This book radically reconfigures philosophical discussion of the problem of evil—making it at once humanly more engaging, and theologically more profound. Creatively, rigorously, and persuasively, Vince Vitale shows how the meaning-disrupting power of evil can be countered, if we take providence to be ordered not simply to the production of good states of affairs, but to particular individuals considered as the targets of an unswerving divine love.

Vince Vitale’s volume will reshape the way that philosophical work on the problem of evil is done, taking seriously the deep moral theoretical questions that are typically ignored in this literature. Vitale’s important monograph takes a completely new and refreshing tack. It should be at the top of the reading list for contemporary philosophers of religion.

In Non-Identity Theodicy, Vitale provides a new angle into an age-old question facing those who believe in the traditional theistic God—why does He tolerate evil? With care and clarity, Vitale makes a powerful case that the best answer to this question must take full account of a simple fact it is easy to overlook—nobody asking this question today could have existed had God created a world which was very different from the one we find ourselves in.