Themelios is an international evangelical theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. It was formerly a print journal operated by RTSF/UCCF in the United Kingdom, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The new editorial team, led by D.A. Carson, seeks to preserve representation, in both essayists and reviewers, from both sides of the Atlantic. Each issue contains articles on important theological themes, as well as book reviews and discussion—from the most important evangelical voices of our time.
“‘Evil is a problem for the theist in that a contradiction is involved in the fact of evil, on the one hand, and the belief in the omnipotence of God on the other’.” (Page 15)
“If the key to the mystery of suffering is to be found anywhere, then it is to be found here where we come face to face with the ‘God who is hidden in suffering’ (Luther); the God who in Christ Jesus absorbs the evil of the world, disarms the principalities and powers and reacts re-creatively to transform the evil into a greater good.25 Furthermore, it is at the cross that we are presented with the paradox running throughout the mysterious relationship between the evil of suffering and God’s good purposes, for from one point of view, the cross was the worst thing that could have happened (the murder of the divine Son), but from another perspective it was also the best thing that could ever happen (the means of man’s salvation).” (Page 17)
“Sometimes ‘cause’ and ‘purpose’ in suffering are displayed before the sufferer on the cosmic canvas, as in the Apocalypse of John. At other times, suffering itself is seen as an instrumental means whereby God in his sovereignty creates ‘goods’ in the life of the believer, some of which may be seen in this life, others only to be revealed in the next.20 But wherever this theme is touched upon—God working good out of evil—the theological basis remains the same, namely the empty cross of Jesus Christ.21 It is at Calvary and the empty tomb that the NT’s theodicy is writ large.” (Page 17)
“The overriding concern of the NT writers is the pastoral one of enabling God’s people to see that the suffering and persecution which they may be undergoing or are likely to face, when considered against the backcloth of God’s eternal purpose, have a creative significance.” (Pages 16–17)