Entertainment / Literature / Theodicy: In theological writings, this term refers to a defense of God's goodness or justice in the face of evil being allowed to exist or innocent creatures being allowed to suffer--i.e., explanations for why bad things can happen to good people and to what degree a benevolent and omnipotent being can be held accountable for such injustice. An early work exploring this issue is the Hebrew book of Job. Here, the narrator tells the audience four times either that 'in all this, Job did not sin' (Job 1:22), or asserts, 'he is blameless and upright' (1:8) even as God explicitly allows the Accuser (Hebrew Shaitan or Satan) to ruin Job's health, destroy his possessions, slaughter his family, and kill his servants. In the conclusion, when Job tries to repent for non-existent wrong-doings, the character of God does not rebuke Job, but instead expresses anger at Eliphaz, Bildad, Elihu, and Zophar, who simplistically argue that God only causes suffering to the wicked and that he always protects the good. God's response to Eliphaz is 'I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has' (Job 42:7). Though the reader witnesses the Shaitan's 'bet' or 'wager' with God, Job never receives any explanation for his sufferings because Job never witnesses the celestial events the reader is privy to. Since the question remains open-ended, many later theologians have attempted to create some theodicy to reconcile a benevolent deity and the existence of suffering, ranging from Saint Augustine (The Confessions) to C. S. Lewis (The Problem of Pain'). The character of Doctor Pangloss (Dr. 'Explain-it-all') in Voltaire's Candide concerns himself frequently with theodicy--though other characters like Martin often demolish his theories over the course of the satiric tale. The actual term theodicy, however, comes from Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz's Th???©odic???©e, a more serious philosophical exploration of the problem than Voltaire's satirical tale. (from Greek theo 'God' + dike 'right')
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