J.K. Russell Research Conference, "Scientific Vetoes and the “Hands-off” God: Can We Say that God Acts In History?" with Thomas F. Tracy
The idea of special divine action has been notoriously problematic in modern theology. Two difficulties in particular have dominated discussion. First, it has been commonplace to contend that this idea runs fatally afoul of the natural sciences. Second, it is widely thought that if we affirm that God acts on particular occasions to shape the course of events in the world, then the problem of evil is made even more difficult. We seem to face an unhappy trade-off: to the extent that we manage to develop an account of special divine action, we succeed only in making the problem of evil unmanageable. Why have some theologians thought that the idea of special providence faces a scientific veto, and how might we reply? Is a God who acts in history more problematic than a “hands-off” God who does not? How can a theology of special divine action address the problem of evil?
Conference Respondents Include: Michael Dodds, Adam Pryor and Junghyung Kim
Moderated by Dr. Ted Peters