Cute but really not very convincing. Would you be so confident at the aftermath of an earthquake? Is death from natural phenomena really the absence of something? No, old age and suffering is the normal and natural lot of man (since the fall). Also, I'm not sure I hold that Evil does not have it's own qualitites. Could you not just turn the argument round and say good is the absence of Evil? For me it is only in the passion of our Lord that Evil makes any sense at all.
Whilst I would accept this is not a complete argument, it brings an important philosophical point to the front. St. Thomas defines evil as a privation of a good in a subject. The fall is key to understanding this. When man fell he lost the perfection, the completeness in which he was created. The suffering we experience is part of the fallen world in which we live. It is not how it should be. Through original sin we are alienated from God.
The Passion of Our Lord brings us to perfection. His blood completes us and raises human nature to where it should be. It breaks this primal barrier between God and man.
I really liked this! I was wondering, though, if the boy is intending to be Albert Einstein, and if so, if there are historical documentations of such a discussion happening. I don't know much about his childhood, and I know that for a while in his adulthood, he struggled with faith, but towards the end of his life, he did speak about having faith and that he certainly saw belief in a personal God compatible with being a scientist. I was wondering if anyone knows more about Einstein's faith or where one could find a reliable source that explains it?
Herbert McCabe had a nice way of explaining the privatio boni. A hole in your sock is still a real hole despite being an absence of something. And if you ever drive your car off a cliff, you probably won't find much consolation in thinking that your predicament is 'only' a lack of firm ground!
Bit late but, to respond to Jake and anyone else reading, the aftermath of an earthquake is not an example of evil. Evil is a malevolent force i.e. the Devil, or the destructive tendencies within mankind.
It could be argued then that since an earthquake is not evil and is rather a random event it certainly was created by God, therefore the destruction of the Earthquake was created by God.
However, if we go back to what the boy said in the video and this time use the word 'sin' rather than 'evil' we might answer the earthquake dilemma. Sin is caused by the rejection of God's love and fellowship, this rejection led to mankind's expulsion from Paradise and as explained in Genesis Chapter 3 the world was against us due to our Sin. (Genesis says the land was "cursed" (RSV) due to Adam's Sin).
Therefore, earthquakes and other natural problems which harm mankind are the cause of man's rejection of God. We had a choice, and we chose this Earth rather than the world for which we were made.
Cute but really not very convincing. Would you be so confident at the aftermath of an earthquake? Is death from natural phenomena really the absence of something? No, old age and suffering is the normal and natural lot of man (since the fall). Also, I'm not sure I hold that Evil does not have it's own qualitites. Could you not just turn the argument round and say good is the absence of Evil? For me it is only in the passion of our Lord that Evil makes any sense at all.
ReplyDeleteWhilst I would accept this is not a complete argument, it brings an important philosophical point to the front. St. Thomas defines evil as a privation of a good in a subject. The fall is key to understanding this. When man fell he lost the perfection, the completeness in which he was created. The suffering we experience is part of the fallen world in which we live. It is not how it should be. Through original sin we are alienated from God.
ReplyDeleteThe Passion of Our Lord brings us to perfection. His blood completes us and raises human nature to where it should be. It breaks this primal barrier between God and man.
I really liked this! I was wondering, though, if the boy is intending to be Albert Einstein, and if so, if there are historical documentations of such a discussion happening. I don't know much about his childhood, and I know that for a while in his adulthood, he struggled with faith, but towards the end of his life, he did speak about having faith and that he certainly saw belief in a personal God compatible with being a scientist. I was wondering if anyone knows more about Einstein's faith or where one could find a reliable source that explains it?
ReplyDeleteHerbert McCabe had a nice way of explaining the privatio boni. A hole in your sock is still a real hole despite being an absence of something. And if you ever drive your car off a cliff, you probably won't find much consolation in thinking that your predicament is 'only' a lack of firm ground!
ReplyDeleteBit late but, to respond to Jake and anyone else reading, the aftermath of an earthquake is not an example of evil. Evil is a malevolent force i.e. the Devil, or the destructive tendencies within mankind.
ReplyDeleteIt could be argued then that since an earthquake is not evil and is rather a random event it certainly was created by God, therefore the destruction of the Earthquake was created by God.
However, if we go back to what the boy said in the video and this time use the word 'sin' rather than 'evil' we might answer the earthquake dilemma. Sin is caused by the rejection of God's love and fellowship, this rejection led to mankind's expulsion from Paradise and as explained in Genesis Chapter 3 the world was against us due to our Sin. (Genesis says the land was "cursed" (RSV) due to Adam's Sin).
Therefore, earthquakes and other natural problems which harm mankind are the cause of man's rejection of God. We had a choice, and we chose this Earth rather than the world for which we were made.