A DEFINITIVE SOUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF EVIL, BASED ON THE PREREQUISITES OF LOVE & AN ANALYSIS OF "NON-TIME"

If God is all-loving and all-powerful, why do evil and suffering exist? If a wholly loving God created man directly, as asserted in Genesis, how does one reconcile this assertion with the overwhelming scientific evidence for man's gradual creation through the cruelly indifferent process of evolution? How does one reconcile the existence of an eternal hell with the assertions that God is both all-loving and omnipotent?

The Advent of Time begins with the premise that the purpose of man's existence is to live forever in a perfectly loving relationship with God and with one another. It then identifies and examines the prerequisites of relational love (faith, free will, selflessness, and two others) to explain why God's pursuit of a timeless reciprocal loving relationship with man necessitated that he create the very conditions that allow for the possibility of evil and suffering.

With this conceptual framework in place, the book explores the different modes of existence experienced by pre-fallen humanity, who existed in a transcendent state of being where time itself did not exist (a realm of "non-time"). It then contrasts these modes of existence against those that are experienced by fallen beings who live within a time-based universe. This analysis-which centers on the assertion that time itself is a product of original sin-supplies the insights necessary to reconcile the biblical account of direct creation with evolution.

The analysis of how the prerequisites of love intersect with the differences between finite being and timeless being also provides the insights necessary to answer the theological difficulties raised by the existence of hell. In so doing, The Advent of Time provides a comprehensive solution to the problem of evil and pain, one that strictly adheres to both Christian orthodoxy and the well-established findings of natural science.

A WORK OF THEOLOGY, NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK

This book is not written to provide emotional or pastoral counsel to those who are suffering. Its sole purpose is to answer the problem of evil in a manner that does not violate any formal rule of logic or contradict the findings of natural science.

STRICTLY ADHERES TO CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY

The Advent of Time is a work of Christian apologetics. While it draws insight from a wide spectrum of philosophers and theologians, the solution it provides to the problem of evil is firmly rooted in orthodox Christian doctrine, not those of other religions. All logic-based arguments ultimately rely on assumed premises. Key assumptions in this book are based on theistic precepts delineated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is widely regarded as an authoritative source of Christian orthodoxy.

ACCESSIBLE PRESENTATION OF A COMPLEX SUBJECT

This book was written to be accessible to a wide audience. For this reason, technical jargon is avoided, key assumptions are stated plainly, and arguments are made concisely. These arguments work together to form an integrated, multifaceted answer that explains why there is not even a single example of evil or suffering that is logically incompatible with the existence of an all-loving, all-powerful God.

The Advent of Time - pocket, Engelsk, 2024