordering of this world and ultimately witness, celebrate God's victory. Chaos and evil are dependent on God and God alone will annihilate them. He will do that by transforming rather than destroying chaos and evil and we are called to be His witnesses.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Theological Thriller February 18, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Biblical scholarship and theology is often quite dry, but Levenson keeps his reader on the edge of his seat. Having read his other work on the significance of the sacrificial son in Christianity and Judaism, I was quite eager to dig into this book when I purchased it about four years ago. I was not disappointed. It's aimed at the lay reader, so it is not particularly difficult to approach. A fascinating argument.