Evil and Intelligibility : A Grammatical Metacritique of the Problem of Evil /
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This book develops a grammatical method for our underlying presuppositions which can help us unravel the problem of evil. The problem essentially rests on a dualism between fact and meaning. Evil and Intelligibility provides an examination of the grammar of being and of the intelligibility of the world, culminating in a philosophical grammar in which God, meaning, and evil can coexist.
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1 online resource :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004524781
9789004524798
Love, freedom and evil : does authentic love require free will? /
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The defining premise of the Relational Free Will Defense is the claim that authentic love requires free will. Many scholars, including Gregory Boyd and Vincent Brümmer, champion this claim. Best-selling books, such as Rob Bell's Love Wins , echo that love "cannot be forced, manipulated, or coerced. It always leaves room for the other to decide." The claim that love requires free will has even found expression in mainstream Hollywood films, including Frailty , Bruce Almighty , and The Adjustment Bureau . The analysis shows convincingly that the claim that authentic love requires free will, does not meet the criteria of consistency, compatibility with Scriptural sources, and the demands of concrete encounter with problems of moral evil.
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1 online resource (203 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-198) and index. :
9789401200585 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Wrestling with God and with evil : philosophical reflections /
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The fact of evil continues to raises questions - questions about the relationship between God and evil but also questions about human involvement in it. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is now time to see the existence of evil not just as a problem for belief in God; it is a problem for belief in humanity itself as well. For human involvement in evil is not simply a matter of coping with evil but also concerns the fact that humans themselves often seem to do wrong and evil inevitably. Human finitude, ignorance and the unforeseeable consequences of good intentions as well as of neglect can often lead to tragedy. This volume contains contributions from an equal number of male and female scholars in Western Europe and America. It contains discussions of thinkers like Kant, Kierkegaard, Barth, Weil, Levinas, Naber, Caputo and Johnson. It deals with issues like tragedy, finitude, critiques of Western culture, violence and God, and the question of whether theodicies are needed or are even honest. This volume offers an interesting survey of 'wrestling with God and evil' from a variety of perspectives in the philosophy of religion on both sides of the Atlantic.
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International conference proceedings.
This volume is part of the project on The problem of evil in religious traditions: origins, forms and coping, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Vrije Universiteit and the exhibition "Religion & Evil" in the Tropenmuseum. :
1 online resource (240 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401204019 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Coping with Evil in Religion and Culture : Case Studies /
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The various Christian, Muslim, traditional (African), and secular (Western) ways of imagining and coping with evil collected in this volume have several things in common. The most crucial perhaps and certainly the most striking aspect is the problem of defining the nature or characteristics of evil as such. Some argue that evil has an essence that remains constant, whereas others say its interpretation depends on time and place. However much religious and secular interpretations of evil may have changed, the human search for sense and meaning never ends. Questions of whom to blame and whom to address-God, the devil, fate, bad luck, or humans-remain at the center of our explanations and our strategies to comprehend, define, counter, or process the evil we do and the evil done to us by people, God, nature, or accident. Using approaches from cultural anthropology, religious studies, theology, philosophy, psychology, and history, the contributors to this volume analyze how several religious and secular traditions imagine and cope with evil.
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"This volume is part of the project on The problem of evil in religious traditions: origins, forms and coping, organized in cooperation with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Royal Tropical Institute at Amsterdam on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Vrije Universiteit and the exhibition "Religion & evil" in the Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam Museum of Tropical Ethnology)"--Title page verso. :
1 online resource (266 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401205375 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Probing the depths of evil and good : multireligious views and case studies /
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In the few years since the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, evil has become a central theme in the media and human consciousness: the evil of terrorism, the evil of secular culture, concern for poverty, and climate change... Yet different cultures and religious traditions have different ideas of what evil is and what its root causes are. Although there is no massive clash of cultures, many disagreements and also conflicts in the world arise from the deep differences in views of evil. This volume explores religious views of evil. Scholars from different religions and from various parts of the world describe how people probe the depths of evil-and by necessity that of good-from their own background in various worldviews. In their explorations, almost all address the need to go beyond morality, and beyond legalistic definitions of evil and of good. They point to the radical depths of evil in the world and in human society and reinforce our intuition that there is no easy solution. But if we can gain a better understanding of what people from other worldview traditions and cultures consider evil, we are that much closer to a more peaceful world.
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1 online resource (377 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789401204620 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Evil, spirits and possession : an emergentist theology of the demonic /
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In Evil, Spirits, and Possession: An Emergentist Theology of the Demonic David Bradnick develops a multidisciplinary view of the demonic, using biblical-theological, social-scientific, and philosophical-scientific perspectives. Building upon the work of Pentecostal theologian Amos Yong, this book argues for a theology informed by emergence theory, whereby the demonic arises from evolutionary processes and exerts downward causal influence upon its constituent substrates. Consequently, evil does not result from conscious diabolic beings; rather it manifests as non-personal emergent forces that influence humans to initiate and execute nefarious activities. Emergentism provides an alternative to contemporary views, which tend to minimize or reject the reality of the demonic, and it retains the demonic as a viable theological category in the twenty-first century.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004350618 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christology and evil in Ghana : towards a Pentecostal public theology /
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Pentecostalism has traditionally always been other-worldly in the sense that Pentecostals tend to believe that people's lives are controlled by unseen powers that are responsible for both good and bad. This makes people look for a power that is stronger than those of evil and can ensure that believers enjoy good health and prosperity. Pentecostals find this power in Jesus Christ, who is victorious over all evil powers, and therefore pray that Jesus will save them. For them, life is characterised by suffering and evil, but in Christ they are conquerors, and life is full of concrete blessings. Using songs and sermons, this book shows the main widespread beliefs of the leadership and grassroots members of the Church of Pentecost (Ghanaian Pentecostals) on Christology and evil. It discusses their fear of evil and their finding solace in the power of Jesus. The author supplements this attitude by the biblical calling to help build a just and peaceful society. He thus develops a theology of the public domain in which the church can make a difference by developing its diaconal services, establishing more educational institutions, and helping-together with people who want to collaborate-build a just and more affluent society with good healthcare and a literate and thriving population. This book balances on the interface between traditional African religious ideas and practices and Christian ideals for a more humane society.
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1 online resource (xi, 363 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401210041 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Evil Egyptian Scripts : Abnormal Hieratic, Demotic and Hieratic Texts and Studies in Honour of Koenraad Donker van Heel /
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Evil Egyptian Scripts comprises twenty-nine articles by colleagues and friends in honour of Koenraad Donker van Heel, University Lecturer in demotic papyrology at the Leiden Papyrological Institute. Donker van Heel's research interests embrace the study of demotic and hieratic texts and the legal and social history and economy of ancient Egypt, but he is especially renowned as a specialist in abnormal hieratic, widely regarded as the most difficult of all Egyptian scripts. His numerous textual editions and discussions of problematic readings have been enormously influential and contributed to an ever-increasing recognition of the importance of abnormal hieratic for the study of Egypt in the Third Intermediate and Late Periods. The articles in Evil Egyptian Scripts include editions of abnormal hieratic, demotic and hieratic texts, reading problems, discussions of legal, religious and socio-economic issues and onomastic studies. The timespan of the contributions ranges from New Kingdom Deir el-Medina, through the Third Intermediate and Late Periods and into Graeco-Roman Egypt. The volume is profusely illustrated with many previously unpublished images and supplied with detailed indices.
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1 online resource (392 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004744974
The Fall of the Angels /
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The fall of the angels is one of the biblical narratives which, above all in the history of the bible's reception, have developed an extraordinary effect: In the biblical canon they appear just as hints (Gen. 6; Isaiah 14; Apocalypse 12). Little concern for the text as well as a tradition and reception not covered by the canon makes the narrative grow and change considerably, as well as freely negotiate in the popular media of iconography, liturgy and theatre. As a completed narrative the fall of the angels appears only in the literature of the apocalyptic movement. The so-called Henoch tradition provides revelations about the cosmos and the secrets of Heaven and Earth. Through this mystery our present world is coded as a battle between good and evil.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047404330
9789004126688
Evil--freedom--and the road to perfection in Clement of Alexandria /
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This study deals with Clement of Alexandria's interpretation of evil and free will in the context of the rising Christianity, the influence of Near Eastern and Greek thought on him, his differences from St. Augustine, and how his interpretation affected the rise of the Eastern Christian thought. The book also treats briefly the subject of man's personal aim in life perceived by Clement as the supersession of his nature. Failure to realize this personal aim in life leads to alienation from God, and death. The moral dilemma of Clement's interpretation of evil as failure of life's aim is not a conventional explanation of good and evil but something much more: the option between real life and death. Consequently, Clement's idea of evil refers to existential problems and ontological realities.
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1 online resource (xii, 192 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-186) and index. :
9789004313101 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The problem of evil and the power of God
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The problem of evil can be defined theoretically as the apparent inconsistency between, on the one hand, belief in the existence of a perfectly good and omnipotent God and, on the other hand, the existence of evil. This book discusses four different solutions to this problem, provided by Richard Swinburne, Keith Ward, David Griffin and Johan Hygen, with the goal of finding the most coherent solution. The author makes several suggestions for improvement and concludes that there is a coherent answer to the problem of evil. While the focus is on Christian approaches to the problem, many of the approaches and solutions are applicable to other religions as well.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004205611 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Empsychoi logoi--religious innovations in antiquity : studies in honour of Pieter Willem van der Horst /
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The fact that religions show internal variation and develop over time is not only a problem for believers, but has also long engaged scholars. This is especially true for the religions of the ancient world, where the mere idea of innovation in religious matters evoked notions of revolution and destruction. With the emergence of new religious identities from the first century onwards, we begin to find traces of an entirely new vision of religion. The question was not whether a particular belief was new, but whether it was true and the two were no longer felt to be mutually exclusive. The present volume brings together articles that study this transformation, ranging from broad overviews to detailed case-studies.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047433224 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Postcolonial Europe in the crucible of cultures : reckoning with God in a world of conflicts /
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Over the past forty years Europe has grown as a global presence and today it plays an important role in a variety of ways: politically, socially, economically, and culturally. European theologians have no choice but to take cognizance of this fact and respond to the broad social challenges by clarifying their views on God and being a prophetic voice in cultural, political and social decision-making. The authors in this volume take up four main contemporary global challenges, id est globalization, violence, gender, and the environment, and the volume provides its readers with first-rate theological reflections in Europe. The articles offered here are the result of an intensive workshop held in Leuven in September 2004 and are sponsored by the European Commission and the VLIR, as part of a three-year study program on the understanding of God in Europe.
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International conference proceedings. :
1 online resource (253 pages) :
9789401204699 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ibn Taymiyya's theodicy of perpetual optimism /
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The Muslim jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328) is famous for polemic against Islamic philosophy, theology and rationalizing mysticism, but his positive theological contribution has not been well understood. This comprehensive study of Ibn Taymiyya's theodicy helps to rectify this lack. Exposition and analysis of Ibn Taymiyya's writings on God's justice and wise purpose, divine determination and human agency, the problem of evil, and juristic method in theological doctrine show that he articulates a theodicy of optimism in which God in His essence perpetually wills the best possible world from eternity. This sets Ibn Taymiyya's theodicy apart from Ashʿarī divine voluntarism, the free-will theodicy of the Muʿtazilīs, and the essentially timeless God of other optimists like Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ʿArabī.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph. D.--University of Birmingham, 2002) under the title: An Islamic theodicy : Ibn Taymiyya on the wise purpose of God, human agency, and problems of evil and justice. :
1 online resource (xii, 270 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047420194 :
0169-8729 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sikh News in India, 1864-1924 : Colonial Reports on Vernacular Newspapers of Punjab Volume Two: Religious Places, Practices, and Relations /
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This handbook, divided into four volumes, presents the first English translations of newspaper articles about the Sikhs published in the weekly press reports for Punjab between 1864 and 1924. Covering press material from over 300 newspapers, the book provides insights into the broader landscape of print media in Indian languages and how discussions on the Sikhs in the press evolved in response to changing imperial policies and politics. In a growing field of research on print cultures and publics in colonial India, the book offers unique source material for a nuanced and localized understanding of the history of the Sikhs in Punjab. Invaluable to both scholars and students of history, Punjabi society, religion and politics. This is volume 2 of a 4-volume set.
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Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004707085
Coping with violence in the New Testament /
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Violence is present in the very heart of religion and its sacred traditions - also of Christianity and the Bible. The problem, however, is not only that violence is ingrained in the mere existence of religions with their sacred traditions. It is equally problematic to realise that the icy grip of violence on the sacred has gone unnoticed and unchallenged for a very long time. The present publication aims to contribute to the recent scholarly debate about the interconnections between violence and monotheistic religions by analysing the role of violence in the New Testament as well as by offering some hermeneutical perspectives on violence as it is articulated in the earliest Christian writings. Contributors include: Andries G. van Aarde, Paul Decock, Pieter G.R. de Villiers, Ernest van Eck, Jan Willem van Henten, Rob van Houwelingen, Kobus Kok, Tobias Nicklas, Jeremy Punt, Jan G. van der Watt, and Wim Weren.
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Proceedings of a conference held Jan. 21-23, 2008 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. :
1 online resource (x, 305 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004221055 :
1566-208X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.