Customer Reviews for Liturgical Press The Problem of Evil in the Western Tradition: From the Book of Job to Modern Genetics

While others have contributed tomes and volumes on the history of Evil, Kelly covers much ground in much fewer pages. An ample bibliography will direct the curious to more in depth study, while readers who prefer a lighter treatment (albeit a meticulously researched and well-written one) will experience a wealth of information packed between these covers.

Delineating between "Evil" and "evils", the author starts the tour in the Book of Job and follows literary, religious and philosophical strands through to the biotech ambiguities of the early 21st century. He draws a picture of how the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia viewed Evil by examining myths similar to biblical texts along with biblical references to Satan. And, by gleaning from both Christian and non-religious writings, he shows how these have formed the idea of Evil in the collective conscience. The final chapters illuminate modern theories and approaches to Evil, and the book culminates with the author's own reflection on what he believes Evil to be.