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Leading theologians were due to gather at the University of Aberdeen this week to debate divine providence - the idea that everything that occurs in both nature and history takes place under God's guidance and control. Philip Ziegler, a lecturer in the divinity department and the conference's organiser, said the event "will break fresh ground by exploring a wide range of arguments concerning (divine providence's) form, significance and viability within contemporary thought." Francesca Murphy, co-organiser, said: "We hope to ... provide an academic response to popular debates about the problem of evil, the meaning of history and the dialogue between science and religion."