Description
Book SynopsisThe question of whether the existence of evil in the world is compatible with the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good God has been debated for centuries. Many have addressed classical arguments from evil, and while recent scholarship in analytic philosophy of religion has produced newer formulations of the problem, most of these newer formulations rely on a conception of God that is not held by all theists. In Bringing Good Even Out of Evil: Thomism and the Problem of Evil, B. Kyle Keltz defends classical theism against contemporary problems of evil through the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas and his interpreters. Keltz discusses Aquinas’s thought on God, evil, and what kind of world God would make, then turns to contemporary problems of evil and shows how they miss the mark when it comes to classical theism. Some of the newer formulations that the book considers include James Sterba’s argument from the Pauline principle, J. L. Schellenberg’s divine hiddenness argument, Stephen Law’s evil-god challenge, and Nick Trakakis’s anti-theodicy.
Trade ReviewKeltz offers his readers a sophisticated discussion of a long standing theological and philosophical problem. Unlike some who have discussed this problem, he is well aware of the significance that Aquinas has when trying to deal with it. And he puts this knowledge to very good effect in what he writes. The result is a fine introduction to the problem and to insights from Aquinas concerning it.
-- Brian Davies, Fordham University
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter One: Aquinas on God and Evil
Chapter Two: Aquinas and Natural Evil
Chapter Three: Aquinas and Moral Evil
Chapter Four: Logical Arguments from Evil
Chapter Five: Evidential Arguments from Evil
Chapter Six: Anti-Theodicies
Conclusion
