Intelligent Design Meets the Problem of Evil

B&H Academic will be releasing this Fall (November 2009) what promises to be an exciting and thought provoking book. William Dembski is the author of The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World. The endorsements have rolled in and they are ringing with praise. Here's just a few:

"Believers have badly needed the kind of compelling case for biblical theodicy provided in Dr. Dembski's new book--grounded, as it is, not in traditional philosophical arguments (often not merely obtuse but irrelevant in today's scientific climate), but in intelligent design, of which Dr. Dembski is the world's foremost academic proponent." John Warwick Montgomery

"Dembski blazes a new trail on thought through the morass of the problem of evil and leads us to a powerful and inspiring view of God, His Creation, and of our purpose in God's kingdom. This is a must-read book for everyone who has wondered how a good God fits with an evil world, be they conservative, liberal, or atheist." John A. Bloom, Professor of Physics, Academic Director of the Science and Religion Program, Biola University.

"Happily, there are many good books being written today. But it is rare, indeed, to find a book that towers over the others in such profundity and quality. William Dembski's The End of Christianity is such a book. It is so interesting and well-written that I could not put it down. But more importantly, I have read very few books with its depth of insight, breadth of scholarly interaction, and significance. From now on, no one who is working on a Christian treatment of the problem of evil can afford to neglect this book. It is vintage Dembski, and I highly recommend it." J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Biola University

"For much too long, theodicy has been little more than a boutique topic in theology, a justification for the world's misery that lets God off the hook. William Dembski's new book goes a long way toward restoring theodicy's original claim to be a master science of intelligent design. It is arguably the most worthy successor to Leibniz's own Theodicy, which artfully showed how a rational theology, properly understood, could retain its role of queen of the sciences in the modern world. . . Here we finally see in open view the full potential of intelligent design theory to put an end to the intellectual segragationism that has limited science-religion relations for much too long." Steve Fuller, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick, UK.

I have only have the first chapter to read (entitled "The Reach of the Cross") but was stopped in my tracks when I read this paragraph:

"But why was the Cross necessary at all? If there was a rift between God and humanity, why was suffering--Christ's suffering on the Cross--the key to healing? In a fallen world, the only currency of love is suffering. Indeed, the only way to tell how much one person loves another is by what that person is willing to endure for the other. Without the cost incurred by suffering, love among fallen creatures becomes cheap and self-indulgent. Suffering removes suspicion that the good we do for one another is for ulterior motives, with strings attached, a quid pro quo. Christ, by going to the Cross and there taking on himself the sin of the whole world, fully demonstrates the love of God. Moreover, only such a full demonstration of God's love enables us to love God with all our heart. The extent to which we can love God depends on the extent to which God has demonstrated his love for us, and that depends on the extent of evil that God has had to absorb, suffer, and overcome on our behalf." (emphasis his, 23)

These are some bold claims and gives much to ponder. I can't wait for its release.

It will be a hardcover and sell for $22.99.