Four theodicies provide a cumulative answer to the problem of evil: soul-building, free will, natural law, and skeptical theism.

Winger advocates a cumulative approach using multiple theodicies: (1) Soul-building — suffering produces character, courage, forgiveness; without evil there's no forgiveness, which is among the greatest goods. Children who never suffer become lousy adults. (2) Free will — Alvin Plantinga's free will defense; genuine freedom requires the possibility of evil choices. (3) Natural law — consistent laws of nature that enable science, agriculture, and a livable world also produce hurricanes and stubbed toes. (4) Skeptical theism — given our cognitive, experiential, and temporal limitations, we shouldn't expect to understand why God permits specific evils; not knowing something you never expected to know is evidence of your limitations, not evidence against God. Book recommended: Clay Jones, Why Does God Allow Evil?