Brief On The Problem Of Evil, God & Violence

More snow today, and no I was not falling...Not a bad very quick amateur photo, it was raining, if I say so myself.

When I left this morning the weather was transforming from snow to rain and so I decided to risk the trek out to Abbotsford and Northview Community Church.

Probably not my best decision ever as it was snowing heavily and I took the usual most direct back road way to the church. The church somewhat surprisingly being a megachurch of 4, 000+ attenders is in a suburban/rural area just outside of town.

The car slipped around a few times, but I was careful as usual. After church speaking with one of the church leaders, he agreed that my idea was wise to drive home through town and not the back roads. It was raining, thankfully.

I stated yesterday, mostly by texting in comments on 'Give Me Cake Liberty Or Give Me...', Satire And Theology.

Cited:

'how many x..mom do not put hand in car door frame... dark outside at safeway on her bday....i close door she screams. only bruised cannot see damage inside store...will ice. could not see her hand in p lot and she should have asked for help instead.'

'Glove probably saved her hand from worse result... Icing.'

The boss got away with a minor bruise, thankfully. She is thankful I was there to open the door. I am thankful she had her gloves on.

I remember as child, her Dad, my Grandpa, did basically the same thing with someone else closing the door. Does not surprise me, there is something to genetics.

Brief On The Problem Of Evil, God & Violence

Today the sermon at Northview dealt with God Biblically commanding Israel in the Hebrew Bible at times and points to take the lives of all enemies, including children within a nation and society.

Some within scholarship attempt to argue, against the more traditional view provided in the sermon, that there are other interpretations where genocide does not occur. The Pastor did not get into these thoroughly, but noted some serious objections to God taking via commanding Israel, the lives of entire civilizations.

I have not studied the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible for this topic in-depth, but did study the problem of evil and theodicy for twelve plus years at three Universities, eventually embedding my own theodicy within a successful PhD.

I do have some philosophical and theological insights, I reason:

Based on a Reformed, compatibilist, Biblical view, God is the first cause of all things.

God as the first cause, is infinite and eternal, based on Scriptural, theological essentials. God is the only necessary being, God exists by necessity.  Something exists by necessity when it is not possible for the proposition to be false. The denial of such being self-contradictory. Bradley (1996: 522).

It could be reasoned contingent beings do not have to exist. Contingent beings 'could have failed to exist'. They 'must be caused to exist by some another being'. Quinn (1996: 609).

Contingent beings, that also if significantly free, serve as secondary causes of thoughts, actions and acts, exist because the first-cause, God, chose for them to exist. He could reasonably, even after creating humanity, chose for them not to exist in various contexts including complete annihilation of both body and spirit, or physical death alone as the spirit lives on (Luke 16 as a figurative literal example, although a parable).

I reason, although not dogmatically, it quite reasonable and possible that God would have been ethically and morally reasonably able to annihilate Adam and Eve prior to their sin and fall, because the creator as necessary only needs to exist; contingent beings that do not have to exist by necessity could be eliminated. Therefore Adam and Eve could have justly been annihilated, outside of an ethical/moral promise by God, including Biblical, to provide them with continued existence.

As the first-cause, Biblical God has promised eternal/everlasting life for those in Christ, and eternal/everlasting death/punishment for those outside of Christ (Revelation 20-22).

Therefore, annihilation is not an ethical, moral option for God as he has promised otherwise. Assuming, reasonably God keeps his word and he does not change in how he deals with humanity within time (Malachi 3).

Yes, I realise there is a debate on whether or not everlasting punishment is actually annihilation and have discussed on both of my blogs. I have argued both positions and hold to the traditional view.

Physical death is however, an ethical/moral option for God because of sin the fall, and punishment (Genesis 1-3, Romans 1-6, Hebrews 9). This leads to judgement after death for all (Hebrews 9: 27), each person appointed one physical death and then judgement.

When and how physical death is issued by God, for persons, corporately or privately is not limited.

It is not specifically limited by Scripture, as persons can physically die in many ways.

Theologically and philosophically I reason God with perfect or permissible will, could ethically, morally and justly end the physical life of persons. This could take place with human beings being secondary causes.

Normally, the person taking the life of another person would be Biblically unlawful as murder (Exodus 20). And this allows for the possibility for alternate philosophical and theological views as some would see any breaking of this commandment as contradiction and God is not a God of contradiction.

However, it is also possible to view such killing as execution, a protection of the people of Israel in a Hebrew Bible context from non-God negative influences.

God willing that secondary causes lawfully kill persons for by divine order, not being totally foreign to the New Testament, although different in focus. Old Testament concepts could be philosophically and theologically connected to preservation of law and order in the New Testament in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2.

Admittedly in the New Testament context, the State replacing Israel and its Old Testament divine order, for the maintaining of divinely sanctioned law and order. There is no theocracy or attempt at like in the New Testament context.

BRADLEY, RAYMOND D. (1996) ‘Necessity’, in Robert Audi (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

QUINN, PHILIP L. (1996) 'Philosophy of Religion' , in Robert Audi (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.



Excellent solo, dumb cartoon.