Two types of knowledge

Solva, Pembrokeshire, Wales (photo from trekearth.com)

Two types of knowledge

Concerning my research on the problem of evil, within formal philosophy comes two important terms related to how human beings obtain knowledge. For those not well educated in theology or philosophy, please do not be intimidated by the terms if they are new to you. Remembering the actual terms in my view is not as important as understanding to some degree, the concepts that may arise in discussions concerning the problem of evil. The terms are a priori and a posteriori. I shall review these terms and related concepts in an obviously non-exhaustive manner.

Louis P. Pojman explains that the term a priori comes from the Latin “preceding” and is knowledge that is not based on sense experience but is innate or known to human beings by the meanings of words and definitions. Pojman (1996: 595). Arthur Pap defines a priori knowledge as being independent of experience. Pap (1973: 666). Since this knowledge leads to truth independent of experience, once a concept is understood it will be seen as necessarily true logically, meaning that it will not be refuted at any time empirically (through the use of the senses). Pap (1973: 667). Simon Blackburn notes that a proposition is knowable a priori if it can be known without experience of a certain set of events in the actual world. Blackburn allows for some experience to be obtained in order for a priori knowledge to occur. Blackburn (1996: 21). He explains that this type of knowledge is very controversial and it is not clear how pure thought without the use of experience can lead to any true knowledge at all. Blackburn (1996: 21). Some empiricists have attempted to deny that any real knowledge can be obtained from a priori means. Blackburn (1996: 21). Laurence BonJour notes that many empiricists would hold that all actual philosophical concepts are derived and known through experience. BonJour (1996: 30). Blackburn points out that Immanuel Kant dealt with this issue as it was supposed that a priori concepts cannot be understood from experience alone but come from presuppositions in a mode of thought about reality. Blackburn (1996: 22). 

In the Critique of Pure Reason of 1781 and revised in 1787, Kant explains that the forms of appearance from which sensations can be understood are not themselves the empirical sensations. Kant (1781)(1787)(1929)(2006: 66). BonJour states that a priori knowledge is independent of empirical experience, meaning that something can be accepted as knowledge if it does not depend upon sensory experience. BonJour (1996: 29). Very importantly in my view, BonJour explains that a deductively valid argument can use a priori reasoning, even if the correctness of the argument is challenged. BonJour (1996: 30). This would be very important for non-empirical reasoning in the areas of theology and philosophy in regard to the problem of evil and other topics, but even in other disciplines such as scientific theory where logical and reasonable deductions are at times made without empirical evidence. In other words, it is possible to deduce with logic, reason, and argumentation, truth, even without empirical evidence. BonJour mentions that rationalists that state God exists are using a priori reasoning. I do not deny that human beings have presuppositions in the areas of knowledge, but I reason that experience and God given nature influences those concepts. It seems doubtful to me that human beings can have philosophical presuppositions without some innate understanding and experience to make sense of reality in order to presuppose. It is also Biblical and reasonable to deduce that God creates human beings with certain innate understanding of reality that will be assisted by experience. Romans 1:19 explains that God made human beings with a natural understanding of his existence. Perhaps this would be a priori knowledge and would not exist entirely on human presuppositions. The existence of natural knowledge of God does not necessarily mean that human beings worship or obey God.

Pojman writes that a posteriori comes the Latin “the later” and is knowledge that is obtained from human sense experience only, as in the five senses. Pojman (1996: 595). Blackburn reasons that something can be known a posteriori when it cannot be known a priori. Blackburn (1996: 21-22). From a Christian perspective, God through Jesus Christ has revealed himself to finite humanity in an effective, limited, empirical fashion, and this would be considered a posteriori knowledge of God, although God as pure spirit remains beyond the physical senses.

BLACKBURN, SIMON (1996) ‘A priori/A posteriori’, in Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, p. 21-22. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

BONJOUR, LAURENCE. (1996) ‘A Priori’, in Robert Audi (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

EDWARDS, PAUL AND ARTHUR PAP (1973) (eds), ‘A priori knowledge: Introduction’, A Modern Introduction To Philosophy, New York, The Free Press.

KANT, IMMANUEL (1781)(1787)(1929)(2006) Critique of Pure Reason, Translated by Norman Kemp Smith, London, Macmillan.
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/cpr/toc.html.

POJMAN, LOUIS P. (1996) Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, New York, Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Questionnaire feedback four

San Diego at night (photo from Ron Niebrugge)

1. Pastor Mark Slomka from Faith Community Church in San Diego, California has been nice enough to post an article where there is a link to download my questionnaire and a link to this blog. He also provided an email address where I can be reached.

http://www.pastormarkonline.com/

Thank you very much Mark, this is very helpful and much appreciated. Mark's method is a good way to give persons the option of downloading my questionnaire from a blog. I have not looked into providing this option with either one of my blogs as I have included email interaction in the process. However, if someone returns the questionnaire through Mark's site I am willing to discuss the questionnaire and my PhD work as well. Basically, most of my completed questionnaires have been gathered through email, with some through this blog, and others have been handed out at local Christian churches.

2. My advisor in Wales has not provided me with a firm number of completed questionnaires required, but the 148 I have finished as of this morning is not enough. I am aiming to have at least 200 finished questionnaires within my possession. The amount of questionnaires I need completed and the content of the questionnaire is a joint effort. My previous advisor and my present one assisted me with putting the questionnaire together and the questions are related to my theodicy work with free will, sovereignty, and soul-making views dealing with the problem of evil. I did not review an actual feminism theodicy, but reviewed some feminist material dealing with the problem of evil and therefore included some related questions. The questionnaire is not only a product of my conservative Reformed theology, but also contains requirements from Wales, Lampeter, and a secular University. Therefore the questions are representative of the theodicy approaches I reviewed and cultural Christianity from a broad perspective, and not just my own.

3. Issuing and collecting questionnaires is a lot of work, but since I am presently done my theoretical writing I am not writing academic chapters at this time. Once my data is completed obviously I will need to complete related chapters. I will attempt at times to write some academic articles on this blog, but I have limited time and energy, especially since that even with my two surgeries in 2006, I still have 30% sleep apnea!

Thanks for reading.

Russ:)


A problem of evil...

Questionnaire feedback three

Hawaii (photo from trekearth.com)

As of today I have received 141 completed questionnaires. My advisor at Wales would like several more finished and so I must continue to look for more assistance. Some points:

1. Although I enjoy meeting and emailing with new people, I do not particularly like requesting through this blog, email, phone, or in person help with my questionnaires from people that attend Christian churches. I am moderately introverted and I do not enjoy taking the risk of bothering or annoying someone, but I must add an empirical aspect to my PhD for the sake of originality. I therefore will ask persons for assistance with the questionnaires. The questionnaires are not an add-on to my dissertation but an essential aspect of the work.

2. I therefore am looking not only for individual Christians to assist me with my work but also congregations and college/University classes. If someone can assist me in sampling a congregation or class, please contact me.

3. I have received a fair amount of positive feedback from questionnaire respondents. There are limitations with empirical theology as there is a lack of context for questions and questions can somewhat be interpreted in a variety of ways, but those issues have been discussed in the articles Questionnaire feedback and Questionnaire feedback two. Please scroll down to view, or look in archives. Within the questionnaire I am required to use closed questions that are provided with a set of fixed alternatives from which to choose. Bryman (2004: 145). Open questions in contrast would allow persons to respond in any way they choose. Bryman (2004: 145).

4. I have been asked how I found a particular website or email address which I sent the questionnaire to. I do a general search for a particular denomination in a certain area and if a church is listed I see if I can find a senior minister’s email address. I am doing nothing wrong by sending a respectful email, anymore than someone is wrong by sending me a respectful email through this blog, or by leaving a respectful comment.

5. I have been asked that since my blog biography lists me as attending a Baptist seminary and being a member of a Presbyterian church, why I am contacting persons of other denominations. I am a conservative Christian that attends a secular University. I am not allowed to attempt to stack my questionnaire sample with persons that would agree with my theological views, and rightly so. I therefore within a Christian tradition, besides contacting churches that appear to be conservative, contact churches that appear to be liberal and that may have doctrinal views that I do not necessarily agree with. This approach is academic as I am providing the opportunity for those within Christian traditions that will perhaps not agree with certain theological concepts in my PhD and on my blogs, to provide me with data within the questionnaire. It should not be necessarily viewed as suspicious when I, as a conservative theologian, ask what may appear to be a liberal minister and his/her congregation for feedback, especially when I attend a secular University. This is an opportunity for many within conservative and liberal Christian churches to evaluate and examine theological thought and bias.

6. A comment I have received is that I seem to be comparing conservative and liberal theology. That is an aspect of my questionnaire and dissertation, but primarily I am comparing free will, sovereignty, and soul-making theodicy approaches. In other words, differing perspectives on the problem of evil. Within the study, differences between conservative and liberal theology will arise and be discussed but I have found so far that these three theodicy approaches cannot always be easily divided along conservative and liberal lines. For example, Augustine and Plantinga have primarily conservative free will concepts that are somewhat in contrast to Hick's liberal soul-making view. However, Hick does subscribe to an aspect of free will theodicy in that he states it was not logically possible for God to create human beings so that they would freely respond to him in love and faith. Hick (1970: 308). Hick postulates that God without contradiction could create human beings that would always freely act justly to each other, but the same cannot be guaranteed for a free and sincere human love for God. Hick (1970: 311). I reason that God could make human beings, or a type of human beings that would always freely and with love respond to God and other persons without committing wrong acts, but God seemingly made persons that would fall and planned to save some through his gospel. God willed the fall in a sense but did not coerce or force his creatures to fall. My questionnaire results will not necessarily show that on every key issue discussed the primary theological divide is between conservative and liberal.

Cheers!

Russ

BRYMAN, ALAN (2004) Social Research Methods, Oxford, University Press.

HICK, JOHN (1970) Evil and The God of Love, London, The Fontana Library.

We are not that familiar with soccer in Canada. Is that a regulation pitch?

Deism

York (photo from thekingpin68)

Deism is another important theological term in my studies on the problem of evil.

My brief and former academic advisor David. A. Pailin, defines deism as coming from the Latin word deus and parallels the Greek which is theos. Pailin (1999: 148). In modern times deism is used to define a supreme being who is the ultimate source of reality, but does not intervene in the natural and historical processes through revelation or salvific acts. Pailin (1999: 148). Pailin writes that the common use of the term ‘theism’ does not carry the same negative implications. Pailin (1999: 148). He explains that historically deism is not so much a set of doctrines, but a movement, largely British, that became popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Pailin (1999: 148). Many within deism will have doubts concerning concepts of supernatural religious doctrines, revelation and the authority of the Bible. Pailin (1999: 148). Pailin notes that some within deism desire to replace Christianity with a more ‘reasonable’ faith, and for others it is an attempt to produce a more ‘reasonable’ version of Christianity. Pailin (1999: 149).

William J. Wainwright explains that deism understands true religion as natural, as opposed to supernatural religion. Wainwright (1996: 188). He writes that some self-styled Christian deists accept revelation although they argue that the content is the same as natural religion. Wainwright (1996: 188). Most deists reject revelation as fiction, but many reason that God has ordained that human happiness is possible through natural means that are universally available. Wainwright (1996: 188). Salvation therefore does not come via divine revelation. Wainwright (1996: 188).

Henry Clarence Thiessen writes that for deism God is present in his creation by his power and not in his being and nature. He has endowed creation with certain invariable laws that he oversees in general terms. Theissen (1956: 74). God has created creatures and left them under invariable laws to their own destiny. Thiessen (1956: 74). For Thiessen, the Christian world-view rejects deism because it accepts that God has revealed himself in creation through divine revelation, has providential control and does at times use miracles within his creation. Thiessen (1956: 75). For Thiessen, a deistic God is not much better than no God at all for humanity. Thiessen (1956: 75).

Thiessen has an excellent point, if deistic approaches reject a God who intervenes within his creation, then it allows, practically speaking, for human beings to expect to have the same end in life as if there is no God. Wainwright deduces that God has ordained human happiness to all universally, but ultimately how happy can human existence be when physical death is the end result for every person? As pointed out in my article, The meaning of life, human life is not substantially meaningful, if permanently terminated. People lose their consciousness and life accomplishments without everlasting life, and therefore life loses ultimate meaning and happiness does not result. The deist can speculate that God can and perhaps shall provide everlasting life and ultimate continual meaning for life, but this is merely speculation devoid of any historically grounded revelation from God.

Accepting that human nature is corrupt as described in Romans 1-3, it is very unlikely that the problem of evil would ever be solved but rather merely treated by humanity if deism is true. There would at no time be any solution for sin, death, and the problem of evil, since the infinite, omnipotent God would not interfere with his creation and regenerate and change individuals in order to eventually establish a Kingdom of God where the problem of evil does not exist. With a deistic universe seemingly sin, death, and the problem of evil continue to exist as long as humanity does. Deism seemingly does not offer any ultimate solution to the problem of evil.

PAILIN, DAVID A. (1999) ‘Deism’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press Ltd.

THIESSEN, HENRY C. (1956) Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

WAINWRIGHT, WILLIAM J. (1996) ‘Deism’, in Robert Audi (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Theodicy

Theodicy 

Photo: Conwy gardens, Wales 

Preface

Originally from April 13, 2007. Edited for an academia.edu entry on July 25, 2022.

Saturday, September 19, 2020 PhD Full Version PDF: Theodicy and Practical Theology 2010, Wales TSD: MPhil/PhD theses

I have been busy lately finishing up my practical theology chapter, which is my last one prior to compiling my statistics from the questionnaires. 

I have 133 questionnaires completed, but would like to have 200 finished. I do not have a lot of time to blog presently but I thought I would define the term theodicy which is the key term within my PhD dissertation.

Please note, as advised by tutors, I have been taught at Wales to state definitions in my own words and I generally do not copy quotations anymore. I think the idea is to show more understanding by correctly putting a definition in my own words rather than copying. 

Theodicy defined

Robert M. Adams notes that the word theodicy is from the Greek, as theos is God and dike is justice. Theodicy is a defence of the justice of God in the face of objections arising from the problem of evil in the world. Adams (1996: 794). 

The term arose with the book from Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1710 entitled Theodicy.

A good definition of theodicy is the explanation of how the infinite, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent God accomplishes his plans within his creation where the problem of evil exists. Simon Blackburn writes that theodicy is the part of theology concerned with defending the omnibenevolence and omnipotence of God while suffering and evil exists in the world. Blackburn (1996: 375). Louis J. Pojman explains that this view holds that evil can be explained in the light of an overall plan of God and that if correctly understood, this world is the best of all possible worlds. Pojman (1996: 599). Leibniz held to the concept that God's creation was the best possible. Leibniz (1710)(1998: 190, 264).

It should be noted from Pojman's definition that scholars such as Plantinga and Feinberg do not believe that God created a best possible world, but rather a good world. Plantinga explains that no matter how wonderful a world appears to be, no matter how many incredibly happy people there are, it is always possible there is an even better world containing more people who are even happier. Plantinga (1977)(2002: 34). He also deduces that God’s omnipotence could not guarantee a best possible world free from evil, because there is always a possibility of human decisions that are contrary to what God would have desired. Plantinga (1982: 180-181). 

Feinberg holds to modified rationalism which is the idea that God was not obligated to create anything, including a world, but chose to create purely from his own desires. Within modified rationalism, the concept of a best possible world is denied in favour of the view that God chose to create the present world which was initially perfectly good. Feinberg (1994: 36). Feinberg contrary to Plantinga reasons that God likely could have reasonably created a world where significantly free creatures would not commit evil actions. Feinberg (2001: 637). I deduce that God could have created significantly free human beings, or at least human-like creatures that only committed right actions. 

Perhaps God desired to create human beings that would ultimately possess a greater spiritual maturity than Adam and Eve prior to the fall because those restored in Christ would have experienced sin, the problem of evil, death and the atoning work and resurrection of Christ. Quite possibly restored human beings would ultimately be more spiritually mature and valuable to God than persons that never knew what it was like to disobey God and experience evil. 

I would also point out that Biblically speaking the angels that did not fall would seemingly be significantly free and have not committed wrong actions. In regard to fallen angels, it would be problematic to assume that God created angelic beings that did not with some level of freedom reject God's divine rule. God does not create creatures initially evil, or force or coerce them to sin, although in his sovereignty, willingly determines and allows all things. 

ADAMS, ROBERT. M (1996) ‘Theodicy’, in Robert Audi (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 

AUGUSTINE (388-395)(1964) On Free Choice of the Will, Translated by Anna S.Benjamin and L.H. Hackstaff, Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall. 

AUGUSTINE (398-399)(1992) Confessions, Translated by Henry Chadwick, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 

AUGUSTINE (400-416)(1987)(2004) On the Trinity, Translated by Reverend Arthur West Haddan, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series One, Volume 3, Denver, The Catholic Encyclopedia. 

AUGUSTINE (421)(1998) Enchiridion, Translated by J.F. Shaw, Denver, The Catholic Encyclopedia. 

AUGUSTINE (426)(1958) The City of God, Translated by Gerald G. Walsh, Garden City, New York, Image Books. 

AUGUSTINE (427)(1997) On Christian Doctrine, Translated by D.W. Robertson Jr., Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall. 

AUGUSTINE (427b)(1997) On Christian Teaching, Translated by R.P.H. Green, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

BLACKBURN, SIMON (1996) ‘Theodicy’, in Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, p. 375. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

BOURKE, VERNON J. (1958) ‘Introduction’, in The City of God, Translated by Gerald G. Walsh, Garden City, New York, Image Books.

CALVIN, JOHN (1539)(1998) The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book IV, Translated by Henry Beveridge, Grand Rapids, The Christian Classic Ethereal Library, Wheaton College. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.html 

CALVIN, JOHN (1540)(1973) Romans and Thessalonians, Translated by Ross Mackenzie, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 

CALVIN, JOHN (1543)(1996) The Bondage and Liberation of the Will, Translated by G.I. Davies, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.

CALVIN, JOHN (1550)(1978) Concerning Scandals, Translated by John W. Fraser, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 

CALVIN, JOHN (1552)(1995) Acts, Translated by Watermark, Nottingham, Crossway Books. 

CALVIN, JOHN (1553)(1952) Job, Translated by Leroy Nixon, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House. 

CALVIN, JOHN (1554)(1965) Genesis, Translated by John King, Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust.

CHADWICK, HENRY (1992) ‘Introduction’, in Confessions, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

EDWARDS, JONATHAN (1729)(2006) Sovereignty of God, New Haven, Connecticut, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University. 

EDWARDS, JONATHAN (1731-1733)(2006) Law of Nature, New Haven, Connecticut, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University.

EDWARDS, JONATHAN (1754)(2006) Freedom of the Will, Flower Mound, Texas. Jonathanedwards.com. 

ERICKSON, MILLARD (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House. 

ERICKSON, MILLARD (2003) What Does God Know and When Does He Know It?, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.

FEINBERG, JOHN.S. (1986) Predestination and Free Will, in David Basinger and Randall Basinger (eds.), Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press.

FEINBERG, JOHN S. (1994) The Many Faces of Evil, Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing House. 

FEINBERG, JOHN S. (2001) No One Like Him, John S. Feinberg (gen.ed.), Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books.

FLEW, ANTONY, R.M. HARE, AND BASIL MITCHELL (1996) ‘The Debate on the Rationality of Religious Belief’, in L.P. Pojman (ed.), Philosophy, The Quest for Truth, New York, Wadsworth Publishing Company. 

FLEW, ANTONY AND A.MACINTRYE (1999) ‘Philosophy of Religion’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press Ltd.

FRAME, JOHN M. (1999) ‘The Bible on the Problem of Evil: Insights from Romans 3:1-8,21-26; 5:1-5; 8:28-39’, IIIM Magazine Online, Volume 1, Number 33, October 11 to October 17, Fern Park, Florida, Third Millennium.

FRAME, JOHN M. (2002) The Doctrine of God, P and R Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey. 

GEIVETT, R. DOUGLAS (1993) Evil and the Evidence for God, Philadelphia, Temple University Press.

HASKER, WILLIAM (1989) God, Time, and Knowledge, Ithaca, Cornell University Press. 

HASKER, WILLIAM (1993) ‘C. Robert Mesle, John Hick’s Theodicy: A Process Humanist Critique’, in Philosophy of Religion, Volume 34, Number 1, pp. 55-56. Dordrecht, Netherlands, Philosophy of Religion. 

HASKER, WILLIAM (1994) ‘Can Philosophy Defend Theology?’, in Faith and Philosophy, Volume 11, Number 2, April, pp. 272-278. Wilmore, Kentucky, Asbury College. 

HASKER, WILLIAM (2000) ‘The Problem of Evil in Process Theism and Classical Free Will Theism’, in Process Studies, Volume. 29, Number 2, Fall-Winter, pp. 194-208. Claremont, California, Religion Online. 

HASKER, WILLIAM (2003) ‘Counterfactuals and Evil’, in Philosophia Christi, Volume 5, Number 1, pp. 235-249. La Mirada, California, Biola University.

HASKER, WILLIAM (2003) ‘Is Free-Will Theism Religiously Inadequate? A Reply to Ciocchi’, in Religious Studies, Volume 39, Number 4, December, pp. 431-440. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 

HASKER, WILLIAM (2007) ‘Peter van Inwagen, The Problem of Evil’, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Notre Dame, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

HICK, JOHN (1970) Evil and The God of Love, London, The Fontana Library. 

HICK, JOHN (1978) ‘Present and Future Life’, Harvard Theological Review, Volume 71, Number 1-2, January-April, Harvard University. 

HICK, JOHN (1981) Encountering Evil, Stephen T. Davis (ed.), Atlanta, John Knox Press.

HICK, JOHN (1993) ‘Afterword’ in GEIVETT, R. DOUGLAS (1993) Evil and the Evidence for God, Philadelphia, Temple University Press.

HICK, JOHN (1993) The Metaphor of God Incarnate, Louisville, Kentucky, John Know Press. 

HICK, JOHN (1994) Death and Eternal Life, Louisville, Kentucky, John Knox Press. 

HICK, JOHN (1999) ‘Life after Death’, in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Theology, Kent, SCM Press.

JORDAN, MARK D. (1996) ‘Augustine’, in Robert Audi (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, pp. 52-53. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

KREEFT, PETER (1988) Fundamentals of the Faith, San Francisco, Ignatius Press.

KREEFT, PETER AND RONALD K. TACELLI (1994) Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press. 

LEIBNIZ, G.W. (1710)(1998) Theodicy, Translated by E.M. Huggard Chicago, Open Court Classics. 

MACKIE, J.L. (1955)(1996) ‘Evil and Omnipotence’, in Mind, in Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach, and David Basinger (eds.), Philosophy of Religion, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 

MACKIE, J.L. (1971)(1977)(2002) ‘Evil and Omnipotence’, in The Philosophy of Religion, in Alvin C. Plantinga, God, Freedom, and Evil, Grand Rapids. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

MESLE, C. ROBERT (1986) ‘The Problem of Genuine Evil: A Critique of John Hick’s Theodicy’, in The Journal of Religion, Volume 66, Number 4, pp. 412-430. October, Chicago, University of Chicago Press. 

MESLE, C. ROBERT (1991) John Hick’s Theodicy, New York, St. Martin’s Press. 

MESLE, C. ROBERT (2004) ‘Suffering, Meaning, and the Welfare of Children: What Do Theodicies Do?’, in American Journal of Theology & Philosophy, Volume 25, Number 3, September. Lamoni, Iowa, Graceland University.

PHILLIPS, D.Z. (1981) Encountering Evil, Stephen T. Davis (ed.), Atlanta, John Knox Press.

PHILLIPS, D.Z. (2005) The Problem of Evil and the Problem of God, Fortress Press, Minneapolis.

PLANTINGA, ALVIN.C. (1977)(2002) God, Freedom, and Evil, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 

PLANTINGA, ALVIN.C. (1982) The Nature of Necessity, Oxford, Clarendon Press.

POJMAN, LOUIS P. (1996) Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, New York, Wadsworth Publishing Company.

ROTH, JOHN K. ‘Introduction’ (1892-1907)(1969) in The Moral Philosophy of William James, John K. Roth (ed.), Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York. 

ROTH, JOHN K. (1981) Encountering Evil, Stephen T. Davis (ed.), Atlanta, John Knox Press.

ROWE, WILLIAM L. (1990) ‘The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism’, in Adams and Adams (eds.), The Problem of Evil, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 

ROWE, WILLIAM L. (1994) ‘The Problem of No Best World’, Faith and Philosophy, Volume 11, Number 2, April, pp. 269-278. Wilmore, Kentucky, Asbury College. 

ROWE, WILLIAM L. (1996) ‘Privation’, in Robert Audi, (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 

ROWE, WILLIAM L. (1999) ‘The Problem of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom’, in Faith and Philosophy, Volume 16, Number 1, January, pp. 98-101. Wilmore, Kentucky, Asbury College.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Angara River, Russia (photo from trekearth.com)

For my PhD dissertation research I have had contact with a couple of Orthodox priests. I am not very familiar with the Eastern Orthodox Church. I am adopted and according to a piece of paper given to my adoptive parents and now in my possession, my biological paternal family was Roman Catholic, and my biological maternal family was Eastern Orthodox. I end up being a Presbyterian. The term Orthodox or Orthodoxy is defined within Christianity as meaning a right belief, as opposed to heresy. Grenz, Guretzki, and Nordling (1999: 87). The terms are used in a narrower sense to describe the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Grenz, Guretzki and Nordling. (1999: 88).

P.D. Steeves explains that the theological dimension of the 1054 schism between the Western Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church had to primarily do with the East's rejection of papal authority. Steeves (1996: 805). The Eastern Church viewed the papacy as having honour, but saw all bishops with correct teaching as being equally successors to Peter. Steeves (1996: 805). Earle E. Cairns writes that another difference between the two churches was that in the East marriage was allowed for those in the clergy below the rank of bishop. In the West clergy were not allowed to marry. Cairns (1981: 203). The West and East disagreed in 867 on the filioque (and from the Son in Latin) clause inserted in the Nicene Creed as the West accepted the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son, but this was rejected by the East. Cairns (1981: 205). Although Eastern Orthodoxy holds to the Trinity it disagreed with the idea of two originating principles within the Godhead as the Holy Spirit would proceed from the Father and Son, and not just the Father. Steeves (1996: 805). Many Eastern Orthodox thinkers could accept a formulation where the Holy Spirit proceeds through the Father, or with the Son. Steeves (1996: 805).

From my perspective, within the New Testament it is very debatable to state that Peter was an apostle that had more authority than any other, in particular in light of the fact that Paul most certainly wrote more New Testament books and was a more important theological figure. Concerning marriage, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:7 that he wished all men could be like him and he admits that not all have his gift which seemingly means in context, celibacy and contentment being single. I do not see any Biblical command that all ministers of the gospel should be single. With the issue of the Trinity, Erickson explains that the Holy Spirit does subordinate himself to the Son's ministry, but this does not make him less equal as God. Erickson (1994: 338). In John 20: 22-23, Jesus had his disciples receive the Holy Spirit for their ministry. It could be in a sense stated here that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son, under the Father's authority.

CAIRNS, EARLE E. (1981) Christianity Through The Centuries, Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing House.

ERICKSON, MILLARD. (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.

GRENZ, STANLEY J. DAVID GURETZKI and CHERITH FEE NORDLING (1999) Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, Downers Grove, Ill., InterVarsity Press.

STEEVES, P.D. (1996) 'Orthodox Tradition, The' in Walter A. Elwell (ed.), Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Books.

According to:

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/orthodoxy.htm

The denomination now known as Orthodox Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, or the Orthodox Church began as the eastern half of Christendom, the site of the former Byzantine Empire.

Today, the highest concentration of Orthodox Christians remains in this area as well as in Russia, although Orthodoxy can be found in countries throughout the world. Approximately 225 million people worldwide are Orthodox Christians.

History of Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy as a distinct branch of Christianity arose as a result of the first major divide in Christendom occurred in the 11th century with the "Great Schism" between East and West. The separation was not sudden or unexpected, however. For centuries there had been significant religious, cultural, and political differences between the Eastern and Western churches. Religiously, the two regions had different views on topics such as the use of images (icons), the nature of the Holy Spirit, and the date on which Easter should be celebrated.

Culturally, the Greek East has always tended to be more philosophical, abstract and mystical in its thinking, whereas the Latin West tends toward a more pragmatic and legal-minded approach. (According to an old saying, "the Greeks built metaphysical systems; the Romans built roads.")

The political aspects of the split date back to the Emperor Constantine, who moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. Upon his death, the empire was divided between his two sons, one of whom ruled the western half of the empire from Rome while the other ruled the eastern region from Constantinople.

These various factors finally came to a head in 1054 AD, when Pope Leo IX excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople (the leader of the Eastern church). In response, the patriarch anathematized (condemned) the Pope, and the Christian church has been divided into West ("Roman Catholic") and East ("Greek Orthodox") ever since. A glimmer of hope for reconciliation came at the onset of the Crusades later that century, when the West came to the aid of the East against the Turks. But especially after the Fourth Crusade (1200-1204), in which crusaders sacked and occupied Constantinople, the only result was an increase in hostility between the two churches.

However, attempts at reconciliation have been renewed in recent years. In 1964, the Second Vatican Council issued this statement praising its Eastern counterparts:

The Catholic Church values highly the institutions of the Eastern Churches, their liturgical rites, ecclesiastical traditions, and their ordering of Christian life. For in those churches, which are distinguished by their venerable antiquity, there is clearly evident the tradition which has come from the Apostles through the Fathers and which is part of the divinely revealed, undivided heritage of the Universal Church. {2}
On December 7, 1965, the mutual excommunication of 1054 was officially removed by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras.

Organization and Religious Authority
The Orthodox Church is organized into several regional, autocephalous (governed by their own head bishops) churches. The Patriarch of Constantinople has the honor of primacy, but does not carry the same authority as the Pope does in Catholicism. Major Orthodox churches include the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Jerusalem, and the Orthodox Church in America.

The religious authority for Orthodox Christianity is not the Pope as in Catholicism, nor the individual Christian with his Bible as in Protestantism, but the scriptures as interpreted by the seven ecumenical councils of the church.

Orthodoxy also relies heavily on the writings of early Greek fathers such as Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great. Although some Orthodox confessions of faith were produced in the 17th century as counterparts to those of the Reformation, these are regarded as having only historical significance.

Distinctive Orthodox Beliefs
As in all of Christianity, doctrine is important in Eastern Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christians attach great importance to the Bible, the conclusions of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, and right ("orthodox") belief. However, the Eastern Churches approach religious truth differently than the Western Churches. For Orthodox Christians, truth must be experienced personally. There is thus less focus on the exact definition of religious truth and more on the practical and personal experience of truth in the life of the individual and the church. Precise theological definition, when it occurs, is primarily for the purpose of excluding error.

This emphasis on personal experience of truth flows into Orthodox theology, which has a rich heritage. Especially in the first millenium of Christian history, the Eastern Church has produced significant theological and philosophical thought.

In the Western churches, both Catholic and Protestant, sin, grace, and salvation are seen primarily in legal terms. God gave humans freedom, they misused it and broke God's commandments, and now deserve punishment. God's grace results in forgiveness of the transgression and freedom from bondage and punishment.

The Eastern churches see the matter in a different way. For Orthodox theologians, humans were created in the image of God and made to participate fully in the divine life. The full communion with God that Adam and Eve enjoyed meant complete freedom and true humanity, for humans are most human when they are completely united with God.

The result of sin, then, was a blurring of the image of God and a barrier between God and man. The situation in which mankind has been ever since is an unnatural, less human state, which ends in the most unnatural aspect: death. Salvation, then, is a process not of justification or legal pardon, but of reestablishing man's communion with God. This process of repairing the unity of human and divine is sometimes called "deification." This term does not mean that humans become gods but that humans join fully with God's divine life.

The Eastern Orthodox view of the Trinity also differs somewhat from that of the Christian West. In its Christology, Orthodoxy tends to emphasize the divine, preexistent nature of Christ, whereas the West focuses more on his human nature. However, both East and West affirm Christ's full humanity and full divinity as defined by the ecumenical councils. In fact, Christ's humanity is also central to Orthodox faith, in that the divine became human so that humanity might be raised up to the divine life.

The process of being reunited to God, made possible by Christ, is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit plays a central role in Orthodox worship: the liturgy usually begins with a prayer to the Spirit and invocations made prior to sacraments are addressed to the Spirit.

It is in the view of the Holy Spirit that Orthodox theology differs from Western theology, and although the difference can seem rather techinical and abstract, it was a major contributor to the parting of East from West in the 11th century. This dispute is known as the Filioque Controversy, as it centers on the Latin word filioque ("and from the Son"), which was added to the Nicene Creed in Spain in the 6th century. The original creed proclaimed only that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father." The purpose of the addition was to reaffirm the divinity of the Son, but Eastern theologians objected both to the unilateral editing of a creed produced by an ecumenical council and to the edit itself. For Eastern Christians, both the Spirit and the Son have their origin in the Father.

Orthodox Worship and Religious Practices
Orthodox worship is highly liturgical and is central to the history and life of the church:

By its theological richness, spiritual significance, and variety, the worship of the Orthodox Church represents one of the most significant factors in this church's continuity and identity. It helps to account for the survival of Christianity during the many centuries of Muslim rule in the Middle East and the Balkans when the liturgy was the only source of religious knowledge or experience. {1}

References
"Eastern Orthodoxy." Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service, 2004).
Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches, 1964.