The Providence of God

This text comprises a comprehensive analysis of the doctrine of providence, from historical, philosophical-theological, systematic and practical perspectives. The essays in this book discuss the doctrine of providence from four central angles.

First, three chapters give an historical introduction to the modern interpretation of the notion of providence, examining how it was progressively naturalised and secularized in modern times. Second, over seven chapters, and from different perspectives, the book restates the Christian notion of providence in relation to the problem of evil and the theory of evolution. Third, in two chapters, the book exhibits providence as a core theme in systematic theology. Finally, over three chapters, the book shows the ethical and political relevance of the doctrine of providence today.

1) HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE
Matthew Levering, “Aquinas on the Book of Job: Providence and Presumption”
David Bentley Hart, “Providence and Causality: On Divine Innocence”
Francesca Aran Murphy, “Providence in I Samuel”
Cyril O'Regan, Hegel, “Theodicy, and the Invisibility of Waste”
Andrew McGowan, “Providence and Common Grace”

2) DOCTRINES OF PROVIDENCE (SYSTEMATICS)
Douglas Knight, “Time and Persons in the Economy of God”
Katherine Sonderegger, “The Doctrine of Providence”
John Webster, “On the Theology of Providence”

3) SCIENCE AND PROVIDENCE
Sarah Coakley, “Providence and the Evolutionary Phenomenon of ‘Cooperation’: A Systematic Proposal”
Alister McGrath, “The Secularization of providence: Theological Reflections on the Appeal to Darwinism in Recent Atheist Apologetics”
Nicholas J. Healy, “Creation, Predestination and Divine Providence”

4) PROVIDENCE, POLITICS, ETHICS
Stephen Webb, “From Prudentius to President Bush: Providence, Empire, and Paranoia”
Charles Mathewes, “Providence and Political Discernment”
John Swinton, “Patience and Lament: Living Faithfully in the Presence of Suffering”
Hans S. Reinders, “Why This? Why Me? A Theological Reflection on Ethics and Providence”
Philip Ziegler, “The Uses of Providence in Public Theology”

Dr Francesca Aran Murphy is Lecturer in Systematic Theology, University of Aberdeen.

Philip G Ziegler is a Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen