Theodicy is the justification of the ways of God to humans, showing Him to be 'in the right' and, therefore, worthy of praise and woship still, contrary appearances notwithstanding. The issue becomes most acute when seemingly godly people suffer for no apparent reasons or gets killed or mained by apparently senseless events or acts. Theodicy may, therefore, be defined as the theology of evil; how do we understand the reality of evil in the world. In that the acid test of one's theology is how well it motivates doxology, one's response to the question of suffering is an indication of the strengths and adequacy of one's theology.
Though the term itself—coined from Greek dike, "justification," and theos, "god"—first appeared only in 1710 in a work by the German philosopher, G. W. Leibnitz, the problem is very old. Some scholars think that the book of Job was intended to resolve this question. Perhaps so, though nowhere in the Job do we find a 'reasoned' response to the problem; those who suffer come away from reading Job not with an explanation but, more importantly, they gain a full-bodied assurance of the sufferer's significance and hope.
Traditionally theodicy has dwelt with two separate but related issues. There is, first, the problem of moral evil or wickedness: why does an all-loving and all-powerful God permit wickedness? There is, then, the problem of non-moral evil: why does an all-loving and all-powerful create a world in which these things, such as earth-quarkes and tusnamis, happen? (See, e.g., Lisbon Earthquake.)
In the past, Christians hade been content to understand such questions as provided for by the answers as set out, e.g., in the Westminster Confession (5.4-7), in which evil was understood as an "inescapable penal fact of life in a fallen world". Times, however, have changed and the the problem now is felt as of greater signficance today because of the prevailing and prevalent assumption—pagan rather than Christian though assumed by most Christians as well—that, first, a trouble-free and pain-free life in this world is our natural right and due, and, secondly, that richness and fulness of life, rather than righteousness, is the goal of living (one needs only spend half an hour on the Internet looking at life in USA, especially, to see the evidence of this).
The book of Job suggests, and the history of theodicy seems to affirm, that there are two ways to tackle the problem of evil and suffering: intellectural, as reflected in the questions raised and the responses given by his tree companions, and/or practical, as reflected in the life of Job.
In the history of theodicy, the intelectual path is best represented by:
Leibnitz, for whom the problem does not exist because, according to him, we live in the best of all possible worlds.
G. W. Hegel, who, seeing history cycles of antitheses working against theses to produce synthesis and in the process making better and better, understands evil as simply part of this making good.
Christian Science understands evil as unreal; it needs only to be thought "away."
John Hicks who, believing in universalism, that everyone—in which even someone like Adolf Hitler will be saved, see evil dissolving int non-issue. Hicks is right, I believe, in noting that the problem of evil "does not attach itself as a threat to any and every concept of deity. It arises only for a religion which insists that the object of its worship is at once perfectly good and unlimitedly powerful." Hicks begins his analysis well but ends with a non-answer.
Process Theology—which understands God to be finite and evolving (hence its name)—sees evil as simple some of the stages in which such a god must go through in its evolution; it is simply struggling to do its best.
Though intellectual may not be the spot-on adjective, we may also include here the solutions of religions like Hinduism in which evil is a meaningless category in the light of pantheism, and Buddhism in which evil is simply an illusion arising from our cravings, from which the only escape is 'enlightenment.'
The very nature of the problem, however, precludes any satisfactory response of evil and suffering. First, we have no way of guaging how much evil there really is, and then there is no way of knowing how much more good came, and can come, out of the evil that which we think there is.
Evangelicals—though not indifferent to intellectual engagement with the subject—have always seen the central issue as one of how we can, at an individual and personal level, deal with evil and suffering in a manner that is victorious. That seems, at least, to be the thrust of the book of Job. Job's trouble—unknown to him all the while he was caught up in suffering's jaws—began with his faithfulness to Yahweh, and ended with his being rewarded for his steadfastness that Yahweh would not let the matter alone without putting things right. The book shows how God can and does bring good out of evil. For Christian the Cross is the heart this paradigm; in its shadow we can live with the confident certainty that God has all things firm in His hand, and in the power of the Risen Lord we can live victoriously.
(The above article is only a short summary; Alberith expects to publish a more comprehensive article on the subject.)
Further Reading:
The volume of literature on theodicy is huge; here are just some starters.
Henry Blocher, Evil and the Cross (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2005).
Mark S. Scott, Pathways in Theodicy: An Introduction to the Problem of Evil (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015).
Peter Hicks, The Message of Evil and Suffering. Light into Darkness (Nottingham, UK: Inter-Varsity Press, 2020).
Alvin Plantiga, God, Freedom, and Evil (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989).
N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God (London: SPCK, 2012).
John Peckham, Theodicy of Love: Cosmic Conflict and the Problem of Evil (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018).
Media Resources:
Proclamation Trust. Talk delivered at the Spring Younger Minister Conference, 2015. Paul Mallard, "The Uses of Suffering in Christian Ministry". Audio N
Proclamation Trust. Senior Minister Conference, 2002. Melvin Tinker, "The Problem of Evil". Audio N
Proclamation Trust. Evangelical Ministry Assembly, 1990.D. A. Carson, "How Long, O Lord? - The Problem of Pain." Audio N
Print Resources:
"10. Evil, Suffering, & a God of Love. Trinity Presbyterian Church, Tucson, Arizona, USA. Pdf N
Lee Strobel, "Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering?" Christianity Today html N
Rebecca McLaughlin, "How Could a Loving God Allow So Much Suffering?" Biologos html N
Charles M. Cameron, "A Biblical Approach to Theodicy," Evangel 10.2 (Summer 1992): 25-29. Pdf N
Derek W. H. Thomas, "A Pastoral Theology of Suffering," Reformed Faith & Practice 1.3 (Dec 2016). html N
Cornelius van Til, Evil and Theodicy. Monergism. Pdf N
Richard Swinburne, "A Theodicy of Heaven and Hell," The Existence and Nature of God , ed. by Alred J. Freddoso (Notre Dame/London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983), 37-54.Pdf N
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