Horrendous Evil and God's silence (with the Approach of Existential Theology from Marilyn Adams’ perspective)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of philosophy of religion, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The problem of God's silence is an  problem that happens to many believers. Many believers think that they have lost their support and doubt their faith to such an extent that when they call upon God with all their being and do not feel any presence of God during their sufferings. It is as if you can no longer live with this God. No theodicy or defense can answer this problem because this issue is an emotional problem that harms the hearts of believers and not just their reason. Marilyn Adams has also taken a new approach to this issue by relying on existential theology. Adams believes that the answer to suffering is only possible depending on belief in God, because everyone leaves us, but God is always by our side, and we should feel God's comforting presence by our side with spiritual care. Adams explains the three stages of overcoming sufferings to solve this problem. These three stages are: 1. Creating a unifying relationship between the two aspects of fear of the terrible evil and intimacy with God. 2. Improving the capacities of meaning making for the person involved in suffering. 3. Rebuilding the relationship of the suffering person with the material world in such a way that he is no longer vulnerable to the sufferings of this world.

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References

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Philosophy of Religion
Volume 20, Issue 4
January 2024
Pages 247-258

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