ABSTRACT
The problem for monism is that radical evil stays rife; the problem for dualism is determining the fate of goodness. This chapter explains the term "modified monism" to represent theodicies that are dissatisfied, implicitly or explicitly, with either pure monism or pure dualism. In modified monism every effort is made to address evil with unqualified seriousness and to make full allowance for its destructive reality while yet not abandoning the faith that goodness remains ultimate or at least will "one day" emerge victorious. Another figure who falls within the rubric of modified monism is the biblical and rabbinic scholar Jon D. Levenson in Creation and the Persistence of Evil, a nonkabbalistic exposition of Judaism, contrasting markedly with the approach of David Birnbaum. One possible accompaniment of the Devil's uniqueness is his capacity to originate and concentrate upon unqualifiedly and totally unique evil.
