Customer Reviews

Evil: A Historical and Theological Perspective

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It's a commonplace to observe that we live in a world that contains a great deal of evil. Even people who don't think much about philosophical and theological matters probably reflect occasionally on why so much evil (and suffering) exists in the world. Some years ago liberal Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a book entitled WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE which was quite popular.

In EVIL: A HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Lutheran theologian Hans Schwarz surveys the topic of evil from the perspective of the Bible, history, theology and anthropology.

Schwarz starts with psychologists such as Konrad Lorenz, Erich Fromm and Carl Jung. These are thinkers that I've always wanted to read but haven't found the time. He then moves to theological answers to the question of evil. He provides a synopsis of the biblical view and answers given by men such as Augustine, Martin Luther and Karl Barth. He reviews liberation theology, process theology, and feminist theology among other movements.

While you can't blame an author omitting material that you might have wanted included, I found the book was a little too focused on German writers. The only contemporary philosopher Schwarz summarizes in any detail is Kant.

Two other books by Schwarz, ON THE WAY TO THE FUTURE and ESCHATOLOGY, contain valuable discussions of evil from a somewhat different perspective.