T&T Clark Handbook of Suffering and Evil. Edited by MatthiasGrebe and JohannesGrössl. London: T&T Clark, London, 2023. Pp. 727. £140.00.

The new T&T Clark Handbook of Suffering and Evil is an important addition to the many handbooks and introductions already published on its themes. Its primary contribution to the existing literature is its broad approach. Indeed, at least to my knowledge, this is the first book of its type to include such a broad range of themes and authors; in addition to some of your usual analytic suspects (John Hick, Marilyn McCord Adams, Eleonore Stump) and themes (sceptical theism, free-will theodicies), the handbook discusses a broad range of continental and historical figures, biblical perspectives, and dogmatic themes. It also includes a whole section on ‘interreligious and interdisciplinary approaches’. The editors have also managed to bring together an impressive group of authors who are arguably leading figures in their field. While the broad range is one of the chief contributions of the handbook, it also presents an editorial challenge: how to select and organise the relevant themes in a way that justifies bringing them together in the form of a handbook. Ideally the editors would be able to present some kind of overall vision that would give the book coherence despite the diversity of individual contributions. This is more easily done with edited volumes with a narrower focus, and the question of whether there is a discernible editorial vision at work in this new handbook might remain an open one to some readers. This handbook aims to deal with the problem of evil and the reality of suffering not only from a logical but also from a wider perspective. While the conventional disciplinary boundaries have tended to separate theological approaches from philosophical ones, this volume seeks to surpass these divisions by addressing the nature of suffering and the problem of evil from biblical, historical, systematic-theological, philosophical, ethical, as well as pastoral and interreligious perspective. (p. 1) This kind of broader perspective is indeed much needed in the field and the handbook is to be commended for attempting the difficult work of making it available. In many ways it also succeeds in this aim and as such it is a valuable contribution. There is, however, a definitive emphasis on dogmatic and continental themes; while analytic philosophers of religion get some mentions (in terms of the aforementioned figures), they are a clear minority. Given the number of similar edited volumes already published on the analytic debates on the problem of evil, this might not be so much an oversight on the part of the editors as a careful editorial decision. Indeed, The T&T Clark Handbook of Suffering and the Problem of Evil brings into the discussion topics that are often neglected in standard introductions to the problem of evil: there are entries on feminist critiques of theodicies, evil in black theology, and the role of the arts. The historical scope of the handbook is also impressive. At the same time, the broadness of the handbook's approach might be a source of disappointment for those readers who are looking for deeper or more detailed analysis of its themes. The main limitations of the handbook are thus two-fold. First, there is only so much that can be included in one book and hence, with books like this, one often must make a choice as to whether to prioritise depth or range. The editors of the handbook appear to have opted for the latter. The entries are plentiful but very short (for example, the entry on Augustine is four-and a-half pages; the thematic articles tend to be slightly longer, averaging around eight to twelve pages). Sometimes this also means that the entries’ discussion of their topic remains somewhat limited; for example, the entry on Eleonore Stump mentions only the first book of Stump's trilogy on the problem of evil (Wandering in Darkness). There is no mention of Atonement or The Image of God, not even in the ‘Further Reading’ section. Indeed, the shortness of the articles could have perhaps been compensated with extensive bibliographies that would have directed the reader to more in-depth analysis of the topic, but the Further Reading sections at the end of each entry are somewhat truncated. Second, owing to their shortness, many of the articles also appear to be somewhat limited in their scope; they often do not discuss secondary literature and debates and—especially when it comes to the historical figures—they tend towards summarising each thinker's most important theological or philosophical ideas in their historical context rather than offering a critical analysis of them. As such, the handbook does not necessarily represent to the reader the full richness of the critical debates surrounding its themes, although many of the entries do manage to fit an impressive amount of information into the space they have been given. This applies especially to the articles that focus on individual figures. The thematic articles are somewhat longer in length and offer more detailed discussions of their topic. These limitations aren't necessarily weaknesses: for a reader who is interested in a more general introduction to the topic and who's not well familiar with the literature, the brevity of the entries—and the fact that they are unburdened by the intricacies of various secondary debates—can be very helpful. Consequently, the book is especially well-suited to be a resource for undergraduate students who are looking for an easy-to-understand introduction to how evil and suffering feature in a variety of theological discourses. For others however, including more advanced undergraduate students, this new handbook might turn out to be less helpful, although anyone might enjoy browsing through its various entries, most of which are insightful and well-written. As such, at its best this new handbook exemplifies that all-important virtue—sometimes in short supply in the world of academic theology—of ‘lucid brevity’, as John Calvin famously called it.