The Personhood of God in theRedemption of Evil and Suffering

Christianity asserts that God creates and cares for his universe. But the evidence and effects of evil make the theist doubt this divine care for his creatures. Most responses to this problem of evil will say that even a loving God has good purposes in permitting evil. But how are we to understand this claim? I make the case that God’s personhood, and not just his being personal, provides a strong framework for understanding how a loving God uses evil as part of his redemptive work in the world. Part of this task will be to show that even this holy God is a personal God who is intricately involved in the lives of his creatures. And it is this intimacy that makes the most sense of God’s redemptive work.