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Defending God : biblical responses to the problem of evil / James L. Crenshaw.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2005.Description: x, 275 p. ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9780195140026 (cloth : alk. paper)
  • 0195140028 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 231.8 23
LOC classification:
  • BS1199.T44 C74 2004
Contents:
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.
Summary: "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.
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Includes bibliographical references (p. [251]-264) and indexes.

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.