Defending God : biblical responses to the problem of evil /

Crenshaw, James L,

Defending God : biblical responses to the problem of evil / [print] James L. Crenshaw. - Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, (c)2005. - x, 275 pages ; 25 cm.



Part I: Spreading the blame around -- The atheistic answer : abandoning the quest -- Alternative gods : falling back on a convenient worldview -- A demon at work : letting benevolence slip -- Part II: Redefining God -- Limited power and knowledge : accentuating human freedom -- Split personality : reconciling justice with mercy -- A disciplinary procedure : stimulating growth in virtue -- Punishment for sin : blaming the victim -- Part III: Shifting to the human scene -- Suffering as atonement : making the most of a bad thing -- Justice deferred : banking on life beyond the grave -- Mystery : appealing to human ignorance -- Disinterested righteousness : questioning the problem.

"In the ancient Near East, when the gods detected gross impropriety in their ranks, they subjected their own to trial. When mortals suspect their gods of wrongdoing, do they have the right to put them on trial? What lies behind the human endeavor to impose moral standards of behavior on the gods? Is this effort an act of arrogance, as Kant suggested, or a means of keeping theological discourse honest?". "Crenshaw's exploration of the treatment of theodicy in a broad cross-section of ancient texts sheds new light on the history of the human struggle with this intractable problem."--Jacket.



9780195140026

2004011803

GBA508689 bnb

013099277 Uk


Bible.--Old Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc.


Theodicy--Biblical teaching.
Good and evil--Biblical teaching.

BS1199 BS1199.C915.D444 2004