The Problem of Problems: Free Fallen

photo courtesy of velton

How did evil enter the world?

The answer is in the Book of Genesis, where we find the story of our first parents, Adam and Eve. God originally bestowed upon them sanctifying grace and other special gifts, such as constant state of happiness and freedom from pain and suffering. These gifts were theirs to keep (and pass on to us, their descendants) on one condition: they must prove their love for God by not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. But alas, tempted and seduced by the serpent’s lies (“you will become like gods” – Genesis 3:5), they disobeyed God’s commandment. Adam, the appointed ambassador of the entire human race, committed this grave act we now call “Original Sin” and by thus, death came into the world.

In the novel Don Quixote, we read that: "true love…must be voluntary and not compelled”. Indeed, love must be a deliberate act; it cannot be forced. For this reason, God gave man free will. We can freely decide to love God, believe in Him and submit to His will; or we can freely elect to hate, doubt and rebel against our Creator. Adam and Eve chose to do the latter. And so, it can be said that pain and suffering in this life is due to man’s misuse of free will.

Free will is the basis for justice, for no one can be justly held accountable for their actions unless they are truly free. It gives man the freedom to become saints or sinners; to do what is right or wrong. While a world sans free will is one without evil, sadness or tears, neither can it have goodness, joy, nor laughter. Therefore, a world without free will would be of humans devoid of humanity; a benevolent God would never create one as such. Free will is a gift; we just often choose to make it a curse.

The special gifts God gave Adam and Eve, like freedom from pain and suffering, were privileges; it was not theirs by right. These were gifts from a loving Father who wants to give what is best for His children. These were gifts we would have inherited from our first parents. But unfortunately, these were gifts they freely chose to reject through their sin. To make matters worse, instead of admitting guilt and asking for forgiveness, Adam put the blame on God (Genesis 3:11-12)! But do we, Adam’s descendants, know any better? Don’t we also often fault God for miseries of our own doing?

Free will is not just a fancy term. We are free to choose our own destiny. God loves us so much that He even allows us to choose over Him! However, we must always keep in mind that we are accountable for our actions and that our choices do have consequences. After all, justice is not just a fancy term either.

1. Introduction
2. Mystery of Misery
3. Good Job
4. Of Evil and "Non-things"
5. Free Fallen
6. Non Serviam

The Problem of Problems: Of Evil and "Non-things"

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“God saw all that he made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

As Christians, we believe that God is the creator of all things. Does this mean God created evil? 

To answer this question, we turn to St. Augustine of Hippo who tells us that evil is not a thing, but is rather a privation or loss of good. Make no mistake - evil is real, but it cannot exist by itself apart from good. Take, for instance, light and darkness. We can measure the properties of light (e.g., intensity, speed, etc.), but we cannot quantify darkness. The reason for this is that darkness has no existence of its own; it is merely the absence of light. In the same vein, we can say that sin is the privation of God’s will; blindness is the loss of sight; death is the absence of life; and so on. Therefore, God created all things, but not “non-things”, such as evil. 

1. Introduction

2. Mystery of Misery
3. Good Job

4. Of Evil and "Non-things"
5. Free Fallen
6. Non Serviam 

The Problem of Problems: Good Job

photo courtesy of Jeff Hathaway

The Book of Job, possibly the oldest in the Bible, not surprisingly deals with the problem of evil - surely the oldest in history. It tells the story of Job, a holy man who, with God's permission, underwent severe tribulations and lost everything he treasured – his children, wealth and health. Job endured and remained devoted, but eventually became angry and challenged God to account for his pain and sufferings. God provided neither an explanation nor justification, rather, in essence asked Job: “who are you to call Me into account?” In the end, Job was humbled and assented to God's will. God then restored Job's health, blessed him with new offspring, doubled the riches he had before the ordeal, and lived for another 140 years before dying a peaceful death.

The Book of Job is an invitation to contemplation. Though it does not directly offer a solution to the "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thessalonians 2:7), it offers profound insights into the problems of life. With eyes of humility, let us look at some of its lessons which are as relevant today as when it was written thousands of years ago:

• "Then Yahweh answered Job out of the storm: Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?" (Job 38:1-2) God's rebuke put Job in his place - and we are reminded that God should be doing the questioning, not Job; that the Creator holds the creature answerable, not the other way around. As diocesan priest Fr. Leo Trese states: "an ant has more right to criticize an Einstein than has man with his limited intelligence to question the infinite wisdom of God".
• “I spoke of things I did not understand, too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3) God's wisdom forced Job to realize his ignorance - and we are reminded that on our own, we cannot have all the answers for life's problems; that only through God's grace can we understand life's deepest mysteries. As the Socratic maxim goes – "wisdom is the awareness of ignorance".
• "If only there was an arbiter between us, who could lay his hand upon both of us…" (Job 9:32) Job humbly acknowledged the infinite gap between God and man - and we are reminded of how that gap has been bridged by the God-man, Jesus Christ; that God shared in our pain and sufferings by becoming man and conquered evil by His death and resurrection. As St. Paul wrote: "As there is one God, there is one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus, true man, who gave his life for the redemption of all..." (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

The story of Job is one of patience, humility and faith – virtues essential in dealing with pain and suffering. If we follow Job's example and put these virtues into practice, like him, we too shall be rewarded in the end. 

1. Introduction

2. Mystery of Misery
3. Good Job
4. Of Evil and "Non-things"
5. Free Fallen
6. Non Serviam

The Problem of Problems: Mystery of Misery

photo courtesy of David Bitters

Evil is indeed, a most profound problem; a mystery, the meaning of which we cannot fully understand in this lifetime. To cast some light on the problem of evil, we must consider the following Divine attributes: 

1. God transcends space and time. He sees from an eternal point of view. He knows and wants what is best, not just for one, but for everyone; not only for this life, but also for the afterlife.
2. God is omniscient. To ask “Why does God do this?” or “Why doesn’t God do that?” is tantamount to questioning the judgment of an all-knowing Being.

As finite creatures, there is a limit to our human intellect. Thus, to discern more the nature of evil, we must turn to Divine revelation. Humility brings us to faith and to embrace these beliefs; these beliefs in turn, give us further understanding of this mystery. 

1. Introduction
2. Mystery of Misery
3. Good Job
4. Of Evil and "Non-things"
5. Free Fallen
6. Non Serviam

The Problem of Problems: Introduction

photo courtesy of honikum

Many lives are lost and affected daily due to natural and man-made disasters. Countless hearts are broken and bucket of tears are shed everyday. Where is God amidst all the pain and suffering? The problem of evil, possibly the most serious argument against the existence of God, can be stated simply as follows:

1. An omnibenevolent (all-good) God would not want evil to exist.
2. An omnipotent (all-powerful) God could prevent evil from existing.
3. Evil exist; therefore, an omnibenevolent or omnipotent God does not.

“Everybody Hurts” 

– R.E.M.

Pain and suffering is experienced by everybody, both believers and non-believers alike. The difference is, for atheists, life is just is – pain and suffering is what one should expect in a world without God. On the other hand, the theist, Christians in particular, must reconcile the problem of evil with their belief in a God who is omnibenevolent and omnipotent. In other words, Christians look for meaning and purpose of pain and suffering, while atheists seek neither.

“I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing.” 

– C. S. Lewis

Of all the objections against the existence of God, the problem of evil is perhaps the one most rooted in emotion rather than intellect. Pain and suffering are not just theories, but are daily realities. We want to heal our hurts; not dwell on our distresses. 

Peter Kreeft wrote that to ask “if there is a God, then why does evil exist?" is not the same as when philosophers asks “Why?”, but is rather like that of a "little child with tears in its eyes looking up at Daddy and weeping, "Why?"". In other words, the problem of evil, at its core, is not so much a matter of reason as it is of rebellion. 

1. Introduction
2. Mystery of Misery
3. Good Job
4. Of Evil and "Non-things"
5. Free Fallen
6. Non Serviam

Help Yourself

Everyone can use a little help; perhaps none more so than ourselves. This is why self-help/improvement books are every so often included in the bookstore’s bestseller list. A classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, was a requirement reading for us back in high school. As I grew older, I found out that true friends are hard to come by and there are more valuable things we could strive for besides influence. When I started working, my brother lent me his copy of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. I found its principles, well, effective, and many a time applied them for career growth. That being said, I realized that the book is lacking information when it comes to dealing with some, in my opinion, more important aspects of life. For instance, how does one create or perceive a “win-win” situation when faced with tragedy, like the death of a loved one? Later on, to better cope with office politics, a well-meaning friend recommended the book, “The 48 Laws of Power”. But after reading, I thought it is more accurate to label it “self-destruct” rather than “self-help”. It encourages a “win at all cost” mentality and the use of methods based on deceit in order to achieve goals. Not surprisingly, it has often been compared to the book “The Art of War”. While Sun Tzu’s treatise on warfare contains knowledge indispensable to military tactics, in the battlefield called “life”, I would rather pursue the “art of peace”. In my quest for personal advancement, I also took up Aikido and was introduced to its literature. Like most oriental martial arts, it emphasizes the importance of focus, balance and "centered-ness" in one’s life. However, with philosophical tenets derived from Shinto and Buddhism, it promotes beliefs (relativism e.g. “within divine love there is no good or evil…”) which are irreconcilable with my own. I believe that the pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement are essential, and hope none of my ramblings are taken to mean otherwise; however, I also think that unless they bring us closer to God, both are ultimately meaningless. I learned, for example, that the “7 Habits” won’t truly be effective without practice of the “7 Virtues”. Experience also taught me that for self-improvement, one need not look far in search of help. I started reading more of San Paolo and less of Paulo Coelho; more of the parables of the Messiah and less of the poems of "The Prophet"; more of the life of Christ and less of "The Purpose Driven Life"; and in doing so, I’m reminded, that a better self-help book than the bible, there is none.

“All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

In the Beginning… was the Multiverse?

In a previous entry, we noted how the universe is seemingly fined-tuned to support life. How precise is this level of fine tuning? Consider the following examples:

Gravity: “If gravity had been stronger or weaker by one part in ten thousand million million million million million million (1 in 10⁴⁰), then life-sustaining stars like the sun could not exist.”
– Brandon Carter (theoretical physicist)

The Big Bang: “If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million (1 in 10¹⁷), the universe would have re-collapsed before it ever reached its present size.”
– Stephen Hawking (theoretical physicist)

These are just two of many so-called anthropic coincidences – extraordinary calibration of the laws of physics without which life as we know it would not be possible. In fact, to describe this fine tuning as a miracle would be by no means an exaggeration - the odds for our existence is astronomically improbable (or incalculable, whichever you prefer) the fact that we’re here fits the definition of one. Astronomer Fred Hoyle seems to agree: “A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology…”

Thus, the conclusion is as unavoidable as it is obvious: the reason why the universe looks fine-tuned for life is because IT IS fine-tuned by an Intelligent Fine Tuner.

To avoid this theistic implication, atheists turn to the so-called Multiverse Hypothesis. There are several variations of the theory but the basic premise is the same: our universe is but one of multiple universes (hence the name), each with its own set of physical laws. For instance, according to the theory, it is possible that in one universe the force of gravity is stronger than our own and in another it is weaker. It may also be that in other universes, the force of gravity is just the same as ours, but greatly differ in some other fundamental physical constant (e.g. speed of light). In any of these cases, the development of any form of intelligent life would have been very unlikely. It just so happens that by an unbelievable amount of luck, we live in one that has met all the necessary conditions to make life possible.

The Multiverse Hypothesis is so fascinating that it has inspired a number of Hollywood movies. And it may as well stay in the realm of science fiction, as there is absolutely no scientific basis of such universes existence. The irony of the situation is this: those who dismiss the notion of a Supreme Being due to lack of evidence, are the very same people who’ll wholeheartedly embrace an equally un-testable hypothesis designed to discredit the existence of one. Astronomer Owen Gingerich hit the nail on the head when he said: “anyone who can believe in multiple universes should have no problem believing in heaven or hell”. 

Reference/s:
Strobel, Lee. The Case for a Creator.
D’Souza, Dinesh (2008). What’s So Great about Christianity. Kaveri Printer Pvt. Ltd.

The Skeptic's Prayer

Taken from “The Handbook of Christian Apologetics” by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli:

Skeptic's Prayer

God, I don’t know whether you even exist.
I’m a skeptic.
I doubt.
I think you may be only a myth.
But I’m not certain (at least not when I’m completely honest with myself).
So if you do exist, and if you really did promise to reward all seekers, you must be hearing me now.
So I hereby declare myself a seeker, a seeker of the truth, whatever it is and wherever it is.
I want to know the truth and live the truth.
If you are the truth, please help me.

My friends, if you have doubt in your hearts, then I hope you’d give this prayer a chance. The Bible tells us that God reveals Himself to those who sincerely seek Him. After all, it’s difficult to find something (or in this case, Somebody) if you're not really looking.

“When you search wholeheartedly for Me, I shall let you find Me” (Jeremiah 29:13)

Designer Universe

“I think the world is just awesome, because, I mean, Mars is too cold, Venus is too hot, everyplace else is too far away.” - Jamie Hyneman

In the previous quote, the myth buster was referring to the earth being in the “Goldilocks Zone” – just the right distance from the sun to sustain life. This is an example of what physicists call the Anthropic Principle, which states that the observable properties of the universe must be compatible with its living observers. Simply put, it means that the universe seems “fine tuned” to support intelligent life.

Think about it. If the universe were any other way, life would not exist. Another example would be the gravitational force. Like earth’s distance from the sun, if the force of gravity was changed in the slightest degree, then we wouldn’t be here to discuss it. This, along with other finely tuned constants (electromagnetic force, strong/weak nuclear force, etc.), prove that the odds for our existence is improbably small.

Given these facts, it’s unthinkable for any sane and rational person to believe that life is a mere product of random chance or luck. At the very least, anyone endowed with reason should consider the possibility that an Intelligent Being is responsible for the undeniably deliberate existence of life.

As I began this entry with a quote, let me end it with another, this one from Stephen Hawking, by acclamation the most brilliant physicist since Einstein:

"The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron ... The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life."

A Father Who Keeps His Promises (by Scott Hahn)

Everybody felt it: a moment of eerie silence, a low rumble and then the ground began to shake. Buildings swayed and buckled, then collapsed like houses of cards. Less than four minutes later, over thirty thousand were dead from a magnitude 8.2 earthquake that rocked and nearly flattened Armenia in 1989.

In the muddled chaos, a distress father bolted through the winding streets leading to the school where his son had gone earlier that morning. The man couldn’t stop thinking about the promise he’d given his son many times: “No matter what happens, Armand, I’ll always be there.”

He reached the site where the school had been, but saw only a pile of rubble. He just stood there at first, fighting back tears, and then took off, stumbling over debris, toward the east corner where he knew his son’s classroom had been.

With nothing but his bare hands, he started to dig. He was desperately pulling up bricks and pieces of wall-plaster, while others stood by watching in forlorn disbelief. He heard someone growl, “Forget it, mister. They’re all dead.”

He looked up, flustered, and replied, “You can grumble, or you can help me lift these bricks.” Only a few pitched in, and most of them gave up once their muscles began to ache. But the man couldn’t stop thinking about his son.

He kept digging and digging – for hours … twelve hours … eighteen hours … twenty-four hours … thirty-six hours … Finally, into the thirty-eight hour, he heard a muffled groan from under a piece of wallboard.

He seized the board, pulled it back, and cried, “ARMAND!” From the darkness came a slight shaking voice, “Papa…!?”

Other weak voices began calling out, as the young survivors stirred beneath the still uncleared rubble. Gasps and shouts of bewildered relief came from the few onlookers and parents who remained. They found fourteen of the thirty-tree students still alive.

When Armand finally emerged, he tried to help dig, until all his surviving classmates were out. Everybody standing there heard him as he turned to his friends and said, “See, I told you my father wouldn’t forget us.”

That’s the kind of faith we need, because that’s the kind of Father we have.

Reference/s:
Hahn, Scott (1998). A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God's Covenant Love in Scripture. Servant Books.