Michael Rea’s Evil and the Hiddenness of God a collection of articles and excerpts discussing the Problem of Evil (if a loving God exists, why is there evil?) and the Problem of Divine Hiddenness (if God exists, why isn’t there more evidence for His existence?)
Pros:
– Incredible selection of sources. Powerful excerpts from fiction: Dostoevsky, LeGuin. Classic works by Hume, Liebniz, Mackie, Draper, Plantinga. I was surprised by how accessible and careful Hume and Leibniz were. I guess I shouldn’t have written off pre-20th century philosophers on the basis of Kant
– Most forcibly struck by the familiarity of each author with their opponents’ arguments and especially their willingness to present that argument in its strongest form and, sometimes, to present it in a *stronger* form than the original. *This is reasoned disagreement at its very best.*
– Very poignant at times
– Cover features terrifying severed head of Medusa
– Way too much excellent content to review chapters individually. My personal favorites were Rowe, Ekstrom, and Rea
Cons:
– The inclusion of continental philosopher Grace Jantzen’s excerpt from “Becoming Divine” seemed like a free association based on her single mention of Dostoevsky. Her section dismisses the problem of evil as pertinent only to the ‘God of the West’ and claims that it is a ‘study in necrophilia’ (?) Exactly why is this essay in this book?
– I wish there had been more attempts to address the Problem of Evil and Divine Hiddenness from an explicitly orthodox Christian perspective. Despite the fact that many of the contributors were Christians, they often provided theodicies for theism in general, rather than Christianity in particular. On the plus side, the weakness of some of the answers provided helped me to appreciate just how many resources orthodox Christianity offers to those wrestling with the Problem of Evil and Divine Hiddenness.
Summary:
Great resource with an exceptional variety of sources.
Neil Shenvi - Apologetics 