A Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil

Name: A Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil
Author: Soame Jenyns

Soame Jenyns (1704–1787) was an English writer, wit, and long-serving Member of Parliament. After years of religious scepticism he examined the evidences of Christianity and published A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion (1776), a short defence of the faith that was widely read and often reprinted. Our library also holds his earlier Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil, written before that change of mind.

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First published: 1757
Category: Theology
Length: 27k words · about 2 hours
Chapters: 7

About this book

Soame Jenyns's examination of the nature and origin of evil, first published in 1757. Jenyns asks why a good and all-powerful God permits suffering, and he explores the answers offered by the scale of being and by the limits of human knowledge. The book became famous in its day, not least through Samuel Johnson's searching review of its arguments.