Theodicy in Light of Theologia Crucis: Martin Luther Before the Mystery of Human Suffering

The objective of this dissertation is to delve into the sensitive reality of human suffering and evil in creation, in the light of a God who is believed and confessed to be omnipotent and morally perfect, from the standpoint of a theodicy based on the classic elements of Martin Luther's theologia crucis. This theology, which is not circumscribed to a specific written work of the Reformer expressis verbis but rather constitutes the guiding thread that traverses practically all of his theological thought -notwithstanding its evident progression, tension and development- is most noticeably and consequentially expressed when addressing the problem of suffering and evil in the human being and in the creational order in two of his works, namely: The Heidelberg Disputation and De servo arbitrio, which I deal with in this thesis. It is our conviction that only from a theodicy articulated from the theology of the cross such as Luther offers is it possible to overcome both that unfortunate aporia between the theoretical and the practical that currently characterizes it, as well as to offer a true and enlightening contribution from that which is specific to the Christian faith to the painful and contradictory reality of human suffering and evil in creation. Lastly, it is our challenge here also to illuminate or deepen those dimensions of the theologia crucis not noticed or not sufficiently developed by the Reformer, so that the word of the cross remains a challenging – but at the same time consoling – voice in this wounded world today.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD