A philosopher and mathematician known for his contributions to Intelligent Design, William Dembski’s focus in his new book, The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World (B&H: 2009), is to develop a theodicy in response to the age-old problem of evil. The usual critics and naysayers of Dembski will be disappointed, since the question of ID is largely irrelevant to this book. In the introduction, Dembski writes: ”I make no assumptions about the age of the Earth, the extent of evolution, or the prevalence of design. The theodicy I develop here looks not to science but to the metaphysics of divine action and purpose.”
The unusual title serves to highlight not the coming demise of Christian theism, but its ultimate triumph. ”Christianity’s ultimate triumph remains for now unfulfilled. The question I therefore want to pose — and help answer… is how we, as Christians, are to help bring about the ultimate triumph of Christ. According to 1 John 5:4, the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. Christian faith — a living faith whose author and finisher is Christ (Heb 12:2) — is thus described as the essential element for bringing about Christ’s ultimate triumph. I want, therefore, to interpret the phrase “end of Christianity” as what our faith must become — in the here and now — to bring about that ultimate triumph.”
I’ll be blogging my way through this book as I work my way through it.
Table of Contents
Part I
-The reach of the cross
-Evil’s origin
-Tracing the World’s Evil to Human Sin
-The Gravity of Sin
Part II
-The Attraction of a Young Earth
-Nature’s Constancy
-The Appearance of Age
-Two Books
-The Problem with Old-Earth Creationism
Part III
-The Trinitarian Mode of Creation
-Information Transcending Matter
-Logos
-Being as Communion
-Creation as Double Creation
-Moving the Particles
Part IV
-Chronos and Kairos
-Newcomb’s Paradox
-Two Logics of Creation
-The Infinite Dialectic
-A Kairological Reading of Genesis 1-3
Part V
-What About Evolution
-Beyond Genesis 1-3
-Thanking God FOR All Things
-Luminous with Purpose
Tags: problem of evil, theodicy, William Dembski
