Date

8-29-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Apologetics (PhD)

Chair

Ronnie Campbell

Keywords

problem of evil, theodicy, early apologists, Creation-Order, free will, gratuitous evil

Disciplines

Philosophy | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

The problem of evil and suffering is a significant obstacle for people to consider the truth of Christianity. One way to eliminate this barrier is to provide a theologically sound and biblically accurate theodicy. The Creation-Order Theodicy is one such attempt. The purpose of this paper is to examine if the elements of the Creation-Order Theodicy have their roots in the early teachings of the church through the writings of the early Christian apologists through AD 250. Chapter 1 includes the nature of the problem, a review of existing literature, and the research methodology. Chapter 2 will summarize various modern answers to the problem of gratuitous evil. Chapter 3 will examine the New Testament influences on the early apologists, survey the early Christian apologists, their backgrounds, and a summary of their writings. Chapter 3 will also demonstrate the results of the research examination and demonstrate which elements of the Creation-Order Theodicy are found in the early writings. Chapter 4 will investigate any insight gleaned in the early apologists regarding free will, foreknowledge, and sovereignty, as these theological topics play a role in later developments of theodicies. Chapter 5 will discuss the impact of the research on Christianity and the Church, as well as challenge the reader to future research and application.

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