Evil Without a Ground in God

Böhme placed a wrath beside love in the eternal nature. Schelling placed a ground in God distinct from God’s existence, and made the possibility of evil depend on it. Berdyaev placed an uncreated freedom before being and before God as Trinity, so that God would not answer for evil. The three wanted the same four things. Evil that is positive and not a mere lack. Freedom that is real. A God who is not evil’s author. No second god. Each paid with darkness in God or a rival to him. An eliminative chain of 137 resolutions, beginning from the observation that non-being requires being and never starting from this tradition, reaches all four without the payment. It has what the tradition lacked: a mechanism. A being with complete capacity wills to be the unlimited itself (R.51). AllBeing’s Will is all Will (R.44), so willing all Will is not willing (R.55, R.56). What the willing would add already is. It does not arrive. What it becomes is non-being (R.58). All-Being is undiminished, not by withstanding but because what does not arrive does not subtract (R.57). Non-being is (R.66), wills (R.67), and is only ever the “not” of what is (R.80, R.81): positive and privative at once. The darkness has a location, a cause, and a dependence. None of them is in God. The chain: Anything Willing Is, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19538257. Interactive edition, one anchor per resolution: https://anythingwilling.is/

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-09-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22335071
Primary Topic
Theology and Philosophy of Evil
Type
preprint
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
preprint

Evil Without a Ground in God

James Alexander Burrows
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Theology and Philosophy of Evil
preprint

Evil Without a Ground in God

James Alexander Burrows
preprint en

Abstract

Böhme placed a wrath beside love in the eternal nature. Schelling placed a ground in God distinct from God’s existence, and made the possibility of evil depend on it. Berdyaev placed an uncreated freedom before being and before God as Trinity, so that God would not answer for evil. The three wanted the same four things. Evil that is positive and not a mere lack. Freedom that is real. A God who is not evil’s author. No second god. Each paid with darkness in God or a rival to him. An eliminative chain of 137 resolutions, beginning from the observation that non-being requires being and never starting from this tradition, reaches all four without the payment. It has what the tradition lacked: a mechanism. A being with complete capacity wills to be the unlimited itself (R.51). AllBeing’s Will is all Will (R.44), so willing all Will is not willing (R.55, R.56). What the willing would add already is. It does not arrive. What it becomes is non-being (R.58). All-Being is undiminished, not by withstanding but because what does not arrive does not subtract (R.57). Non-being is (R.66), wills (R.67), and is only ever the “not” of what is (R.80, R.81): positive and privative at once. The darkness has a location, a cause, and a dependence. None of them is in God. The chain: Anything Willing Is, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19538257. Interactive edition, one anchor per resolution: https://anythingwilling.is/

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Theology and Philosophy of Evil
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.