richard swinburne providence and the problem of evil

Perhaps the most important novelty ofthe book, though, consists in its emphasis on the value of being of use. of just how surprisingly valuable our natural disposition to sloth may be. Especially interesting here is the discussion. 'The endeavor to take each kind of evil and relate it to some good is more complete than any I have seen in any contemporary work. Readers who are interested in a unified study of the philosophical foundations of Christian belief will find it now in the tetralogy and in his trilogy on the philosophy of theism. It may be read on its own as a self-standing treatment of this eternal philosophical issue.

Providence and the Problem of Evil is the final volume of Richard Swinburne's acclaimed tetralogy on Christian doctrine. But because of the good that God gives to humans in this life, and because he makes it possible for us, through our choice, to share thelife of Heaven, he does not wrong us if he allows suffering. If we are to have all this, there will inevitably be suffering for the short period of our lives on Earth. Swinburne argues that God wants humans to learn and to love, to make the choices which make great differences for good and evil to each other, to form our characters in the waywe choose above all to be of great use to each other. Richard Swinburne gives a careful, clear examination of this problem, and offers an answer: it is because God wants more for us than just pleasure or freedom from suffering. Why does a loving God allow humans to suffer so much? This is one of the most difficult problems of religious belief.

Richard swinburne providence and the problem of evil