What about Evil?: A Defense of God's Sovereign Glory

by M. Scott Christensen

Overview

“When I hoped for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came” (Job 30:26). We've all felt this at times in our lives. Evil is a constant reality, and it presents a challenge to those who believe in an all-good, all-powerful God. Where does evil come from? Why does God allow its presence? Reconciling the existence of God and evil is a conundrum for Christian theology. Many serious answers are dominated by philosophical approaches, however, and while these can be helpful, they miss an important angle: the grand storyline of the Bible. Scripture is not silent on these matters. Looking at the bigger picture, Scott Christensen examines how sin, evil, corruption, and death fit into the broad outlines of redemptive history. His biblical, theological, and exegetical response to the problems of evil argues that God’s ultimate end in creation is to magnify his glory to his image-bearing creatures, most notably by defeating evil through the atoning work of Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629955353
Publisher:	Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Publication date:	11/18/2020
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Scott Christensen (MDiv, The Master's Seminary) is the author of What about Free Will? He worked for nine years at the award-winning CCY Architects in Aspen, Colorado; several of his home designs were featured in Architectural Digest magazine. Called out of this work to the ministry, he graduated with honors from seminary and now serves as the associate pastor of Kerrville Bible Church in Kerrville, Texas.

Table of Contents

Foreword D. A. Carson ix

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Abbreviations xix

1 Introduction: The Problem of Evil 1

2 Theodicy and the Crisis of Our Secular Age 15

3 Probing the Darkness 41

4 Justifying the Ways of God 71

5 Guarding the Sacred Treasure of Free Will 84

6 Working for the Greater Good 117

7 The Transcendent Author of History 152

8 Walking through the Bible's Dark Forest 179

9 The Challenge of Moral Responsibility 201

10 Everybody Loves a Good Ending 226

11 The One True Story 249

12 The Fortunate Fall and God's Greatest Glory 279

13 God's Redemptive Glory in Scripture 317

14 The Peerless Redeemer 347

15 The Suffering Redeemer 374

16 The Cosmic Redeemer 397

17 The Grace-and-Glory Effect 432

Appendix: Sullied by Supralapsarianism? 461

Glossary 473

Select Bibliography 495

Index of Scripture 513

Index of Subjects and Names 527

Editorial Reviews

Scott Christensen’s work on theodicy is well-crafted and contributes to this important conversation in a significant and helpful way. Christensen’s assertions are clear, tight, and accessible, reaching the intended audience with persuasive clarity. His appeal to the felix culpa argument as found in sixteenth and seventeenth century Reformed theology is both unusual and helpful, as it grounds theodicy in the doctrine of God’s eternal glory in Christ, rather than in a series of explanations or excuses which merely appeal to human desire to be satisfied intellectually or emotionally. Christensen’s work is solidly argued and well-researched; this book deserves a wide audience.”

Grant Horner

In his What About Evil? Scott Christensen makes a genuine contribution to the discussion of the problem of evil. His treatment of the question from the perspective of the Bible’s own story of God’s glory in human redemption is self-consciously biblical rather than philosophical, engaging, and conceptually clear at every point. A pleasure to commend!”

Fred G. Zaspel

Scott Christensen’s book What about Evil? deals with the “problem of evil”—how can evil exist in a world created and ruled by a God who is sovereign and completely good? Many authors (including myself) have taken up this challenge, but it remains a powerful objection the truth of the Christian faith. Christensen gets beyond the more traditional approaches to the problem, by reminding us that God’s wisdom pervades everything he ordains so that the very existence of evil serves his purpose of maximizing goodness and glorifying himself. Of course Rom. 8:28 and other verses say that this is true. But Christensen shows us how it is true, how even in this fallen world we can begin to grasp something of God’s light in the midst of the darkness, indeed especially there. I commend this book to readers who seek a serious and thoughtful treatment of this issue.”

John M. Frame

Christians take the problem of evil more seriously than anyone else. This book avoids simplistic philosophical solutions. Instead, the author appreciates the fact that the historical fact of Christ’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection and return provided the only hope when we just don’t know all the answers.”

Michael S. Horton