John Hick’s ‘Evil and the God of Love’

A Must Read 300Over the past few weeks I have been reading various philosophical works for a thesis I am working on. In the search for knowledge I have come across a great many fascinating reads, one of which stood out to me above almost all others: John Hick’s Evil and the God of Love. This interesting book is a philosophical response to the Problem of Evil. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, the Problem of Evil is the apparent contradiction of a God that is perfectly good, powerful, and knowledgeable existing when the world is so obviously full of evil. Many people feel that a perfectly good God would completely eliminate evil. Defenders often retort that God is clearly making way for a better circumstance that is impossible without some evil along the way, or that free will is inherently valuable. Of course, a perfectly powerful God would be able to bring about ANY circumstance without negative side effects, wouldn’t he/she? Hick is an epistemological philosopher and theologian, and he deals with all of these questions and more. In short, Hick holds the view that free will is valuable because it allows us to freely love God (his philosophy is FAR more advanced than the short little version I am explaining). Hick makes arguments both convincing and…somewhat less so…throughout this book, and it is an indication of his solid analytical skills and ability to simply convey complex views that this book has been considered a classic in epistemology and argument over the Problem of Evil. While some of his arguments are less convincing than others (like, in my opinion, the belief that free will is inherently valuable), Hick managed to bring new understanding to an argument that, until this book’s release in 1966, had gained very little ground on either side. If the kinds of questions I described interest you in the slightest, you owe it to yourself as a thinking, growing human being to read this book. This goes doubly for religious readers, as you may just find your faith strengthened while you read how others have pondered some of the questions that pop into your head. I hope you all find Evil and the God of Love to be as enriching as I did.

Source: Jake Depew, Assistant Editor