What about Evil?: A Defense of God's Sovereign Glory

“The Bible’s narrative of redemption is so relentlessly subversive that Christ’s followers are called to weakness, to grace, to showing mercy to the wicked. What begins as a theodicy to the praise of God’s glorious grace sweeps along and establishes, among other things, a distinctively Christian ethic. To feel the weight of Christensen’s argument demands a careful reading of the whole book, surely not so much a chore as a glimpse of glory.”

“Why is there evil in the world? Scott Christensen shows that this difficult question is bound up with two larger questions: ‘Why did God make the world?’ and ‘Why did God the Son become a man and suffer evil?’ Scripture gives the ultimate answer: to manifest the glory of God. Christensen’s articulate, inspiring, and gospel-driven presentation of the ‘greater-glory’ theodicy explores a significant way that God’s Word addresses the problem of evil to strengthen our faith and evoke our worship.”

“The problem of evil is the most important argument against the existence of God. It is said to be all the more difficult to answer when one adopts a Reformed/Calvinist view of human free will and divine providence, according to which God, in his sovereign decree, determines everything that comes to pass. Scott Christensen accepts the challenge and offers a Reformed tour de force in response to the multifaceted problem of evil. He argues that evil is not merely, as the French say, a pétard mouillé (a ‘wet petard/firecracker’); rather, it is one that does explode, but backfires into glorifying God, in the biblical-theological grand narrative of creation, fall, and redemption. Christensen offers a response that is truly Reformed, not just because of his Calvinist view of free will (though it certainly has that), but because of its focus on the glory of God, the centrality of the person of Jesus, and the good news of redemption in Christ.”

“This is the most Bible-saturated, ‘logic-sensical,’ and God-honoring answer to the so-called problem of evil in our generation. Gifted writer and thinker Scott Christensen has produced in What about Evil? an invaluable resource for both the inquisitive believer and the inquiring skeptic alike. I heartily recommend it to everyone wrestling with the reality of a good and sovereign God and the fact that evil still remains in this world.”

“Scott Christensen’s book What about Evil? deals with the ‘problem of evil’—how can evil exist in a world created and ruled by a God who is sovereign and completely good? Many authors (including me) have taken up this challenge, but it remains a powerful objection to the truth of the Christian faith. Christensen gets beyond the more traditional approaches to the problem, by reminding us that God’s wisdom pervades everything he ordains so that the very existence of evil serves his purpose of maximizing goodness and glorifying himself. Of course, Romans 8:28 and other verses say that this is true. But Christensen shows us how it is true, how even in this fallen world we can begin to grasp something of God’s light in the midst of the darkness, indeed especially there. I commend this book to readers who seek a serious and thoughtful treatment of this issue.”

“Scott Christensen delivers an unflinching, clear, and honest defense of the Reformed position on the problem of evil. The volume excels at integrating biblical theology with systematics and rightly situates theodicy in the history of redemption, a story that ultimately brings glory to the triune God. I recommend this project to students, pastors, and teachers who want to ponder this difficult problem anew. I suspect that I’ll commend this volume for years to come.”

“Scott Christensen’s work on theodicy is well crafted and contributes to this important conversation in a significant and helpful way. Christensen’s assertions are clear, tight, and accessible, reaching the intended audience with persuasive clarity. His appeal to the felix culpa argument as found in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Reformed theology is both unusual and helpful as it grounds theodicy in the doctrine of God’s eternal glory in Christ, rather than in a series of explanations or excuses that merely appeal to human desire to be satisfied intellectually or emotionally. Christensen’s work is solidly argued and well researched; this book deserves a wide audience.”

“Christians take the problem of evil more seriously than anyone else. This book avoids simplistic philosophical solutions. Instead, the author appreciates that the historical fact of Christ’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and return provides the only hope when we just don’t know all the answers.”

“This book covers a lot of ground as it discusses the perennial question, ‘What about evil?’ Cogent, clear, and convincing, Christensen’s book will require some work to refute. There is a delicate balance between awareness of historical and present-day polemics, which will leave readers satisfied that they have a good idea of the issues at stake concerning a Reformed theodicy.”

“Scott Christensen has a real gift for answering difficult theological questions plainly, thoroughly, and above all biblically—with colorful, engaging writing that readers at practically any level can easily comprehend and learn from. If you’re troubled by the question of why a good and omnipotent God would create a universe that includes evil—or if you are a Christian struggling to explain the problem of evil to someone else—you will greatly benefit from this book.”

“his is a bold venture. After all, every attempt to explain the ‘Why?’ of sin faces the prima facie difficulty that sin, as defined by St. John (1 John 3:4), is without law, and thus irreducible to reason and order. This has not, however, deterred the world’s greatest minds from trying, and Scott Christensen belongs to a long and honorable succession. In this volume he sets forth a ‘greater-glory theodicy’ reminiscent of Augustine’s felix culpa, according to which the fall created a need for redemption, which in turn created the opportunity for God to show the glory of his redeeming love in the person of his Son. In essence, the answer to the question ‘What about evil?’ lies in the history of redemption: the story itself is God’s vindication, but what is striking is the way in which this volume relates this history to modern theories of the ‘architectonics of storytelling.’ All great stories, Christensen argues, follow this pattern: creation (the good), fall, and redemption. But the pattern’s original lies in the biblical narrative, the unique plot of the transcendent Author himself. Behind the story, however, lies the redemptive acts themselves and, supremely, the hero, Jesus Christ the Redeemer. God’s design from all eternity was that in him he would give the supreme revelation of his glory. Christ’s work, culminating in a new heaven and a new earth, is God’s happy ending. These remarks do scant justice to the massive and varied erudition that lies behind this book. The felix culpa argument has never had a more thorough or a more accessible presentation.”

“One question that I often get as a pastor is: Why does evil exist? Without realizing it, the churchgoer is asking a theological question pertaining to one of the most challenging doctrines in all of Christianity. Thankfully, my friend Scott Christensen has written what I believe to be the definitive book on theodicy, What about Evil? I’ve grown to expect from Scott nothing less than cogent thinking, thorough examination, engaging writing, and biblical orthodoxy, and this book delivers on all fronts. After surveying the landscape of thinking on theodicy, Scott argues for the solution that gives God the greatest glory. More than just a sit-down-and-read-through book, What about Evil? is a resource that will aid the pastor, scholar, and mature believer. I cannot commend this volume highly enough, and I’m thankful for Scott’s tireless labors in writing it.”

“What Scott Christensen has accomplished with What about Evil? is truly exceptional. So many Christians experience an onslaught of questions from unbelievers whenever something of a catastrophic nature seemingly upends society. The natural response of unbelievers is: ‘Where was God?’ Christians need reasonable answers to this question. I am often disappointed when I hear ministers answer it by chalking the evil up to ‘bare permission.’ Permission is neither helpful nor comforting when a sovereign, benevolent God is on the throne. Scott has masterfully demonstrated from Scripture how believers can answer the seeming ‘problem of evil’ that puzzles believers. I happily commend this work to the thoughtful student of Scripture.”

“Christensen tackles what is perhaps the most difficult question for Christian theology—the problem of evil. No one can answer every question, as Christensen himself admits. Still, the book is a faithful and learned study on the whole matter, reflecting careful research and scholarship. Here we find a combination that is quite rare: the book is biblically grounded, theologically perceptive, and philosophically astute. Explaining evil in the context of the storyline of the Scriptures is particularly helpful.”

“The problem of evil is one of the most difficult questions faced by Christians in the proclamation and defense of the gospel as well as in our daily lives. The question of why God has allowed sin and evil to exist in his good world must be answered with biblical and theological fidelity. Unfortunately, many of the answers given to this question by Christians over the years contain parts of the truth but often miss the big picture centered in the glory of God and God’s eternal plan of redemption. In this excellent and helpful book, however, Scott Christensen breaks new ground and offers an antidote to subpar ways of answering the problem of evil by returning to Scripture and giving us a robust ‘greater-glory theodicy.’ In doing so, this book is faithful to Scripture, is true to Reformed theology, interacts with past and present discussions on the problem of evil with care and precision, and most of all helps the church make sense of the riddle of sin and evil in God’s eternal plan to bring glory to himself. If you have wrestled with the issues of theodicy and want the best of theological thinking on them, this book is a must-read. It will give you answers to your questions—but more than this, it will lead you to trust and glory in our triune God in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Scott Christensen’s What about Evil? seeks to reconcile the existence of God and evil by appealing to ‘the grand storyline of the Bible.’ While acknowledging that he is not an analytic philosopher, Christensen displays great facility with what philosophy can bring and has brought to the table on this question, while choosing to focus his considerable exegetical and systematic-theological gifts on unpacking for his readers the implications of specific biblical revelation for this question. The result is a ‘cross-centered theodicy of redemptive glory,’ a ‘greater-glory theodicy’ that, while having affinities with greater-good theodicy and best-of-all-possible-worlds theodicy, is more specifically grounded in biblical narrative, rather than sanctified speculation. Christensen’s interaction with contemporary literature on this topic is both wide-ranging and charitable, and much profit may be gained in considering how he lays out his case. Of special note is his anticipation of objections from both secular readers and fellow Christians who might take a different point of view. Highly recommended.”

“In his What about Evil? Scott Christensen makes a genuine contribution to the discussion of the problem of evil. His treatment of the question from the perspective of the Bible’s own story of God’s glory in human redemption is self-consciously biblical rather than philosophical, as well as being engaging and conceptually clear at every point. A pleasure to commend!”