Defending God Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil [Hardcover]

In the ancient Near East, when the gods detected gross impropriety in their ranks, they subjected their own to trial. When mortals suspect their gods of wrongdoing, do they have the right to put them on trial? What lies behind the human endeavor to impose moral standards of behavior on the gods? Is this effort an act of arrogance, as Kant suggested, or a means of keeping theological discourse honest? It is this question James Crenshaw seeks to address in this wide-ranging study of ancient theodicies. Crenshaw has been writing about and pondering the issue of theodicy - the human effort to justify the ways of the gods or God - for many years. In this volume he presents a synthesis of his ideas on this perennially thorny issue. The result sheds new light on the history of the human struggle with this intractable problem.

This book is vintage Crenshaw. Each essay is the fruit of precise scholarship written in a way that those not expert in the field can easily follow the argument and appreciate the conclusions. The ease with which [Crenshaw]. opens the meaning of the text is born of many years of both personal and professional wrestling with the topic...Once again, [Crenshaw] has shown himself to be an eminent scholar and remarkable teacher. --The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

Crenshaw's elegant and honest treatment of this timely topic deserves a careful reading and even several re-readings. It is a fine book by a great biblical scholar. --America

Erudite and impassioned. Highly recommended. --Choice

Why do bad things happen to good people? The question has been a significant part of the human scene for a very long time and there are clearly no easy answers. Here is a book that will be of the greatest help to the serious enquirer. Crenshaw has read widely, published extensively, and thought deeply about the many sides of the question. I cannot recommend this book too highly. It is timely, wide-rangil3y