Sacrificial Love and the Problem of Evil

In this book, Mats Wahlberg explores one of the perennial topics in Christian theology. Drawing on ideas from Thomas Aquinas, the Carmelite mystical tradition, and contemporary analytic philosophers, he suggests a new way of responding to the philosophical and theological problem of evil. Wahlberg analyzes the logical relationship between love, suffering, and sacrifice as conceived in the Bible and considered by Christian saints and mystics through the ages. Emphasizing the embodied nature of human love, he argues that love essentially includes a disposition to act self-sacrificially in a wide range of 'possible worlds'. This analysis provides the building blocks for a new theodicy, which portrays the sacrificial dimension of love as essential for the attainment of human fulfilment and deep intimacy with God. The book offers new insights into the relationship between self-love and love for others, the nature of sacrifice, and the legitimacy of theodicy in a world filled with horrendous evils.