Next Up
I think the next major thing I'm going to think about is the problem of suffering. We discussed it briefly in my Philosophy of Religion class, and I realized that I don't understand why there is gratuitous suffering in the world, and I cannot at present reconcile this with my beliefs about the nature of God. Thus, it behooves me as a philosopher to confront this inconsistency in my beliefs and attempt to resolve it.
Here's my ever so tentative schedule of what to think about:
1. The problem of pain - what it is, why it's a problem. I think I've got a good start on this.
2. The Biblical explanation for the existence of pain - the fall, etc.
3. Other Christian-ish explanations for pain. (That is, explanations that are consistent with my understanding of God.)
4. Not-so-Christian-ish explanations, including atheistic ones, if necessary.
I intend to blog as I go, both because writing helps me gather my thoughts, and because I'm interested in your thoughts on this issue.
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8 comments:
Don't overlook Platinga's "Breviary of Sin: Not the Way It's Supposed to Be" (Eerdmans)
Lewis's "Problem of Pain" and "A Grief Observed" (originally published under the pseudonym N.W. Clark). Both of these are really classic texts in theodicy (the problem of how a good God allows suffering and evil in the world). The second book was written after Lewis's wife, Joy Gresham, passed away from cancer. It is quite a candid and first-hand look at the experience of suffering.
John Hick in his out-of-print book "The Second Christianity" talks about the differences between the solution posed by Augustine (the one that carried the day) and the more obscure one posed by Ireneaus.
In the latter, pain is seen not so much as a consquence of the Fall (Augustine) as a means of growth and progress for the race. Somewhere in the sum of human suffering is a help to the process of soulmaking -- a thing that can't be appreciated until we stand on the other side of this existence and look back. (Like a kid who, until he's an adult, can't understand why he was forced to suffer through school, learn to sit still, be polite, etc.)
As a universalist, Hick expects everyone to benefit ultimately from the bumps and bruises that accompany soulmaking.
If any of you are interested, for university I wrote an essay attacking Alvin Plantinga's free will defense to the logical problem of evil.
Let me know if you want me to upload it.
Hey Jacob, long time no see. I'll be home for Christmas though, hope to see you then. An interesting problem for examining the problem of evil is that emotion tends to play a significant role in the evaluation of this "logical problem." It sometimes frustrates me when people pretend that they are looking at things "objectively" on this one, but hey? What can we do?
It's true that emotion tends to get in the way of logic when examining this problem. Because of this, I - a young person who has suffered seldom and shallowly - am probably better able to tackle this problem (at least, the logical aspect of it) than, say, a mother who has recently lost a child to cancer. On the other hand, perhaps those who are more acquainted with suffering would understand it better, and have some insight into the matter that I lack.
At any rate, I wouldn't be able to do much if I only attempted tasks I could handle perfectly. And it would be difficult to find a meaningful intellectual problem that is not tainted by emotion and subjectivity, to say nothing of incomplete evidence and insufficient intelligence.
But I think this problem is one that I must address, and so I will do my best to think clearly and fairly and leave it at that.
I wasn't suggesting you not tackle the problem. I just find this tends not to work out as a deducive problem. It isn't if there is a logical answer, it is a question of whether there is an answer that you buy. Not meaning to be critical, just talking about what happens. I'll be glad to be following along. Didn't we lose a post on this one?
I get you, begger. Except this part:
"Didn't we lose a post on this one?"
I don't know what you mean by that.
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