Journey Back to God

Scott's book on Origenian theodicy constitutes an important instrument for the study of this fascinating area and the religious phenomenon more broadly, for which the author should be wholeheartedly congratulated * Doru Costache, St Cyril's Coptic Orthodox Theological College, The Journal of Religious History *
Theologically astute and historically informed... [S]tudents in both theology and patristics will find the book informative and worthwhile. * Religious Studies Review *
Journey Back to God focuses...on the manner in which one of the early church's greatest intellectuals vindicated God amidst the horrors of evil and suffering...[The book] is an argument crafted not only out of history but also out of generous measures of theory and philosophy...Scott helps us understand how a towering figure in the Greek patristic tradition wrestled with the same conundrum. * Marginalia Review of Books *
An erudite review... Scott himself achieves more originality when he defines theodicy as a navigation for which the charts are furnished by experience... Scott is none the less better than his word. * Journal of Theological Studies *
Mark Scott focuses upon the problem of evil as an instructive perspective from which to assess the full range of Origen's views. Placed in a speculative and cosmic narrative they are primarily designed as pastoral guidance, and they are not so much a solution to the problems of human suffering and sinfulness as a set of speculations enabling humans to navigate their way toward God with hope and freedom. * Rowan A. Greer, Professor of Anglican Studies Emeritus, Yale Divinity School *
By arguing that Origen does not so much explain away our pain and suffering as provide a spiritual map that helps us move forward through it, Mark Scott gives us a book on a major early Christian theorist on a topic of perennial value that will be of great interest to a wide variety of readers. * Paul R. Kolbet, author of Augustine and the Cure of Souls: Revising a Classical Ideal *
Scott skillfully navigates his way through Origen's treatment of the complex issues surrounding the presence of evil, suffering, and death in a world held to be created by a good, omniscient, and omnipotent God. He shows that Origen, one of the most important and controversial figures of the early Church, uses an overarching framework of pedagogy to hold all these elements together, not without tension and ambiguity, but in a way that provides insights still valuable today. * V. Rev. Dr. John Behr, Dean, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary *
This volume offers a well-written and clear tracing of Origen's treatment of the problem of evil...[it] rewards the attentive reader far beyond expectation * Heythrop Journal *