Posted by Bob - the Alien on December 03, 2003 at 16:15:17:
In Reply to: I am channelling all the great philosophers now... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Only $19.95! posted by PS on December 03, 2003 at 15:53:27:
Go do your term paper!
Stop wasting time with my idle philosophy!
:)
Actually, it is good to read your response... but it is more academic than my current state of mind.
I do have an answer to these questions which you bring up. I do have an answer as to why evil exists, despite God's desire for good. To me, this is a simple question. God's desire to bring us all closer to him requires it. We are his children. We must be taught. Evil is part of our lessons. A necessary evil, so to speak. By overcoming evil, we show that we have learned and are capable of living in God's kingdom. Maybe it is like a final exam?
And that idea also brings us full circle to the original question in this thread -- evil is a temporary thing, placed on this earth to fulfill a purpose. It is not a counter-balance with good, but a minor, temporary, deliberate flaw in reality.
At least, that is my take on it. I am, as always, quite fallible.
With Love,
Bob - the Alien
And Just for fun --
To reconcile the two views you presented in the scenario of the little girl:
1) He planned this for some glorious purpose
2) He did not cause your little girl to suffer and die, nor did he want you to bear this grief. He will make this right, he will fix all this in the life to come, after he has destroyes evil, and there will be no more pain when you are reunited.
#1 is the big picture. God planned this whole reality for some glorious purpose. He set up the way things work, created the earth, and now his plan is playing out.
#2 is the small view of that picture. His plan does not prevent all bad things from happenning. He did not specifically intend for the little girl to die. But she did. God has put his plan in motion and, while he has the power to change it all, he does not do so, for that will have consequences on his plan that are not acceptable to him. So it will be made right in the next life when all are reunited.
Both views are true. And that is really the key to almost all differences between religions. They all see the same truth, but they see a small part of it, from a different perspective. It is the story of blind men describing an elephant all over again.