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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Philosophy of Religion

Theodicy

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/θiˈɒdəsi/nounAdvanced term

In religious studies & theology, theodicy means: An attempt to explain why a good and all-powerful God allows evil and suffering, defending God's justice; the term was coined by Leibniz in 1710.

In Turkish: teodise, ilahi adaletin savunusu

How it is used

Well-known types include the Augustinian theodicy (evil as the absence of good and the result of free will) and the soul-making theodicy associated with John Hick. Islamic theology discusses similar questions under divine justice ('adl) and wisdom (hikma). Max Weber used the word for any explanation of suffering and good fortune.

Example sentences

  1. Leibniz's theodicy argued that this is the best of all possible worlds.

  2. John Hick's soul-making theodicy presents suffering as a means of moral growth.

Common collocations

  • Augustinian theodicy
  • soul-making theodicy
  • free will theodicy
  • construct a theodicy
  • problem of evilThe philosophical and theological question of how an all-powerful, all-knowing and perfectly good God can allow evil and suffering to exist.
  • theismBelief in a personal God who created the world and remains active in it; in philosophy of religion, the view that such a God exists.
  • sinAn act, thought or failure to act that a religious tradition regards as breaking God's law or going against God's will.
  • divineRelating to God or a god, or coming from God; as a noun, the divine refers to God or the ultimate sacred reality in general terms.

More terms: Philosophy of Religion

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