Theodicy in an Age of Entitlement: an Examination of Western Cultural Consciousness and its Relation to the Individual's Perception of God in the Modern Age

The question of how an omnipotent, omniscient, all good God could allow the presence of evil in the world has arisen in every age and every culture wherein the idea of God is elevated to the highest standard. Different cultures throughout the history of Western civilization have responded to this problem of evil in various ways, but never has there been such a demand for a justification of God's goodness in the face of the presence of evil as in the modern age. While this thesis does not explicitly seek to give a justification of God's goodness, it does aim to explain why the modern age is outraged by the problem of evil, perhaps more than any precedent. It does so by examining the cultural environment of the individual and how the individual perceives himself in relation to the community and to God.