The Cambridge Companion to

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

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 introduc-
tion 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 athe-
ism. Written by leading scholars in clear and accessible prose, this book
is an ideal companion for undergraduate and graduate students, teach-
ers, and scholars across the disciplines.

Chad Meister has published extensively on the subject of evil, including

Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed (2012), God and the Problem of Evil: Five
Views (2017), and The History of Evil in six volumes (2017). He has done
research on the topic at the University of Oxford and as the William Patton
Fellow at the John Hick Centre for Global Philosophy of Religion. His
book, coedited with William Lane Craig and entitled God Is Great, God Is
Good (2009), won the Christianity Today Book award. At Bethel College
he received the Professor of the Year award for teaching excellence.

Paul K. Moser is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

He is the author of The God Relationship (Cambridge University Press,
2017); The Elusive God (Cambridge University Press, 2010), winner of
national book award from the Jesuit Honor Society; The Evidence for
God (Cambridge University Press, 2010); The Severity of God (Cambridge
University Press, 2013); Knowledge and Evidence (Cambridge University
Press, 1991); and Philosophy after Objectivity (1993); coauthor of Theory of
Knowledge (1997); editor of Jesus and Philosophy (Cambridge University
Press, 2008) and The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology (2005); coedi-
tor of The Wisdom of the Christian Faith (Cambridge University Press,
2012). He is the coeditor with Chad Meister of Cambridge Studies in
Religion, Philosophy, and Society.

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ii

Cambridge Companions to Religion

This is a series of companions to major topics and key figures in theology and
religious studies. Each volume contains specially commissioned chapters by
international scholars, which provide an accessible and stimulating introduction
to the subject for new readers and nonspecialists.

Other Titles in the Series

AMERICAN ISLAM Edited by Juliane Hammer and Omid Safi
AMERICAN JUDAISM Edited by Dana Evan Kaplan
AMERICAN METHODISM Edited by Jason E. Vickers
ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN RELIGIONS Edited by Barbette Stanley Spaeth
KARL BARTH Edited by John Webster
THE BIBLE, 2nd edition Edited by Bruce Chilton
BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Edited by John Barton
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER Edited by John de Gruchy
JOHN CALVIN Edited by Donald K. McKim
CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE Edited by Colin Gunton
CHRISTIAN ETHICS Edited by Robin Gill
CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM Edited by Amy Hollywood and Patricia Z. Beckman
CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY Edited by Charles Taliaferro
and Chad Meister
CLASSICAL ISLAMIC THEOLOGY Edited by Tim Winter
JONATHAN EDWARDS Edited by Stephen J. Stein
FEMINIST THEOLOGY Edited by Susan Frank Parsons
THE JESUITS Edited by Thomas Worcester
JESUS Edited by Markus Bockmuehl
C. S. LEWIS Edited by Robert MacSwain and Michael Ward
LIBERATION THEOLOGY Edited by Chris Rowland
MARTIN LUTHER Edited by Donald K. McKim
MEDIEVAL JEWISH PHILOSOPHY Edited by Daniel H. Frank and Oliver Leaman
MODERN JEWISH PHILOSOPHY Edited by Michael L. Morgan and Peter Eli Gordon
MOHAMMED Edited by Jonathan E. Brockup
PENTECOSTALISM Edited by Cecil M. Robeck, Jr and Amos Yong
POLITICAL THEOLOGY Edited by Craig Hovey and Elizabeth Phillips
POSTMODERN THEOLOGY Edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
PURITANISM Edited by John Coffey and Paul C. H. Lim
THE QUR’AN Edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe
KARL RAHNER Edited by Declan Marmion and Mary E. Hines
REFORMATION THEOLOGY Edited by David Bagchi and David Steinmetz

(continued after index)

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v

The Cambridge Companion to

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Edited by

Chad Meister
Bethel College, Indiana

Paul K. Moser
Loyola University, Chicago

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vi

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Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107636026
DOI: 10.1017/9781107295278

© Cambridge University Press 2017

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and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2017

Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Inc.

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Meister, Chad, 1965– editor. | Moser, Paul K. 1957– editor.
Title: The Cambridge companion to the problem of evil / [edited by] Chad Meister,
Bethel College, Indiana Paul K. Moser, Loyola University, Chicago.
Description: New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. | Series: Cambridge
companions to religion | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017004141 | ISBN 9781107055384 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781107636026 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Good and evil. | Good and evil – Religious aspects.
Classification: LCC BJ1401 .C27 2017 | DDC 170–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004141

ISBN 978-1-107-05538-4 Hardback

ISBN 978-1-107-63602-6 Paperback

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