THEODICY. Life’s harsh enigmas render belief in a benevolent deity difficult. Theodicy is the attempt to defend divine justice in the face of aberrant phenomena that appear to indicate the deity’s indifference or hostility toward virtuous people. Ancient Israel’s conviction that God shaped historical events to benefit a covenant nation exacerbated the issue, particularly in the wake of events associated with 722 and 587 B.C.E. In one sense the pitiful state of Yahweh’s worshipers during the Exile and in postexilic Judah transformed theodicy into a question about history. For this reason, theodicy was never just a theoretical problem of the individual; divine justice involved society itself—the distribution of goods, access to knowledge and power, the formation of legal statutes. Moreover, distinct theodicies surfaced to protect the interests of the privileged and the powerless. (The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary)
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 17:45:35 +0000
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