How to reconcile the existence of evil with the belief in a benevolent God has long posed a philosophical problem to the system of Christian theism. John Hick's book, "Evil and the Love of God", is perhaps the best known work to redress this difficulty in modern terms. Sharing Hick's interest in responding to the question of evil, R. Douglas Geivett constructs his own new "theodicy for today." But, Geivett departs from Hick by embracing the Augustinian tradition of free will and returning the responsibility for evil to human beings themselves. R. Douglas Geivett is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Biola University in La Mirada, California.
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"By appealing to recent scientific opinion that the universe may well have had an absolute beginning, Geivett develops an interesting, forceful argument for the rationality of belief in God. He then expounds the Augustinian free will theodicy and defends it against Hick's criticisms."
—William L. Rowe
—William L. Rowe
"Moving from a comparison of the Irenaean and Augustinian traditions in theodicy to a powerfully original critique of Hick's influential 'soul-making' theodicy, Geivett presents a richly developed natural theology drawing on contemporary scientific opinion in support of an ex nihilo creation. Geivett's writing on natural theology is lucid and informed, honestly engaging many of that tradition's critics....This work is notable for its exceptionally thorough documentation and references, making it a valuable sourcebook for reflection on God and evil. A stimulating afterword by Hick himself significantly enriches this book's provocative analyses."
—Religious Studies Review
"Geivett details a natural theology and develops a way of understanding the existence of evil that places the fact of evil within, rather than in opposition to, a theistic view. Both the natural theology and the theodicy are rich and complex."
—Keith E. Yandell, University of Wisconsin
—Keith E. Yandell, University of Wisconsin
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A new theodicy embracing the Augustinian tradition of free will as the touchstone for evil
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Doug Geivett is a native a southern California who has been teaching philosophy at Biola University (La Mirada, CA) since 1993. He was educated at Multnomah University (B.S.), Gonzaga University (M.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (M.A.), and the University of Southern California (Ph.D.). He has participated in public debates on the question of God's existence with Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, Paul Draper, Bruce Russell, John Shook, and Gordon Stein. He lectures nationally and internationally on an assortment of topics related to his publications.
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In this book R. Douglas Geivett attempts to argue for several theses. First, the success or failure of the theodical tradition known as the "augustinian" tradition (which traces its roots to Augustine) has close ties with the success or failure of the project of natural theology. Second, John Hick's theodicy is an example of a different theodical tradition which is known as the "soul making" theodicy (which traces its roots to Irenaeus), and Hick adopts this theodicy because he feels that the augustinian theodicy is incapable of overcome crucial objections against it. Third, Geivett argues that Hick's reasons for rejecting the augustinian theodicy are not adequate. The augustinian theodicy and its related project of natural theology can be successfully defended against Hick's objections. Fourth, Hick's theodicy is fraught with its own set of difficulties from which it cannot successfully recover.
This books is based on Dr. Geivett's PhD dissertation at USC and is a good example of careful historical and philosophical research. By carefully reading this book, one will learn a great deal about both the subject matter of theodicy as well as natural theology (Geivett defends a modern version of the cosmological argument known as the kalam cosmological argument).
A unique feature of this book is that it contains a critical review of itself which is written by John Hick.
A full index makes this book easier to use.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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theodicy hypothesis, theistic argumentation, gratuitous evil, quiescent universe, meticulous providence, epistemic distance, logically possible explanation, fiduciary attitude, own theodicy, theistic hypothesis, agent causation, theistic arguments, religious ambiguity, religious epistemology, natural theologian, immutable goods Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Possibility of Natural Theology, Beatific Vision, Thomas Aquinas, The Danger of Dismissing Natural Theology, John Hick, The Value of Natural Theology, Alvin Plantinga, Bertrand Russell, God of Abraham, Richard Swinburne, Antony Flew, Stephen Davis, Frederick Copleston, Gottfried Leibniz, William Rowe, David Hume Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
theodicy hypothesis, theistic argumentation, gratuitous evil, quiescent universe, meticulous providence, epistemic distance, logically possible explanation, fiduciary attitude, own theodicy, theistic hypothesis, agent causation, theistic arguments, religious ambiguity, religious epistemology, natural theologian, immutable goods Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Possibility of Natural Theology, Beatific Vision, Thomas Aquinas, The Danger of Dismissing Natural Theology, John Hick, The Value of Natural Theology, Alvin Plantinga, Bertrand Russell, God of Abraham, Richard Swinburne, Antony Flew, Stephen Davis, Frederick Copleston, Gottfried Leibniz, William Rowe, David Hume Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
8
books
cite this book:
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- In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God's Action in History by R. Douglas Geivett on 5 pages
- Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World by Dennis L. Okholm on page 84, page 221, and page 270
- Five Views on Apologetics by Steven B. Cowan on page 61, and page 93
- Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus by Michael J. Wilkins on page 203, and Back Matter
- Contemporary Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction (Contemporary Philosophy) by Charles Taliaferro on page 336
See all 8 books citing this book
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