Blackwell Reference Online

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[xiii.b] Christians have endeavoured to explain the origin and meaning of evil and suffering, but especially to defend the goodness and omnipotence of God against objections arising from the existence of evil. Christian Monotheism has been resistant to Dualism and Pantheism, although these have sometimes influenced Christian philosophies and Sects, e.g. the Albigenses (see Heresy (medieval christian)). Satan as an evil power is ultimately subordinated to God (cf. Afterlife). Origen (c. 185–c. 254 ce), St Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–74 ce; see Thomism) and many others have explained evil as an abuse of human freedom necessarily allowed to achieve good. Leibniz (1646–1716) (who coined the term Theodicy for these matters) [157: 1358] saw the world as the best of all possible worlds with evil a necessary shadow to highlight its attractions. Modern treatments [91] have oscillated between optimistic and pessimistic views of human capacity for good and the possibility of overcoming evil in the world. These different views are partly related to changing views of Humanity and of Sin. Suffering has also been treated as an occasion of spiritual development in submission to God, following Jesus Christ's example, but there has been considerable revulsion against this view in recent times, especially since the Holocaust. ... log in or subscribe to read full text