The 'problem of evil' is a subject of perennial interest to philosophers of religion and theologians, but research has barely scratched the surface of the complex history of western responses to the challenge of evil. This Reader brings together primary sources from philosophy, theology and literature to chart the many and changing ways evil has been approached and understood, and to examine the diverse implications it has had for belief and unbelief.Uncovering forgotten but still powerful arguments and approaches, this Reader provides both an historical and contemporary examination of the practical and theoretical challenges that evil poses to faith, reason, and practice. This fresh, lively, and much-needed new approach to the 'problem of evil' transcends the narrow approach to the philosophy of religion as currently practised, and will change the way the subject is taught, received and understood.