Written by Jarvis Streeter (University Press of America, 2008). Streeter compares Ernest Becker’s anthropological theories on the ideas of human nature, sin, and salvation with the ideas presented by traditional Christian theology.

Written by Marilyn McCord Adams (Cornell University Press, 2000). Adams writes on theodicy–how to reconcile the presence of evil with a belief in God’s goodness.

Written by Thomas Aquinas, edited by Brian Davies, translated by Richard Regan (Oxford University Press, USA, 2003). Aquinas addresses a broad range of philosophical questions related to the concept of evil.

Written by Charles Kimball (HarperOne, 2003). Kimball, in the aftermath of 9/11, describes how religion can evolve to work for evil.

Written by Freiherr von Leibniz (Qontro Classic Books, 2010). Von Leibniz’s essays on evil in the context of religion are compiled.

Written by Philip Zimbardo (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008). Zimbardo writes about the social psychology of evil.

Written by Roy F. Baumeister and Aaron Beck (Holt Paperbacks, 1999). Baumeister and Beck write about the people who perpetrate evil.

Auburn Theological Seminary conducts research on theological and seminary education. Aimee Thunberg is the vice president of communications.

Read “Mississippi’s Ambiguous ‘Personhood’ Amendment,” an Oct. 31, 2011, op-ed in The New York Times that set out some of the problems of biology and the law that Mississippi’s proposed amendment faced.