God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain

by Chad Meister (Editor), James K. Dew Jr. (Editor)

Overview

The question of evil—its origins, its justification, its solution—has plagued humankind from the beginning. Every generation raises the question and struggles with the responses it is given. Questions about the nature of evil and how it is reconciled with the truth claims of Christianity are unavoidable; we need to be prepared to respond to such questions with great clarity and good faith. God and Evil compiles the best thinking on all angles on the question of evil, from some of the finest scholars in religion, philosophy and apologetics, including

• Gregory E. Ganssle and Yena Lee
• Bruce Little
• Garry DeWeese
• R. Douglas Geivett
• James Spiegel
• Jill Graper Hernandez
• Win Corduan
• David Beck

With additional chapters addressing "issues in dialogue" such as hell and human origins, and a now-famous debate between evangelical philosopher William Lane Craig and atheist philosopher Michael Tooley, God and Evil provides critical engagement with recent arguments against faith and offers grounds for renewed confidence in the God who is "acquainted with grief."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830837847
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	12/21/2012
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Chad Meister (Ph.D., Marquette University) is professor of philosophy at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. He is the author or editor of numerous articles and books, including The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity, Reasons for Faith and God Is Great, God Is Good.

James K. Dew Jr. is associate professor of the history of ideas and philosophy, and dean of the college at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: What is Evil and Why is it a Problem?
1. Evidential Problems of Evil
Gregory E. Ganssle and Yena Lee
2. Logical Problems of Evil
James K. Dew Jr.
3. God and Gratuitous Evil
Bruce Little
Part Two: Some Reasons God Might Allow Evil
4. Natural Evil: A "Free Process" Defense
Garry DeWeese
5. Augustine and the Problem of Evil
R. Douglas Geivett
6. The Irenaean Soul-Making Theodicy
James Spiegel
7. Leibniz and the Best of All Possible Worlds
Jill Graper Hernandez
Part Three: Evil and Other Relevant Themes
8. Evil and Primeval Sin
Paul Copan
9. Evil and Original Sin
Paul Copan
10. Evil and the Hiddenness of God
Chad Meister
11. Evil and Prayer
Charles Taliaferro
12. Evil, the Resurrection and the Example of Jesus
Gary Habermas
13. Evil in Non-Christian Religions
Win Corduan
14. Evil and the New Atheism
David Beck
15. Evil as Evidence for Christianity
Gregory E. Ganssle
Part Four: Issues in Dialogue
16. Diversity, Evil and Hell: A Particularist Approach
William Lane Craig
17. God and Hell Reconciled
Kyle Blanchette and Jerry Walls
18. Evil, Creation and Intelligent Design
William Dembski
19. Evil, Creation and Evolution
Karl W. Giberson and Francis S. Collins
Appendix: The Craig-Tooley Debate: Theism, Atheism and the Problem of Evil
William Lane Craig and Michael Tooley
Contributors
Notes
Name Index
Subject Index

Editorial Reviews

"If you are going to remember one thing about this book let it be this: value. . . . Further, the essays uniformly achieve a good balance between rigor and accessibility, giving the motivated lay reader a solid familiarity with the ongoing philosophical discussion relating to the problem of evil. . . . I'd like to commend the editors Meister and Dew for the yeoman's job they did in commissioning a diverse and ecclectic collection of essays on a wide range of topics. God and Evil is an excellent contribution to the literature."

Randal Rauser

"God and Evil provides critical engagement with recent arguments against faith and offers grounds for renewed confidence in the God who is 'acquainted with grief.'"

Light Magazine Canada

"For thoughtful believers, this collection of essays in God and Evil by prominent Christian thinkers will be useful for reference and teaching. The book is academically solid and accessible to most readers. . . . In our age of pluralism and relativism, reading insightful arguments for Christian truth is encouraging and empowering for followers of Jesus committed to the Great Commission."

Charlie Self

"God and Evil provides critical engagement with recent arguments against faith and offers grounds for renewed confidence in the God who is 'acquainted with grief.'"

--Light Magazine Canada, June 2013

"For thoughtful believers, this collection of essays in God and Evil by prominent Christian thinkers will be useful for reference and teaching. The book is academically solid and accessible to most readers. . . . In our age of pluralism and relativism, reading insightful arguments for Christian truth is encouraging and empowering for followers of Jesus committed to the Great Commission."

--Charlie Self, Enrichment, Spring 2013

"If you are going to remember one thing about this book let it be this: value. . . . Further, the essays uniformly achieve a good balance between rigor and accessibility, giving the motivated lay reader a solid familiarity with the ongoing philosophical discussion relating to the problem of evil. . . . I'd like to commend the editors Meister and Dew for the yeoman's job they did in commissioning a diverse and ecclectic collection of essays on a wide range of topics. God and Evil is an excellent contribution to the literature."

--Randal Rauser, apologist and author of The Swedish Atheist, the Scuba Diver and Other Apologetics Rabbit Trails

From the Publisher