God and the Problem of Evil

by Rowe, William L.

• ISBN13: 9780631222200
• ISBN10: 0631222200
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-16
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

God and the Problem of Evil considers the question of whether the amount of seemingly pointless malice and suffering in our world counts against the rationality of belief in God, a being who is understood to be all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good. Beginning with historically significant essays by Leibniz and Hume, the book then focuses on contemporary discussions of the problem of evil. The volume concludes with three important articles that sketch an explanation of why God might need to permit the terrible evils that abound in our world. The study of these essays and replies will provide students with a thorough understanding of the central issues involved in the problem of evil.

Author Biography

William L. Rowe is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University. He is the author of The Cosmological Argument (1998), Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction (third edition, 2001), and co-editor of Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings (third edition, 1999). He has served on the Board of Officers of the American Philosophical Association and was elected President of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association for 1986-87.

Table of Contents

Contributors	vii
Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xii
Part I Historically Important Essays and Contemporary Responses	1	(74)
Introduction to Part I
Theodicy	4	(20)
Gottfired Wilhelm Leibniz
Must God Create the Best?	24	(14)
Robert Merrihew Adams
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion	38	(19)
David Hume
Hume on Evil	57	(18)
Nelson Pike
Part II The Logical Problem of Evil	75	(46)
Introduction to Part II
Evil and Omnipotence	77	(14)
J. L. Mackie
The Free Will Defense	91	(30)
Alvin Plantinga
Part III The Evidential Problem of Evil	121	(114)
Introduction to Part III
An Exchange on the Problem of Evil	124	(35)
Daniel Howard-Synder
Michael Bergmann
William L. Rowe
Stalemate and Strategy: Rethinking the Evidential Argument from Evil	159	(21)
J. L. Schellenberg
Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists	180	(23)
Paul Draper
The Problem of Evil, the Problem of Air, and the Problem of Silence	203	(32)
Peter van Inwagen
Part IV Theodicies	235	(75)
Introduction to Part IV
Some Major Stands of Theodicy	240	(25)
Richard Swinburne
Soul-Making Theodicy	265	(17)
John Hick
The Problem of Hell: A Problem of Evil for Christians	282	(28)
Marilyn McCord Adams
Index	310