A Theodicy for a Suffering World with a Hidden God

Philip Pegan

doi:10.5771/9781666924275

Summary

If God exists, why is there so much pain and suffering, and why isn’t his existence more obvious? In A Theodicy for a Suffering World with a Hidden God, Philip Pegan develops a theodicy in answer to these questions. This theodicy is consistent with theological determinism—the belief that everything is determined by the will of God—and with the possibility that human beings are entirely physical in nature. It affirms that all creatures capable of suffering will eventually enjoy a life of eternal happiness and shows that it is plausible that, if God allows suffering in such a creature, there is an outweighing good that he can bring about in the life of that creature. Pegan’s theodicy is compatible with the claim that the world is unsurpassably good. It assumes value realism but could be revised in a way that preserves its framework and main substance while assuming value antirealism.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2024
Copyright Year: 2024
ISBN-Print: 978-1-66692-426-8
ISBN-Online: 978-1-6669-2427-5
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 228
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
3. Introduction No access
The Christian Account of Cosmos No access Pages 1 - 28
Naturally Fitting Origins and Histories No access Pages 29 - 46
Human Nature, Early Humans, and a Natural Capacity to be Connected to God through Our Hearts No access Pages 47 - 68
More on Miracles, Angels, and Demons No access Pages 69 - 92
A World Actualizer Essentially Unsurpassable in Power, Knowledge, Goodness, and Rationality No access Pages 93 - 112
It Is Plausible the Christian History of Cosmos Is Free of Improvable Creation Circumstances No access Pages 113 - 134
It Is Plausible the Christian History of Cosmos Is Free of Improvable Creation Circumstances No access Pages 135 - 166
It Is Plausible God Would Actualize a World That Includes the Christian History of Cosmos No access Pages 167 - 190
Revising the Theodicy to Accommodate Different Beliefs and Other Final Points No access Pages 191 - 214
References No access Pages 215 - 220
Index No access Pages 221 - 226
About the Author No access Pages 227 - 228