Beyond theodicies: Responding to suffering and the stubborn persistence of theological complexity
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Abstract
Theodicies are often criticised for making concrete suffering into an abstract exercise in theological conjecture. The common response is that complex theodicies are not as important as responding to suffering. This paper, however, contends that responding to suffering still presents theological complexities, as illustrated by James Cone’s rebuttal of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian Realism. At the heart of the debate is a recurrent theme throughout theological history that considers the extent to which human action can overcome rather than just ameliorate suffering. This article argues that the persistence of sin and the irruption of God into creation are helpful reminders about the limitation of human action and the necessity of God for overcoming suffering.
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