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God and the Problem of Evil
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Sands: [QB] In my humble opinion, Jubilee and Tora are on to something if you all have been reading closely. But allow me to expand on their comments. Why do we think of Good and Evil as two separate entitites? To take from Taoism, a better method (and more scientifically explainable in metaphors) would be to consider Good as an entity and Evil as the [i]absence[/i] of that entity. That would be a better way ot explain the "coexistence" of the two in the world. Consider hot and cold. Cold does not exist. It is merely the absence of heat. In this way, Satan is not defending a specific point, but rather tearing down the other into chaos. Now, the next leap is to ask why God can't fill the whole world with Good so that nowhere is it absent. William of Ockham criticizes the seeming lack of action on God's part (especially in regards to Grace) saying God can do anything he wants directly; I, however, believe God freely has decided not to intervene over the will of humans when committing acts that increase the absence of Good. A. J. Benedetto writes, "...out of respect for human freedom God does not, though absolutely speaking and by an extraordinary intervention could, prevent the sin" [Encyclopedia of Catholocism, 4-126]. Not to make light of it all, but I think God is in a self-imposed struggle. He created a universe that he thought was Good, and he wishes to see it resolve itself through his grace and that grace influencing (but not controlling) the universe's mechnisms. Maybe it's only me, but I think this makes a lot of sense. God could have obliterated Satan and the fallen angles, but he has chosen not to impose his omnipotence. Yes, things get messy down here, but this is God's choice, and one day, if he is truly a being of love, he will make good on his promise and bestow on us the joy that comes with heaven/nirvana/etc. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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