Theodicies on Trial

Theodicies on Trial presents and defends the Holistic Evaluation Framework, a novel way to assess the moral and theoretical merits of theodicies. By doing so, it integrates literature in the "anti-theodicy" tradition with traditional debates over the problem of evil in analytic philosophy of religion. Theodicies related to free will, soul-making, and non-human animals are critically assessed, following by detailed evaluations of sceptical theism, the problem of divine hiddenness, perspectives on divine providence, and models of heaven and hell. It provides one of the most thorough interdisciplinary assessment of these topics in the literature, while focusing attention on the social and psychological impacts of explanations for why suffering exists.