Perspectives on Good and Evil
October 26 & November 2, 2025
Class Description
This discussion will face head on the great “problem of evil.” As formulated in philosophical parlance, if the deity is understood as perfect, as omnibenevolent, then why is there evil? How can a perfect entity ever create imperfection? Why would an absolutely benevolent God cause or allow the innocent to suffer? This, of course, was Job’s question. We will examine this key issue, present the classical formulation of the problem, the traditional solutions offered and then the classical critiques of each answer. Each religion deals with the question of suffering, and they all view it differently. If the deity is not defined as perfect, then the whole issue looks different. What exactly constitutes “good” and “evil?” These are the questions we will ask. It promises to be a “good” class, even if the issue to be wrestled with is itself, “evil!”
About Sharon Coggan
Sharon L. Coggan, Ph.D. earned the B.A. from the University of Denver, the M.T.S. (Master of Theological Studies) from Harvard Divinity School, the M.A. from Stanford University, and the Ph.D. from Syracuse University. She was an Associate Professor C/T and the Director of the Religious Studies Program at University of Colorado Denver, a program she created, before retiring in August 2020. She offers a range of classes on religion and on Jungian Thought: World Religions, Concepts of the Soul, Concepts of God, Death and Afterlife, Mysticism, Eastern Thought, Myth and Symbol, Classical Mythology, Perspectives on Good and Evil, Perspectives on Dream Analysis, and the Hero’s Journey.
Additional Reading
The Bible, Revised Standard Version, The Book of Job
William Cenkner, Ed., Evil and the Response of World Religions. St. Paul: Paragon, 1997.
Marilyn M. Adams, and Robert M. Adams, The Problem of Evil. N.Y.: Oxford, 1996.
Yeager Hudson, The Philosophy of Religion. Mt. View, CA.: Mayfield, 1991.
William L. Rowe, and William J. Wainwright, Philosophy of Religion, Selected Readings. 3rd Ed., N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace College, 1998.
Alvin Plantinga, God, Freedom and Evil. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Press, 1996.
Anthony Flew, God, Freedom and Immortality. NY.: Prometheus, 1989.
David O’Connor, God, and Inscrutible Evil. N.Y.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998.
Carl G. Jung, Answer To Job, in The Portable Jung. N.Y.: Penguin Books, 1977.