The Problem of Evil:

Open theism argues that traditional responses to the problem of evil fail to provide comfort amidst suffering because of their notion of metaphysical determinism and over-dependence on Greek philosophy. Open theists argue that the best solution to the problem of evil lies in our understanding of th...

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Main Author: A.S. Antombikums
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2024-06-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7777
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author A.S. Antombikums
author_facet A.S. Antombikums
author_sort A.S. Antombikums
collection DOAJ
description Open theism argues that traditional responses to the problem of evil fail to provide comfort amidst suffering because of their notion of metaphysical determinism and over-dependence on Greek philosophy. Open theists argue that the best solution to the problem of evil lies in our understanding of the nature of God’s power, which has been relinquished due to his love, the open nature of creation, and the creatures’ inherent powers. This study argues that the open-theistic notion of divine power is reductionistic because it does not consider coercive power as part of divine power. Further, the open theistic logic-of-love defence propagates a loveless God who respects his covenant with the beloved more than the beloved. Finally, the study argues that the open theists’ notions of divine omniscience and divine power are not viable; they raised many questions and objections and, therefore, created room for despair rather than comfort in adversity.
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spelling doaj-art-39530624848c4843abe351564e2719fa2025-02-11T09:29:07ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892024-06-0144110.38140/at.v44i1.7777The Problem of Evil:A.S. Antombikums0University of Pretoria. Open theism argues that traditional responses to the problem of evil fail to provide comfort amidst suffering because of their notion of metaphysical determinism and over-dependence on Greek philosophy. Open theists argue that the best solution to the problem of evil lies in our understanding of the nature of God’s power, which has been relinquished due to his love, the open nature of creation, and the creatures’ inherent powers. This study argues that the open-theistic notion of divine power is reductionistic because it does not consider coercive power as part of divine power. Further, the open theistic logic-of-love defence propagates a loveless God who respects his covenant with the beloved more than the beloved. Finally, the study argues that the open theists’ notions of divine omniscience and divine power are not viable; they raised many questions and objections and, therefore, created room for despair rather than comfort in adversity. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7777
spellingShingle A.S. Antombikums
The Problem of Evil:
Acta Theologica
title The Problem of Evil:
title_full The Problem of Evil:
title_fullStr The Problem of Evil:
title_full_unstemmed The Problem of Evil:
title_short The Problem of Evil:
title_sort problem of evil
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7777
work_keys_str_mv AT asantombikums theproblemofevil
AT asantombikums problemofevil