This title explores challenges to religious belief raised by evil and suffering in the world as well as responses to them from both theistic and non-theistic perspectives. One of the most perplexing problems facing believers in God is the problem of evil. The words of Epicurus put the point concisely: 'Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world'? This is a difficult problem to unpick and it remains an issue that continues to concern people and inspire debate. The problem has taken a variety of forms over the centuries; in fact, there are numerous 'problems' of evil - problems for theists but, perhaps surprisingly, problems for non-theists as well. "Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed" explores, in a rigorous but engaging way, central challenges to religious belief raised by evil and suffering in the world as well as significant responses to them from both theistic and non-theistic perspectives.
"Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.
Preface; Introduction; 1 What is Evil?; Moral evil; Natural evil; Degrees of Evil; Evil and suffering; 2 The Problem of Evil: Whose Problem is It?; What is the problem of evil?; Problems for theists; A problem for non-theists?; The problem of good; 3 The Logical Problem of Evil; The logical problem; The logical problem rebutted?; 4 The Free Will Defense; The function of a defense; The free will defense defended; A compatibilist response; 5 The Evidential Problem of Evil; Evidence and God; Evidential problems of evil; 6 Skeptical Theism; What is skeptical theism?; Moral objections to skeptical theism; Rethinking skeptical theism; 7 Theodicies; Augustine's free will theodicy; Hick's Irenaean soul-making theodicy; A recent process theodicy; On reconstructing theodicy: the best of the best; 8 Evil and Suffering in Hinduism and Buddhism; Hinduism, evil and suffering; Buddhism, evil and suffering; Thinking globally about evil and suffering; Conclusion; Glossary; Name Index; Subject Index.