Christianity and the Problem of Evil

This book deals with the problem of evil that the Christian faith faces. Is the Christian faith (which affirms that there exists a God who is omniscient, omnipotent, and perfectly good) improbable, given the horrendous evils encountered by some in this life; and is the Christian faith improbable, given the evils the Christian faith affirms for some in the age to come-eternal judgment and eternal punishment? Some reflective persons see the problem of these eschatological evils as the most serious challenge to the reasonableness of the Christian faith. I argue that once we become clear about what the New Testament teaches about each of these eschatological evils, a way is opened up to show that it is not improbable for us that each of these teachings of the New Testament is fully consistent with the perfect goodness of God. I then argue that the doctrines of eternal judgment and eternal punishment, properly understood, open up an important resource for dealing with the problem that the grave evils of this life create for the Christian doctrine of the omniscience, omnipotence, and perfect goodness of God.