Question:

What sort of argument might be offered in response to "The Question of Evil" mentioned above, by someone who believes in a diety that satisfies the standard model mentioned in case two, the mention of which began this section?

Here is one I might offer, were I to support that model of divinity.

Sometimes, terrible and undeserved harm may come to ourselves, or those we care about, our request for intercession having gone unanswered. Perhaps a beloved individual, full of life, with so much left to do and experience, has passed away as many pray for his life. Perhaps some injustice is never addressed. We may find ourselves wondering why the power of all of our prayers and vigils weren't enough to matter. This might leave one wondering, how could those pleas not be heard? Why weren't they? It may leave one questioning one's own spiritual beliefs and wondering if such things really work.

The only thing that I can say with certainty, is that those who know the answer to that, for sure, aren't here, talking to us.

Here's a thought, though. In the course of crying out, did the urge to curse God ever cross your mind? And you slapped it down quickly, right - as if out of concern that He might be angered? We are even taught to do this, to fear God. And if you think about it, if God is as He is portrayed Biblically, to do so is an even greater injustice to Him, than the curse would be. If a doctor, who is far from being omnipotent or invulnerable, for that matter, were to fly into a violent rage, and hold onto it forevermore, because the loved one of a patient he lost, cursed him, that physician would be considered a madman, and would never work again. Yet we think nothing of ascribing such a petty response to a diety who can't be harmed by our spite, and who has the power to solve any problem brought before Him, with a thought. A diety who we concede to be better than us, is portrayed, on that occasion, as if he were a sociopath, and yet we see no contradiction, or at least don't feel it in our hearts.

The God of Judaism or Christianity would be more forgiving, and more understanding of our frailities, than any of us. One of those frailities, is that we will tend to project our frailities onto Him, and react to Him as if He were one of us, made all powerful, a horrifying thought if there ever was one. An anxiety, however irrational, made worse by the thought that one could never escape His gaze. To be sure, we all know, rationally, that making a morally perfect being all powerful as well, leaves us with less to fear, and not more. But, as a matter of human nature, emotionally, would that really help?

In a major city, we all know that having armed police close on hand, makes us safer, because help is close at hand, if someone violent should come in. This is especially true, if the officers are people who are known personally, by those living in the area. And yet, even the officer's best friend will tend to shy away from him, and get out of his line of sight, when he is carrying his service revolver. The fact that those present, know that he would never pull that gun, and shoot someone without a good reason, doesn't keep them from feeling uneasy, whenever that gun is in sight. It's just human nature. God would be packing a lot more destructive potential than that. His reluctance to use it, might not change the fact, that we would be shaking in fear before Him, if we knew for certain that He was there. Getting out of His line of sight, would be most difficult.

Or here's another one. You love your parents, right? But when you were a kid, weren't you ever in a hurry to get away from them, with your friends, just so you could get away from authority briefly, and breath a little more freely? Imagine if you knew, that your parents could see you, wherever you went? How happy would you have been with that arrangement? Before God, the ultimate authority, we are always children, and if we knew with absolute certainty that He was there, watching, and knowing everything that we did, and weren't supposed to do, no matter how indulgent a parent we knew He was to all of us - could we ever really feel comfortable?

Would it be a blessing for us to know, with certainty, that He is there, or would it poison life for us? Perhaps He must keep us in doubt, as an expression of mercy. Were He to intervene every time something terrible were to occur, could there be any doubt about His presence? In never failing to show kindness in the short term, could it be the case, that He would be commiting one of the greater cruelties possible - something which, by His very nature, He could never bring Himself to do.

This is not to say, that all would be wonderful, and why worry about it. It is just to say that it is not necessarily true, that all is as bleak, as it might sometimes appear at first glance.

Question:

Would you say that this constitutes a satisfactory answer to the Question of Evil?

Here, we come to one of those subjective evaluations, that will lead reasonable men to differing philosophies and different gods. If you feel that it does, there is a very good chance that the process of reflection described above, will lead one to an orthodox Christianity. I have my doubts, though. I think that it is valid, to a degree. I would agree that if such a god existed, there would still be a certain amount of struggle, and misfortune in life, for the reasons given. However, I feel that there could be far less of both, and there would still be enough room for doubt, that the fears alluded to would not be forced to arise.

I wouldn't, however, believe in a problem free heaven, because it wouldn't be any sort of paradise for us. Ever see what happens to people's psyches when they no longer feel needed or useful? When they no longer have anything left to accomplish? It's a bloodless joy at best, that they will be enjoying, with the passion slowly draining away from their existences. Vacations can be pleasant because, eventually, they do end. If God, or the gods, solved all of our problems for us, with no effort on our parts being required, what would we have left to accomplish?

Remember how, when you were living your "carefree" childhood, if you had one, how eager you were to grow up and go out into the world? How would you feel if adulthood had never arrived and never would, for all eternity? Only, this would even be worse, because even children have things that they need to do. The passive reward of an untroubled paradise would be to live the life of a housepet for all eternity, with no real hope of escape. Surely, one could ask for problems to be given to one, but since they would be present merely because one wished them to be, would they be real problems, and would their solution offer any real reason for joy?

Question:

You seem reluctant to accept the model of divinity, that would hold that God, or the gods exist and are quite often capriciously malicious, with no benevolent higher authority in evidence.

Why is that? Wishful thinking?

You mean, why do I reject a Lovecraftian vision of the cosmos?

Because, in the past, there has been a common experience, when a deeper, more focused relationship with divinity has been established, of encountering a loving kindness completely out of step with the harshness encountered in casual contact. The story of Abraham pleading for the city of Sodom will illustrate what I mean by this (Genesis, Chapter 18). Some might argue, that someone was merely made ashamed, by what He heard, but wouldn't an omniscent being have already heard it in the thoughts of many of those below?

While one might well argue that the story itself was fiction, as indeed I would, the experience of divine reaction described in it has been one repeated in the last few millenia, as reported in the personal experience of many, albeit on a far less grand scale. These reports, some of us find convincing, because they seem to be compatible with those of our own personal experience.

We do have the question, though, of why it is that the level of passion that the worshipper invests in his worship should matter, as often seems to be the experience of such things. Wouldn't a rational diety be motivated by the justness of the request, and the consequences of its granting, and not the emotional intensity of the request?

Continuing ...