Level:<\/strong> Upper-division undergraduate \/ taught postgraduate You will write a focused, argument-driven essay on the relationship between faith, evil, and public life in one contemporary context. The task is to integrate close engagement with at least one primary text (biblical, theological, or philosophical) and a small set of scholarly secondary sources, then defend a clear position on how religious belief should respond to, interpret, or act in the face of suffering and injustice.<\/p>\n This assessment is designed to mirror how departments in Religion, Theology, Biblical Studies, Philosophy, History, Political Science, and Religious Studies routinely assess source-based argumentation, conceptual clarity, and written communication in 1,500\u20132,000-word essays. Criteria align with current essay marking rubrics used in theology and religious studies programmes, with explicit bands for relevance, argument, use of sources, structure, and academic writing.<\/p>\n Write a 1,500\u20132,000-word essay that addresses one<\/strong> of the following assignment prompts. Your essay must:<\/p>\n Philosophy of Religion \u2013 The Problem of Evil<\/em><\/p>\n Develop a sustained philosophical argument on whether the existence and scale of suffering in the contemporary world undermines belief in an all-powerful, wholly good God. Engage at least one major version of the problem of evil (logical, evidential, or existential\/pastoral) and evaluate at least one theistic response (e.g. free-will defence, soul-making theodicy, skeptical theism). Your essay should explain the structure of the argument from evil and then defend a clear position on whether it succeeds in challenging classical theism.<\/p>\n Theology of Suffering and Evil<\/em><\/p>\n Construct a theologically informed account of innocent suffering that draws on a Christian doctrine of God and at least one biblical text. You may focus on a particular context (e.g. illness, war, natural disaster, systemic racism). Clarify how your theological account seeks to hold together God\u2019s goodness, human suffering, and hope for redemption, and critically assess its pastoral and ethical implications.<\/p>\n Biblical Studies \u2013 Pauline Ethics in Context<\/em><\/p>\n Analyse a selected Pauline text (for example Romans 5\u20138, 1 Corinthians 8\u201310, Galatians 5, or Philippians 2) in relation to the problem of suffering, evil, and moral responsibility. Situate the passage in its historical and social context, identify its key theological claims, and argue how Pauline ethics might inform contemporary Christian approaches to one concrete issue (e.g. economic injustice, interpersonal violence, ecological crisis). Your essay should show exegetical care and avoid proof-texting.<\/p>\n Church History \u2013 Reformation and Modernity<\/em><\/p>\n Examine how one Reformation tradition (e.g. Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Catholic) interpreted suffering, providence, and evil, and assess how this legacy shaped later Christian responses to modern crises (for example colonialism, industrialisation, world wars). Build your argument around selected confessional statements, sermons, or treatises, and show how doctrinal positions translated into pastoral or political practices.<\/p>\n Theology and Social Justice \/ Religion and Colonialism<\/em><\/p>\n Choose a case where religious discourse was invoked either to legitimise or to resist systemic evil (for instance, Christian missions and empire, the struggle against apartheid, civil rights movements, or refugee policy). Analyse how theological ideas about God, evil, and human dignity shaped political arguments and institutional actions, and evaluate the normative adequacy of these appeals from the standpoint of contemporary Christian ethics or political theology.<\/p>\n Assessment 2: Faith, Evil, and Public Life (2026) Unit: PHIL\/RELS 320 \u2013 Philosophy of Religion and Modern Public Theology Level: Upper-division undergraduate \/ taught postgraduate Weighting: 40% of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1106],"tags":[2312,2314,2311,2315],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religious-studies","tag-undergraduate-religious-studies-essay-rubric","tag-christian-ethics-and-social-justice-paper","tag-2026-philosophy-of-religion-assignment","tag-theology-of-suffering-assessment-brief"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":922,"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions\/922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homeworkacetutors.com\/acemyhomework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWeighting:<\/strong> 40% of final grade
\nLength:<\/strong> 1,500\u20132,000 words (excluding bibliography)
\nSubmission:<\/strong> Word or PDF via LMS Turnitin link
\nDue:<\/strong> Week 8, Sunday 23:59 (local time)<\/p>\nAssignment Overview<\/h2>\n
Task Description<\/h2>\n
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Choose ONE of the following prompts<\/h3>\n
Option A: Philosophy of Religion \u2013 The Problem of Evil<\/h4>\n
Option B: Theology and Suffering \u2013 Theology of Suffering and Evil<\/h4>\n
Option C: Biblical Studies \u2013 Pauline Ethics in Context<\/h4>\n
Option D: History \/ Church History \u2013 Reformation, Modernity, and Suffering<\/h4>\n
Option E: Religion and Politics \u2013 Theology, Evil, and Social Justice<\/h4>\n
Learning Outcomes Assessed<\/h2>\n
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Guidance on Structure and Writing<\/h2>\n
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Assessment Criteria and Marking Rubric (2026)<\/h2>\n
1. Relevance to Task and Clarity of Question (20%)<\/h3>\n
2. Argumentation, Critical Analysis, and Originality (25%)<\/h3>\n
3. Use of Primary and Secondary Sources (20%)<\/h3>\n
4. Structure, Coherence, and Organisation (15%)<\/h3>\n
5. Academic Writing, Referencing, and Presentation (20%)<\/h3>\n
Submission, Academic Integrity, and Feedback<\/h2>\n
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