Belief in the afterlife in Judaism and Christianity emerges as a response to a real challenge, says Blanco (religion, Harvard U.), which is the problem of evil. He discusses theodicy as the philosophy of religion and the problem of evil; history and meaning; the apocalyptic conception of history, evil, and eschatology; death; and the kingdom of God. A clothbound edition is published simultaneously by Pickwick Publications. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)