IV. David R. Griffin’s Theodicy

Johan B. Hygen's book on the problem of evil came in 1973, entitled Guds allmakt og det ondes problem ( The Almightiness of God and the Problem of Evil ). In the first part of the book, he defines the problem and gives an overview of types of solutions. In the second part he treats the concept of 'almightiness', which he claims should be distinguished from 'omnipotence'. In the third part he attempts at least to clarify the problem, but he is careful not to propose that he has solved it. Hygen's main contribution lies in opening up for the possibility that God is not omnipotent, but has to fight in order to get his will through. He does not want to call it a universally true theodicy, but rather an understanding which is less problematic than other understandings of God's power. Keywords:almightiness; God's power; Johan B. Hygen; omnipotence; problem of evil; problem of theodicy