Drange's _Nonbelief and Evil_, as should be obvious, sets out two
atheological arguments -- one based on evil and one based on
widespread nontheism. He directs most of his argument at "the
evangelical Christian God," the conception of which is vulnerable
to Scriptural arguments about divine motivation (i.e., would the
Christian God really want to end evil and nonbelief? Let's check the
Bible and see!) Drange spends a nearly exhausting portion of the book
refuting anticipated theodicies before spending two chapters on the
recent "skeptical theist" response to such arguments (the
Howard-Snyder, van Inwagen, etc. line of response). Flanking this
central line of argument are reflections on atheological arguments in
general, the cognitive status of religious claims, free will, the
fine-tuning argument, and other relevant topics.

One of the primary
virtues of this book, in my opinion, is the fair-minded way in which
Drange approaches the subject. He is quick to admit ignorance of
subjects and concede the (at least initial) plausibility of certain
objections to his arguments. So, whether or not you agree with all the
arguments and sub-arguments presented, you know exactly where Drange
stands and where to begin analyzing the problem.
....

_Nonbelief and Evil_ is a fascinating, thorough, and (in my opinion) persuasive presentation of two arguments for the non-existence of God: nonbelief and evil. Drange presents his own unique formulation of the Argument from Evil, along with rebuttals to virtually every theistic defense against the argument from evil, including Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense, John Hick's Soul-Making Theodicy, the Unknown Purpose Defense, and much more. And the Argument from Nonbelief -- the argument that the mere existence of nonbelievers constitutes evidence for the non-existence of God -- is an original argument by Drange. I think the book will serve as a major contribution to the philosophy of religion. _Nonbelief and Evil_ also includes some interesting appendices on related issues including the argument from the Bible, the concept of an afterlife, and the fine-tuning argument. I enthusiastically endorse Drange's book.

Drange has written what I believe to be the best statement of the Argument from Evil (AE) ever, and he also introduces, for the first time, the Argument from Non-Belief (ANB). This book is just brilliant. Drange is meticulous and logical; he leaves no stone unturned. The book is divided into two parts. One devoted to AE, the other to ANB. The book also contains apendixes that deal with interesting issues like free will.

Drange applies AE to four definitions of God: evangelical and liberal Xianity, and Orthodox and liberal Judaism. He culls definitions from the Bible, which is where he looks for answers to what God would most likely desire, i.e., to have people believe in him (for example). This helps Drange to get around the difficult issue of: How do we know God really wants to prevent evil? or whatever. Using the Bible as a resource was both a refreshing way of looking at AE, and a bit of a teaching experience about the Bible.

Often Drange argues conservatively. Even when I thought his arguments were much more forceful, he heald back. His statement of objections and attempts to reply are riddled with these principles of fairness: Far from being un-balanced, I was somewhat annoyed that Drange appeared to give his opponents more credibility than they deserved. This just shows his desire to be fair and balanced, and by the end of the book I had realized two things.

First, AE isn't as strong as many people think it is, once we are no longer discussing the prima facie absurd god of evangelical Xianity. Second, Drange's conservative style of arguing actually makes his arguments that much stronger: you know that he's trying to be fair, and his writing illicits trust from the reader.

ANB is actually much stronger than AE, according to Drange. I won't discuss the argument here. It may be that ANB is stronger only because this book is its first showing to the philosophical community: theists will respond in time. But the fairness and meticulous argumentation that was used with AE is used with ANB as well.

This book is simply a must have. Both for its brilliant statement of AE and its promulgation of the very powerful ANB.

For those looking for more treatment of AE, "The Evidential Argument from Evil" is another great book. It contains 10 articles by theists, and 6 by non-theists. But the contributors respond to each other, so there's some active, interesting debate.