Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil [Paperback]

Brian Davies offers the first in-depth study of Saint Thomas Aquinas's thoughts on God and evil, revealing that Aquinas's thinking about God and evil can be traced through his metaphysical philosophy, his thoughts on God and creation, and his writings about Christian revelation and the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation.

Davies first gives an introduction to Aquinas's philosophical theology, as well as a nuanced analysis of the ways in which Aquinas's writings have been considered over time. For hundreds of years scholars have argued that Aquinas's views on God and evil were original and different from those of his contemporaries. Davies shows that Aquinas's views were by modern standards very original, but that in their historical context they were more traditional than many scholars since have realized.

Davies also provides insight into what we can learn from Aquinas's philosophy.Thomas Aquinas on God and Evilis a clear and engaging guide for anyone who struggles with the relation of God and theology to the problem of evil.

Abbreviations
Preface
1. The Problem of Evil
2. Aquinas, Philosophy, and Theology
3. What There Is
4. Goodness and Badness
5. God the Creator
6. God's Perfection and Goodness
7. The Creator and Evil
8. Providence and Grace
9. The Trinity and Christ
10. Aquinas on God and Evil
Bibliography
Index

Regardless of what one thinks of Aquinas' approach to philosophy and theology, Davies provides an important and approachable (non-technical) synthesis of Aquinas' view on God and evil that should not be ignored by the contemporary student of apologetics.
--Christian Apologetics Journal

Davies's book shows that philosophers cannot uncritically enlist Thomas Aquinas as a foot soldier in this argument about God and evil, on one side or the other. --The Thomist

Brian Davies offers a vigorous, even brilliant, accessible overvielc"