theodicy

American  

[thee-od-uh-see] / θiˈɒd ə si /

noun

plural

theodicies

1. a vindication of the divine attributes, particularly holiness and justice, in establishing or allowing the existence of physical and moral evil.

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theodicy British  

/ θɪˈɒdɪsɪ /

noun

1. the branch of theology concerned with defending the attributes of God against objections resulting from physical and moral evil

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Other Word Forms

• theodicean adjective

Etymology

Origin of theodicy

1790–1800; theo- + Greek dík(ē) “justice” + -y ³ ( def. ), modeled on French théodicée, a coinage of Leibniz

Explanation

Ever wondered how God could allow ice cream to melt, bubblegum to lose its flavor, and all kinds of even worse things? Well, there's branch of theology called theodicy that defends God's goodness in the face of such evils. The term comes from a book called Theodicee (from the Greek word for God, Theos, plus the Greek word for justice, dike) written by the famous seventeenth-century German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz. In it he argued that our world was in fact "the best of all possible worlds." He didn't mention ice cream or bubblegum, though.

Example Sentences

While the temblor influenced Kant’s views of theodicy, he also posited scientific theories to explain what happened.

From Washington Times • Jul. 14, 2022

I think, though, that Miranda is talking more about the omnipresence of change, and our need to interpret that change, than he is about theodicy.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2022

This is the kind of review in which I have to say things like “Kraft” is the best novel about theodicy I’ve read all year!

From Washington Post • Nov. 17, 2020

But I couldn’t let “Disruption is a theodicy of hypercapitalism” pass.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2020

To be sure, Xenophon has twice put into his mouth a whole theodicy expressing an elaborate teleological view of nature.

From Atheism in Pagan Antiquity by Andersen, Ingeborg