 |
|||||
Reviewed by Skip Parvin, pastor of Tuskawilla United Methodist Church in Casselberry, Florida Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy edited by Stephen T. Davis Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread, Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast Abyss, And mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That, to the heart of this great argument I may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. John Milton Paradise Lost (Book I, lines 19-25) When John Milton set out on the ambitious task of translating the fall of humankind into the eternal language of poetry, his starting point was a prayer to his muse, the Holy Spirit. Inspire me, he pleaded, to “justify the ways of God to men.” None of the ways of God are harder to justify to human beings than the fact that evil and suffering are allowed to exist. Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy, edited by Stephen T. Davis surveys the foundational points of view in the struggle to comprehend this most enigmatic mystery of God’s interaction with the order of creation. While there may indeed be as many different understandings of theodicy as there are theologians, every complex theological debate needs a starting point. This book is an excellent place to start (and has been for over twenty years). Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy is a volume that every serious student of theology needs to have on the shelf. It takes us back to the fundamentals and sets up a lively foundation for the discussion of the ideas championed by the various scholars represented in the debate. As a matter of fact, the “argument-critique-rejoinder” format serves not only to provide balance through counterpoint, but makes the theology expressed here come to life for the reader. After all these years, I still find it intriguing that Davis chose John K. Roth to bat leadoff in this volume. Roth’s “Theodicy of Protest” was always the most provocative and controversial of the positions taken here. To posit that God may not be “all good” and further may, in fact, have a “demonic side” that allows evil and suffering to exist is a tough sell in light of two thousand years of Christian tradition that holds as its basic premise the absolute goodness of God. By starting with a more openly radical position, Davis sets the stage for the more traditional arguments (both theological and philosophical) to be understood more clearly through this stark contrast. I like that in an editor. The essays by the rest of the “Claremont Crew” (John Hick, David Ray Griffin, D. Z. Phillips, and Stephen T. Davis himself) are just as vital and thought provoking today as they were when the book was first published. There is enough fundamental wisdom here to give the theological initiate a place to begin, and enough depth to keep the rest of us talking. I especially enjoyed the addition of the “postscripts.” John B. Cobb Jr., Marilyn McCord Adams and Frederick Sontag offer a wonderful addition of varying perspectives on where this book succeeds and fails. I had to laugh at Frederick Sontag’s assertion that, “Given what has been written by the authors of this book—both about God’s views and their own—it seems to me that God needs a defense attorney.” If I have any criticism of Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy it is that it seems incomplete. Perhaps in the next edition it will be time to look outside of Claremont for some other options. Why not add a discussion of mystical or creation-centered theodicy? Why not get a liberation theologian into the mix? Why not diversify to other worldviews for global perspective (Latin, African and East Asian)? All this could do is make a good thing better. Beyond that, my best advice is that you read this book. Get your friends to read it as well. Then sit down and talk. You will definitely have something to talk about.
|
