Francesca Aran Murphy is Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA. Philip G. Ziegler is Chair in Christian Dogmatics at the University of Aberdeen, UK.

• INTRODUCTION 1) HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE Matthew Levering, "Aquinas on the Book of Job: Providence and Presumption" David Bentley Hart, "Providence and Causality: On Divine Innocence"Francesca Aran Murphy, "Providence in I Samuel"Cyril O'Regan, Hegel, "Theodicy, and the Invisibility of Waste"Andrew McGowan, "Providence and Common Grace" 2) DOCTRINES OF PROVIDENCE (SYSTEMATICS)Douglas Knight, "Time and Persons in the Economy of God"Katherine Sonderegger, "The Doctrine of Providence" John Webster, "On the Theology of Providence"3) SCIENCE AND PROVIDENCESarah Coakley, "Providence and the Evolutionary Phenomenon of ‘Cooperation': A Systematic Proposal"Alister McGrath, "The Secularization of providence: Theological Reflections on the Appeal to Darwinism in Recent Atheist Apologetics"Nicholas J. Healy, "Creation, Predestination and Divine Providence" 4) PROVIDENCE, POLITICS, ETHICSStephen Webb, "From Prudentius to President Bush: Providence, Empire, and Paranoia" Charles Mathewes, "Providence and Political Discernment" John Swinton, "Patience and Lament: Living Faithfully in the Presence of Suffering" Hans S. Reinders, "Why This? Why Me? A Theological Reflection on Ethics and Providence" Philip Ziegler, "The Uses of Providence in Public Theology" AFTERWARDDavid Fergusson, Epilogue

‘This assembly of new work is a welcome contribution to reflection on one of the most difficult and most vital of theological themes.  Exploring exegetical, historical, philosophical, natural-scientific, pastoral and political aspects of the doctrine of providence, the authors exhibit a variety of distinctive approaches, and their proposals are sure to spark responses.  These essays make clear the risk and the promise latent in this all-pervasive doctrine, and exemplify the kind of scrutiny it requires.' - Charles M. Wood, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA