The Image of God: The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Mourning

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Eleonore Stump (Robert J. Henle, S.J. Professor of Philosophy, Robert J. Henle, S.J. Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University)

The Image of God

The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Mourning

Eleonore Stump (Robert J. Henle, S.J. Professor of Philosophy, Robert J. Henle, S.J. Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University)

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English

Oxford University Press
04 August 2025

Ethics & moral philosophy; Philosophy of religion; Religious ethics; Christian theology

The problem of mourning is the last and hardest part of the problem of evil. To show that suffering is defeated for a sufferer, a theodicy argues that there is an outweighing benefit which could not have been gotten without the suffering. Typically, this condition has the tacit presupposition given that this is a post-Fall world. Consequently, there is a sense in which human suffering would not be shown to be defeated even if there were a successful theodicy because a theodicy typically implies that the benefit in question could have been gotten without the suffering if there had not been a Fall. There is a part of the problem of evil that would remain, then, even if there were a successful theodicy. This is the problem of mourning: even defeated suffering in the post-Fall world merits mourning. How is this warranted mourning compatible with the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? The traditional response to this problem is the felix culpa view, which maintains that the original sin was fortunate because there is an outweighing benefit to sufferers that could not be gotten in a world without suffering. The felix culpa view presupposes an object of evaluation, namely, the true self of a human being, and a standard of evaluation for human lives. This book explores these and a variety of other topics in philosophical theology in order to explain and evaluate the role of suffering in human lives.

By: Eleonore Stump (Robert J. Henle S.J. Professor of Philosophy Robert J. Henle S.J. Professor of Philosophy Saint Louis University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 637g
ISBN: 9780198966302
ISBN 10: 019896630X
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 04 August 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Eleonore Stump is the Robert J. Henle Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University. She has published extensively in philosophy of religion, contemporary metaphysics, and medieval philosophy. Her books include Aquinas (2003), Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering (2010), Atonement (2018), and The Image of God: The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Mourning (2022). She has given the Gifford Lectures (Aberdeen, 2003), the Wilde lectures (Oxford, 2006), the Stewart lectures (Princeton, 2009), and the Stanton lectures (Cambridge, 2018). She is past president of the Society of Christian Philosophers, Philosophers in Jesuit Education, the American Catholic Philosophical Association, and the American Philosophical Association, Central Division; and she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Reviews for The Image of God: The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Mourning

Stump's Image of God is a rigorous, fascinating, and well-argued book that can be recommended to anyone who wants to consider seriously the complexities of suffering, selfhood, and love. * Maikki Aakko, Campion Hall, University of Oxford, Heythrop Journal * Eleonore Stump's The Image of God: The Problem of Evil and the Problem of Mourning provides shining examples of logical rigor, clarity of argument, compassionate depictions of suffering, and a painstaking defense of the power of narrative...Reading The Image of God, one finds analytic precision in equal measure with poetry, heart, and devotion. * David Greder, Reading Religion * Eleonore Stump has created a masterful work, applying the concept of the image of God not simply to the problems of evil and mourning, as one might expect. She also touches on issues of the afterlife, disability, the demarcation between evil and mourning, its significance, and much else. * Randy Everist, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion *