Includes bibliographical references and index.

Evil and the meaning of life / John Cottingham -- Beauty and the problem of evil / Charles Taliaferro -- Logical arguments from evil and free-will defences / Graham Oppy -- God, evil, and the nature of light / Paul Draper -- Skeptical theism / Timothy Perrine and Stephen J. Wykstra -- Evil, hiddenness, and atheism / J.L. Schellenberg -- Anti-theodicy / N.N. Trakakis -- Cosmic evolution and evil / Christopher Southgate -- Ancient Near Eastern perspectives on evil and terror / Margo Kitts -- Judaism and the problem of evil / Lenn E. Goodman -- Christianity, atonement and evil / Paul S. Fiddes -- Islam and the problem of evil / Timothy Winter -- Naturalism, evil, and God / Michael Ruse.

For many centuries philosophers have been discussing the problem of evil - one of the greatest problems of intellectual history. There are many facets to the problem, and for students and scholars unfamiliar with the vast literature on the subject, grasping the main issues can be a daunting task. This Companion provides a stimulating introduction to the problem of evil. More than an introduction to the subject, it is a state-of-the-art contribution to the field which provides critical analyses of and creative insights on this long-standing problem. Fresh themes in the book include evil and the meaning of life, beauty and evil, evil and cosmic evolution, and anti-theodicy. Evil is discussed from the perspectives of the major monotheistic religions, agnosticism, and atheism. Written by leading scholars in clear and accessble prose, this book is an ideal companion for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and scholars across the disciplines -- Book Jacket.