The Problem of Evil and the Power of God

The Problem of Evil and the Power of God......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 10
The Problem of Evil......Page 12
Responses to the Problem of Evil not Discussed in this Book......Page 16
Material......Page 24
Method and Outline......Page 27
PART ONE PRESENTATION OF THE FOUR THEODICIES......Page 32
II. Richard Swinburne’s Theodicy......Page 34
Greater Goods......Page 36
Necessary Evils......Page 38
Swinburne’s Theodicy......Page 42
III. Keith Ward’s Theodicy......Page 45
Concept of God......Page 46
Goals for Creation......Page 49
Ward’s Theodicy......Page 50
IV. David R. Griffin’s Theodicy......Page 58
Critique of Traditional Theism......Page 60
Introduction to Process Theism......Page 63
Griffin’s Theodicy......Page 68
The Problem of Evil......Page 72
The Concept of Almightiness......Page 77
Hygen’s Theodicy......Page 80
PART TWO CRITERIA AND TERMINOLOGY......Page 90
Puntel on Coherence......Page 92
Theory of Truth......Page 96
Value Judgments......Page 100
VII. Second Criterion: Authenticity......Page 106
Pannenberg on Systematic Theology......Page 109
The Philosophical Idea of God......Page 117
The Problem of Evil......Page 119
VIII. Terminology......Page 123
‘Evil’......Page 127
‘The Problem of Evil’......Page 130
‘God’ as Concept......Page 132
God as a Perfectly Good Moral Actor in the World......Page 137
God as Personal......Page 139
God as Immutable, Impassible, Timeless and Omniscient......Page 140
God as Trinitarian......Page 145
God as Necessary......Page 147
God as Infinite......Page 157
God as Creator......Page 161
God’s Power......Page 163
PART THREE DISCUSSION OF THE FOUR THEODICIES......Page 170
IX. Swinburne......Page 172
Some Evils do not Lead to Greater Goods......Page 174
God Ought not to Use Evils as a Means......Page 184
There are Better Ways to Reach God’s Goals......Page 187
Some Evils are not Outweighed......Page 196
X. Ward......Page 207
God Ought not to Allow Genuine Evils......Page 208
Independence does not Require Suffering......Page 213
Independence is not Worth the Suffering......Page 224
Less Independent Beings would be Better......Page 229
XI. Griffin......Page 231
God’s Non-Coercion is Incoherent......Page 232
God’s Non-Coercion is Inauthentic......Page 240
XII. Hygen......Page 251
Hygen’s God is not Praiseworthy......Page 252
Why does God only Perform Miracles Sometimes?......Page 254
There are no Supernatural Evil Powers......Page 256
God’s Fight is not Genuine......Page 258
Constructive Proposals......Page 263
Final Conclusion......Page 271
Bibliography......Page 276
Index......Page 280