{"id":{"repo_id":"exeter","oai_identifier":"oai:figshare.com:article/33050363"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/exeter/oai:figshare.com:article/33050363","repository":{"repo_id":"exeter","name":"University of Exeter","base_url":"https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai"},"display":{"title":"Narrative Theodicy with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Karl Barth","abstract":"This interdisciplinary thesis, which brings into dialogue Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov and Karl Barth’s systematic Christology in Church Dogmatics IV/1, attempts an alternative, constructive approach to theodicy that counters the primarily theoretical theodicies in the philosophy of religion and in some Christian theological thought. It is the contention of this thesis that theodicy done in this theoretical mode does more to harm than help actual sufferers. Therefore, rather than offering an abstract theoretical approach to the problem of evil, this thesis aims to foreground the stories of particular sufferers, which are woven into Christ’s own story of suffering, as interruptions to longstanding Christian theological and philosophical discourse in this area. Critically engaging recent works of Paul Fiddes and the American postliberal stream of theology (e.g., Hans Frei and George Lindbeck), this thesis offers a unique, creative, and constructive interdisciplinary dialogue between Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology that funds an alternative, distinctly Christian approach to theodicy, which the author of this thesis calls “narrative theodicy.” This approach is characterised by three distinct postures. First, narrative theodicy is Christologically determined. It sees (with Barth) the life, suffering, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ as the truthful story of God with humanity and humanity with God. Second, narrative theodicy engages in a reiterative response to suffering. In response to the suffering of the neighbour, it repeats the story of Jesus Christ: an action which itself constitutes participation in the suffering Christ. Finally, narrative theodicy implies a Christ-shaped, responsible practice in response to the suffering of the neighbour and is thus not merely a theoretical but practical endeavour. Not only does this thesis offer a unique reading of Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology as works of narrative theodicy. It also suggests that constructive Christian theology can and should find in creative works of literature a formative, not merely illustrative, resource which might lend fresh movement to particularly stagnant doctrinal streams such as Christian reflection on theodicy questions.<p></p>","abstract_html":"This interdisciplinary thesis, which brings into dialogue Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov and Karl Barth’s systematic Christology in Church Dogmatics IV/1, attempts an alternative, constructive approach to theodicy that counters the primarily theoretical theodicies in the philosophy of religion and in some Christian theological thought. It is the contention of this thesis that theodicy done in this theoretical mode does more to harm than help actual sufferers. Therefore, rather than offering an abstract theoretical approach to the problem of evil, this thesis aims to foreground the stories of particular sufferers, which are woven into Christ’s own story of suffering, as interruptions to longstanding Christian theological and philosophical discourse in this area. Critically engaging recent works of Paul Fiddes and the American postliberal stream of theology (e.g., Hans Frei and George Lindbeck), this thesis offers a unique, creative, and constructive interdisciplinary dialogue between Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology that funds an alternative, distinctly Christian approach to theodicy, which the author of this thesis calls “narrative theodicy.” This approach is characterised by three distinct postures. First, narrative theodicy is Christologically determined. It sees (with Barth) the life, suffering, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ as the truthful story of God with humanity and humanity with God. Second, narrative theodicy engages in a reiterative response to suffering. In response to the suffering of the neighbour, it repeats the story of Jesus Christ: an action which itself constitutes participation in the suffering Christ. Finally, narrative theodicy implies a Christ-shaped, responsible practice in response to the suffering of the neighbour and is thus not merely a theoretical but practical endeavour. Not only does this thesis offer a unique reading of Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology as works of narrative theodicy. It also suggests that constructive Christian theology can and should find in creative works of literature a formative, not merely illustrative, resource which might lend fresh movement to particularly stagnant doctrinal streams such as Christian reflection on theodicy questions.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sam Still (21043448)"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","date_published":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:32:00Z","subjects":["Theodicy","Narrative Theology","Christology","Dostoevsky, Fyodor","Barth, Karl","Theology of Suffering"],"languages":[],"rights":["All rights reserved","Open Access after 2028-01-27"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10779/exe.33050363.v1"],"render_values":[{"text":"10779/exe.33050363.v1","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sam Still (21043448)"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2026-07-27T00:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Narrative_Theodicy_with_Fyodor_Dostoevsky_and_Karl_Barth/33050363"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Theodicy","Narrative Theology","Christology","Dostoevsky, Fyodor","Barth, Karl","Theology of Suffering"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["All rights reserved","Open Access after 2028-01-27"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10779/exe.33050363.v1"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This interdisciplinary thesis, which brings into dialogue Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov and Karl Barth’s systematic Christology in Church Dogmatics IV/1, attempts an alternative, constructive approach to theodicy that counters the primarily theoretical theodicies in the philosophy of religion and in some Christian theological thought. It is the contention of this thesis that theodicy done in this theoretical mode does more to harm than help actual sufferers. Therefore, rather than offering an abstract theoretical approach to the problem of evil, this thesis aims to foreground the stories of particular sufferers, which are woven into Christ’s own story of suffering, as interruptions to longstanding Christian theological and philosophical discourse in this area. Critically engaging recent works of Paul Fiddes and the American postliberal stream of theology (e.g., Hans Frei and George Lindbeck), this thesis offers a unique, creative, and constructive interdisciplinary dialogue between Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology that funds an alternative, distinctly Christian approach to theodicy, which the author of this thesis calls “narrative theodicy.” This approach is characterised by three distinct postures. First, narrative theodicy is Christologically determined. It sees (with Barth) the life, suffering, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ as the truthful story of God with humanity and humanity with God. Second, narrative theodicy engages in a reiterative response to suffering. In response to the suffering of the neighbour, it repeats the story of Jesus Christ: an action which itself constitutes participation in the suffering Christ. Finally, narrative theodicy implies a Christ-shaped, responsible practice in response to the suffering of the neighbour and is thus not merely a theoretical but practical endeavour. Not only does this thesis offer a unique reading of Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology as works of narrative theodicy. It also suggests that constructive Christian theology can and should find in creative works of literature a formative, not merely illustrative, resource which might lend fresh movement to particularly stagnant doctrinal streams such as Christian reflection on theodicy questions.<p></p>"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Narrative Theodicy with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Karl Barth"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Sam Still (21043448)"],"dc:date":["2026-07-27T00:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["This interdisciplinary thesis, which brings into dialogue Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov and Karl Barth’s systematic Christology in Church Dogmatics IV/1, attempts an alternative, constructive approach to theodicy that counters the primarily theoretical theodicies in the philosophy of religion and in some Christian theological thought. It is the contention of this thesis that theodicy done in this theoretical mode does more to harm than help actual sufferers. Therefore, rather than offering an abstract theoretical approach to the problem of evil, this thesis aims to foreground the stories of particular sufferers, which are woven into Christ’s own story of suffering, as interruptions to longstanding Christian theological and philosophical discourse in this area. Critically engaging recent works of Paul Fiddes and the American postliberal stream of theology (e.g., Hans Frei and George Lindbeck), this thesis offers a unique, creative, and constructive interdisciplinary dialogue between Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology that funds an alternative, distinctly Christian approach to theodicy, which the author of this thesis calls “narrative theodicy.” This approach is characterised by three distinct postures. First, narrative theodicy is Christologically determined. It sees (with Barth) the life, suffering, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ as the truthful story of God with humanity and humanity with God. Second, narrative theodicy engages in a reiterative response to suffering. In response to the suffering of the neighbour, it repeats the story of Jesus Christ: an action which itself constitutes participation in the suffering Christ. Finally, narrative theodicy implies a Christ-shaped, responsible practice in response to the suffering of the neighbour and is thus not merely a theoretical but practical endeavour. Not only does this thesis offer a unique reading of Dostoevsky’s novel and Barth’s Christology as works of narrative theodicy. It also suggests that constructive Christian theology can and should find in creative works of literature a formative, not merely illustrative, resource which might lend fresh movement to particularly stagnant doctrinal streams such as Christian reflection on theodicy questions.<p></p>"],"dc:identifier":["10779/exe.33050363.v1"],"dc:relation":["https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Narrative_Theodicy_with_Fyodor_Dostoevsky_and_Karl_Barth/33050363"],"dc:rights":["All rights reserved","Open Access after 2028-01-27"],"dc:subject":["Theodicy","Narrative Theology","Christology","Dostoevsky, Fyodor","Barth, Karl","Theology of Suffering"],"dc:title":["Narrative Theodicy with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Karl Barth"],"dc:type":["Text","Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:32:00Z"}