Posted by PS on December 03, 2003 at 18:14:37:
In Reply to: Re: I am channelling all the great philosophers now... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Only $19.95! posted by Bob - the Alien on December 03, 2003 at 16:15:17:
: 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.
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It used to be clearer-cut for me, but that was a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. In my journey, I am at a point where, for me, true wisdom is in not answering the question, but always asking it...as an act of worship, wanting only His embrace as an answer. That is the best I can describe it in a sentence. :-)
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: 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.
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: #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.
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Yours is the more Arminian reponse. You may think it is a compilation, but there is another dynamic that is more nuanced regarding which belief invalidates which in the eyes of whom. (We are talking about hundreds of years of reactionary theological development here in many different directions.) The Calvinist believes that every single action is directly under God's control, and to make anything the product of chance is in fact an affront to His sovereignty.
I don't "agree" with either answer personally, but I clearly see the truth in both. I prefer just seeing and embracing truth instead of trying to reconcile all truths into a systematic form. It remains higher than me, as God is, and I have no good reason to fight with anyone about it. ;-)