BEYOND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
by Wayne Ferguson
NOTE TO THE READER: This paper is written with a view to
encouraging genuine dialogue between those who believe that the
fullest and richest experience of truth and life can be attained
only by pursuing God within the bounds prescribed by Christian
orthodoxy and those standing outside of orthodoxy, who in all
sincerity have concluded that the restrictions of orthodoxy are
opposed to the fullest possible experience of truth and life.
Endnotes are indicated by numbers in brackets, e.g., {1};
text intended to be in italics has been placed in brackets .
INTRODUCTION
The problem of evil is, in my opinion, the best point of
departure for a fruitful dialogue between Christianity,
traditionally conceived, and those strands of modern philosophy
which have been perceived--indeed, have sometimes perceived
themselves--as a threat to that tradition. As such, I will attempt
first, to outline the problem of evil in the starkest terms
possible, presenting Augustine's approach to its solution followed
by a critical analysis; second, to present an alternative approach
to the questions which give rise to the problem--an approach
derived in large part from Spinoza and Nietzsche; and, third, to
show how this more philosophically acceptable alternative can be
expressed in the categories of faith, allowing us to reappropriate
the tradition .
PART ONE: Augustine's Approach to the Problem of Evil
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