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The Problem of Evil and Pain

 

Sessions

References

 

Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?

-- Epicurus (341-270 BC)

 

God is All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Loving and Good. So how could such a God stand by when God’s children were herded into the gas chambers at Auschwitz? How can such a God watch a child die of leukemia or a beloved parent slowly fail from Alzheimer’s disease? How can such a God tolerate the evil and suffering that pervades the world and each and every life?

Attempts to explain why God would allow the presence of evil and suffering in the world are called theodicies (theos, god and dike, justice: “to justify the ways of God”). In this seven part series from Sep. 19, 2004 to Nov. 7, 2004, we tried to live up to our calling as the new Israel (Israel = “the people that wrestle with God”) and explored how believers and theologians have struggled to approach some answers to the problem of evil and pain.

 

Sessions

9 to 9:50 am, in the Parlor

Downloads*

 

PDF Format

PowerPoint

Sep 19: Introduction to the Problem of Evil and Pain

Presentation (251 KB)

Presentation (215 KB)

Sep 26: The Explanation of St. Augustine: The Fall and Original Sin

Presentation (296 KB)

Presentation (245 KB)

Oct 10: The Explanation of Leibniz: The Best Possible World

Presentation (253 KB)

Presentation (344 KB)

Oct 17: The Explanation of St. Irenaeus: A World of Soul-making

Presentation (267 KB)

Presentation (349 KB)

Oct 24: The Explanation of Process Theology

Presentation (216 KB)

Presentation (282 KB)

Oct 31: The Existential Problem of Evil and Redemptive Suffering

Presentation (309 KB)

Presentation (429 KB)

Nov 7: Summary and Conclusions: The Problem of Evil and Pain

Presentation (295 KB)

Presentation (419 KB)

 

*To download a presentation or handout, click and hold (Macintosh) on the link in the bright blue box under the desired format, or right-click (Windows) the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save Link as." Information on the format of the downloadable files can be found here.

 

Presentations were by David Monyak. Any errors, awkward phrasings, poorly expressed ideas, problems in documentation, and / or opinions are solely his responsibility.

 

 

 

References

 

References

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, Third Edition, Brian Davies, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. ISBN 0-19-926347-7

Evil and the God of Love, Second Edition, John Hick, MacMillan, London, 1977. ISBN 0-333-39483-6

God and Evil: An Introduction to the Issues, Michael L. Peterson, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1998. ISBN 0-8133-2849-7

God, Freedom, and Evil, Alvin C. Plantinga, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977. ISBN 0-8028-1731-9

Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God, Marilyn McCord Adams, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1999. ISBN 0-8014-8686-6

Original Sin. Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings, Tatha Wiley, Paulist Press, New York, 2002. ISBN 0-8091-4128-0

Philosophy of Religion (video lecture series), James Hall. The Teaching Company, 2003

Philosophy of Religion, fourth edition, John H. Hick, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1990. ISBN 0-13-662628-9

Philosophy of Religion, Louis P. Pojman, McGraw Hill, New York, 1988. ISBN 0-7674-0819-5

Providence and the Problem of Evil, Richard Swinburne, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998. ISBN 0-19-823798-7

Reason and Religious Belief. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Third Edition, Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach, and David Basinger, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515695-1

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (on-line)

The Problem of Evil. Selected Readings, Michael L. Peterson, editor, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1992. ISBN 0-268-01515-5

The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis, HarperSanFrancisco, 1940, ISBN 0-06-065296-9