Why Is Evil Possible | Henri Blocher

2015 Kantzer Lecture #1 - Introduction: Evil Possible—A Misleading Facility At the outset of his 2015 Kantzer Lectures, Henri Blocher recognizes three central questions that arise from the fact of evil: Whence does evil come? What is evil? How long, O Lord? Blocher admits there is legitimacy of the human search for a rational explanation of the evil and notes the important role that the idea of “possibility” plays in many theodicies, including, Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas, Leibniz, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Barth, Maritain, and Ricoeur. Despite the concept’s widespread appeal, Blocher’s overriding concern is that the concept has been insufficiently “interrogated” in these various approaches to account for the whence of evil. In characteristic fashion, Blocher suggests that because reason cannot be deployed without presuppositions, it must be deployed from within the “fiduciary framework” of a biblical worldview, which this lecture series hopes to develop. Henri A. G. Blocher (DD Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is Professor Emeritus at Faculte Libre de Theologie Evangelique. He is author of In the Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis (IVP Academic, 1984) and Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle (IVP Academic, 2000). Blocher was a member of the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization (1975-1980), served the World Evangelical Fellowship/Alliance in a number of capacities, and taught in schools in Europe, Australia, Africa, Canada, and the US. The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world. Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5 Connect with us! https://twitter.com/henry_center https://www.facebook.com/henrycenter/ https://www.instagram.com/thehenrycenter/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehenrycenter

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This is our archive of public lectures and conversations where scholars and pastors offer careful reflection on a range of biblical, theological, and ecclesial topics. The HCTU seeks to bridge the gap between the academy and the church by cultivating resources and communities that promote Christian wisdom. This is accomplished through a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God.