Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil [Hardcover]

James L. Crenshaw (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195140028 | ISBN-13: 978-0195140026 | Publication Date: April 21, 2005

In the ancient Near East, when the gods detected gross impropriety in their ranks, they subjected their own to trial. When mortals suspect their gods of wrongdoing, do they have the right to put them on trial? What lies behind the human endeavor to impose moral standards of behavior on the gods? Is this effort an act of arrogance, as Kant suggested, or a means of keeping theological discourse honest? It is this question James Crenshaw seeks to address in this wide-ranging study of ancient theodicies. Crenshaw has been writing about and pondering the issue of theodicy - the human effort to justify the ways of the gods or God - for many years. In this volume he presents a synthesis of his ideas on this perennially thorny issue. The result sheds new light on the history of the human struggle with this intractable problem.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is vintage Crenshaw. Each essay is the fruit of precise scholarship written in a way that those not expert in the field can easily follow the argument and appreciate the conclusions. The ease with which [Crenshaw]. opens the meaning of the text is born of many years of both personal and professional wrestling with the topic...Once again, [Crenshaw] has shown himself to be an eminent scholar and remarkable teacher."--The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"Crenshaw's elegant and honest treatment of this timely topic deserves a careful reading and even several re-readings. It is a fine book by a great biblical scholar." --America

"Erudite and impassioned. Highly recommended." --Choice

"Why do bad things happen to good people? The question has been a significant part of the human scene for a very long time and there are clearly no easy answers. Here is a book that will be of the greatest help to the serious enquirer. Crenshaw has read widely, published extensively, and thought deeply about the many sides of the question. I cannot recommend this book too highly. It is timely, wide-ranging and challenging. It focuses important issues and sets them in a perspective which is immensely helpful."-- Ronald E. Clements, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament Studies, Kings College, University of London

"Those who have followed Crenshaws distinguished career have long anticipated his comprehensive study of biblical theodicies. Defending God does not disappoint. It is sweeping in its survey of the many responses to injustice that ancient Israel explored, while never losing its focus on the singular tension between Gods mercy and love that is common to all. It is rigorous in its critique of the strengths and weaknesses of each possible response, without sacrificing the pained passion that drives every sufferers quest for answers, however unattainable. In sum, this book is a tour de force. No previous work on the subject is its equal; every subsequent work will necessarily follow in its wake. For generations to come, Defending God will chart the course for those who seek to understand what the conflict within the soul of Israel teaches us about Gods justice." --Samuel E. Balentine, Professor of Old Testament, Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education

"No biblical scholar has thought so long, so hard, and so well about issues of theodicy in the Hebrew Bible as has James Crenshaw. Presenting the topic in ways that are clear, accessible and imaginative, Crenshaw does not flinch from forthrightly addressing the tough questions. All readers who are interested in or perplexed by texts relating to God, evil, and suffering will benefit greatly from these theologically mature reflections." --Terence E. Fretheim, Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary

"Reminiscent of Roland Murphy, Crenshaw masterfully conveys issues with an economy of words. His writing is fluid, accessible, and informative." --Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

"Crenshaw provides the ingredients for stirring discussions about this perennial problem." --Christian Century

"This volume on theodicy is indeed "the fruit of a lifetime of research," in which Crenshaw goes beyond the boundaries of pure biblical research." --Journal of Religion

About the Author

James L. Crenshaw is Robert L. Flowers Professor of Old Testament at Duke University. He is the author of many books, most recently The Psalms: An Introduction (2001) and Education in Ancient Israel: Across the Deadening Silence (1998).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195140028
• ISBN-13: 978-0195140026
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Answer to Ehrman's 'God's Problem', July 11, 2008

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B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil (Hardcover)

My reading of `Defending God, Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil' by Old Testament scholar and expert on the issue of `Theodicy' (the fancy name for the problem of evil), James L. Crenshaw, shows me that my earlier praise for Bart Ehrman's recent book, `God's Problem', may have been just a bit premature.
While Ehrman, a major player in Biblical scholarship, but no expert in this field, cites four different `Biblical responses'. While these are the ones we are likely to all think of first, Crenshaw demonstrates that this list is far from complete, and gives us a detailed discussion of ten (10) different responses. Now admittedly, his first two are just a bit thin, with little scriptural support, but these still make Crenshaw's book a far better sourcebook on this problem than Ehrman.
But, I am not about to remove one or more of Ehrman's stars, because just as Crenshaw shows Ehrman's weaknesses, Ehrman demonstrates Crenshaw's weaknesses, especially for a lay audience. The first thing which strikes me is that unlike Ehrman, Crenshaw often does not include the quote from scripture on which he is basing his discussion. This is somewhat noisome to Crenshaw's approach, as he also presents many arguments about texts based on fine points of translation from the Hebrew. While I am just barely starting to find my way around New Testament Greek, the niceties of Hebrew translation are almost totally lost on me. To a great extent, this is my weakness, but it also weakens the value of Crenshaw's book for a lay audience, especially those, like me, who wish to use it as a guide to a Bible study course on the subject of theodicy.
Another area where Ehrman still shines alongside Crenshaw is when he is characterizing the general approach of the various authors of Ecclesiastes, Job, Daniel, Amos, Hosea, and Revelations. He makes the telling comment that the author of Ecclesiastes, unlike the prophets, is pointedly describing the world as he sees it, not as revealed by private communications with God. Crenshaw has similar observations, but they tend to be less accessible to the lay reader.
Crenshaw's strongest features are that this book provides a great guide to important literature and commentary on the problem of theodicy. He also offers an excellent defense of the scriptures, with sound instructions on how one is to read and understand the many references to God's actions which are capricious and certainly outside our human concepts of justice. Crenshaw looks at exactly the same evidence examined by Ehrman and does not come to the same agnostic conclusion. That alone makes this a book one should read alongside `God's Problem'.

Addendum: My overall opinion of Crenshaw's book is unchanged, but his count of 10 Biblical answers to evil is a bit off, as his first, atheism is overstated. Psalm 10 does not refer to the absence of God. It cites God's distance from the Psalmist. There is NO true disbelief in God in the Old or New Testaments.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Theodicy?, March 7, 2010

By 

G. Kyle Essary (Melaka, Malaysia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil (Kindle Edition)

Despite the title, this is not a book of theodicy (a defense of God). This is a book describing theodicies (plural) in the Bible. As another reviewer has noted, this is very similar to what Bart Ehrman tried to do (unsuccessfully in my opinion) in his book "God's Problem."

In that book, Ehrman describes situations of clear evil in the world, and then writing outside of his expertise concludes that the Bible offers no effective answers to the problem of evil. Since Ehrman has become something of a popular skeptical writer (due to his background), it's no surprise that he tackles this topic. With that said, you wouldn't expect an unbiased opinion to come from his pen. What Crenshaw does (although there is no intentional interaction with Ehrman), is show that Ehrman's reading of the text is simplistic at best and naïve at worst. Crenshaw's aim is to discuss in depth the various ways that the biblical writers deal with defending God in the face of evil. He gives ten responses from the Bible to evil (both natural and personal). In each of them he sees a trajectory that develops throughout the biblical tradition, but sees none (in and of themselves) as ultimately effective, although a culmulative argument might be made. His analysis is extremely thoughtful and thorough.

So why only three stars? There are two main reasons. First, I do not find Crenshaw to be a good writer. This is not popular reading, but intended for a scholarly audience. Therefore, one would not expect readability to be a virtue in such an endeavor. Still, can one remain so utterly dispassionate on such a topic? Having heard Crenshaw lecture in the past, I know that he personally has struggled deeply with the topic and that makes him all the more compelling to hear. Unfortunately, this deep struggle does not find its way into these pages as the feel of the writing is largely emotionless. Second, the electronic format was terrible. When you spend $40 on a Kindle book (most are $10), you should expect quality. Surely, the price comes due to the publisher (OUP), but such poor formatting cannot find a $40 price tag to be justifiable.