Probing the depths of evil and good : : multireligious views and case studies / / edited by Jerald D. Gort, Henry Jansen and Hendrik M. Vroom.

• Superior document: Currents of encounter ; 33
• TeilnehmendeR: Gort, Jerald D.; Jansen, Henry.; Vroom, H. M., 1945-
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Currents of encounter ; 33.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (387 p.)
• Notes: This volume is part of the project on The problem of evil in religious traditions: origins, forms and coping, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Vrije Universiteit and the exhibition "Religion & Evil" in the Tropenmuseum.

In the few years since the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, evil has become a central theme in the media and human consciousness: the evil of terrorism, the evil of secular culture, concern for poverty, and climate change... Yet different cultures and religious traditions have different ideas of what evil is and what its root causes are. Although there is no massive clash of cultures, many disagreements and also conflicts in the world arise from the deep differences in views of evil. This volume explores religious views of evil. Scholars from different religions and from various parts of the world describe how people probe the depths of evil—and by necessity that of good—from their own background in various worldviews. In their explorations, almost all address the need to go beyond morality, and beyond legalistic definitions of evil and of good. They point to the radical depths of evil in the world and in human society and reinforce our intuition that there is no easy solution. But if we can gain a better understanding of what people from other worldview traditions and cultures consider evil, we are that much closer to a more peaceful world.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Probing Evil and Good: On the Imperative and Benefits of Taking Tea Together / Jerald D. Gort -- Myths as Metaphors for Radical Evil / Wendy Doniger -- Maya as Evil: From Classical Hindu Thought to Bhakti Saints and Kabir. A Historical Exploration / Dinesh Prasad Saklani -- The Struggle with Evil: The Theology of Evil in the Bhagavad Gita and the Devimahatmya / Victor A. van Bijlert -- Evil and its Treatment in Early Taoism / John Lagerwey -- The Problem of Evil in Confucianism / Ching-yuen Cheung -- Evil and the Transformation of Evil in Buddhism and Socially Engaged Buddhism / Christa W. Anbeek -- Zen and the Question of Evil / Sodo Yasunaga -- Nothingness-qua-Love?: The Implications of Absolute Nothingness for Ethics / John D’Arcy May -- The Problem of “Evil” in Pure Land Buddhism / Martin Repp -- Awareness of Evil in Christianity and Buddhism / Eiko Hanaoka -- Emptying Good-and-Evil: Masao Abe’s Approach to the Problem of Evil / Annewieke Vroom -- Forgiving God: A Jewish Perspective on Evil and Suffering / N. Verbin -- Conceptualizations of Evil in African Christian Theology / Conrad Wethmar -- The Descent into Hell and the Phenomenon of Exorcism in the Early Church / Martien E. Brinkman -- God’s Good Plan and Evil Forces in This World: The Place of the Devil in Traditional Islam / Annemiek Spronk -- “Soul of a Woman Was Created Below”: Woman as the Lower Soul (Nafs) in Islam / Rkia E. Cornell -- Evil, Virtue, and Islamic Moral Theology: Rethinking the Good in a Globalized World / Vincent J. Cornell -- The Islamic Point of View on the Problem of Evil / Saeid Edalatnejad -- Critical Humanism and the Problem of Evil: From Vertical to Horizontal Transcendence / Harry Kunneman -- Evil from a Comparative Perspective / Hendrik M. Vroom -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects -- Contributors to this Volume.