Theodicy (pronounced rather like "idiocy," incidentally)
From the Wikipedia Theodicy article:
"The term theodicy comes from the Greek ???? (theós, "god") and ???? (dÃk?, "justice"), meaning literally "the justice of God". The term was coined in 1710 by the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz in a work entitled Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal ("essay of theodicy about the benevolence of God, the free will of man, and the origin of evil"). The purpose of the essay was to show that the evil in the world does not conflict with the goodness of God, and that notwithstanding its many evils, the world is the best of all possible worlds (see Panglossianism.)"
Western Christians, at least, seem to be Dualists. They seem to actually need a seperate, completely free-acting, evil force. God is the Pro, Satan is the Con. There is a significant Boogey Man aspect, and this has led, in my view, to somewhat of a collapse of moral fortitude. Do X in order to escape Hell, not because your personal passion for God gives you no other choice. Going to Christian elementary & mid schools, I think I was fed (or it was intended that I be fed, though it didn't stick) an impression that God finds me despicable, and thus there is but only the most tenuous golden line between being tossed away like the garbage I am, or being "saved" and given the mercy of Heaven even if I don't deserve it. What the hell kind of thought is that? The extension then became, that one must act in accordance with God's commands (aka, I suppose, live an upright life) precisely because they are God's commands, not because of any responsibility to my fellows and also to myself. Ethics and morality traded away for mathematical righteousness. Mind you, I was long aware, even as a youngster after a certain point when I began to think about these things, that this was an idea of Christianity, not a teaching by Christ.
All of this eventually led me to begin to consider what the nature of God might be, and part of this then becomes the discussion of Theodicy, why there is "Evil" if God is genuinely "Good." One might extend the question in two directions (or more, certainly):
1. Why does Satan succeed in foisting evil, if God is actively paying attention and cares?
2. Does God itself willingly or wantonly allow or even encourage evil to continue?
I have my own beliefs about these things, and they are unimportant for this particular stream here.
But a book that is an excellent playground for all of this, and a fantastic read in general, is Blameless in Abaddon by James Morrow. A man whose life has been destroyed for no obvious reason takes God to court, defense offeredciphercypher for C.S. Lewis. Now, if you actively hold that the human beast is a hideous blight of nearly irreconcilable sin, unworthy of a glance from God, let alone salvation, except by inexplicable mercy, then you probably won't like or even understand this book. If you're open to playing around with the idea, then you may find it charming and interesting, as I have.
"The term theodicy comes from the Greek ???? (theós, "god") and ???? (dÃk?, "justice"), meaning literally "the justice of God". The term was coined in 1710 by the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz in a work entitled Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal ("essay of theodicy about the benevolence of God, the free will of man, and the origin of evil"). The purpose of the essay was to show that the evil in the world does not conflict with the goodness of God, and that notwithstanding its many evils, the world is the best of all possible worlds (see Panglossianism.)"
Western Christians, at least, seem to be Dualists. They seem to actually need a seperate, completely free-acting, evil force. God is the Pro, Satan is the Con. There is a significant Boogey Man aspect, and this has led, in my view, to somewhat of a collapse of moral fortitude. Do X in order to escape Hell, not because your personal passion for God gives you no other choice. Going to Christian elementary & mid schools, I think I was fed (or it was intended that I be fed, though it didn't stick) an impression that God finds me despicable, and thus there is but only the most tenuous golden line between being tossed away like the garbage I am, or being "saved" and given the mercy of Heaven even if I don't deserve it. What the hell kind of thought is that? The extension then became, that one must act in accordance with God's commands (aka, I suppose, live an upright life) precisely because they are God's commands, not because of any responsibility to my fellows and also to myself. Ethics and morality traded away for mathematical righteousness. Mind you, I was long aware, even as a youngster after a certain point when I began to think about these things, that this was an idea of Christianity, not a teaching by Christ.
All of this eventually led me to begin to consider what the nature of God might be, and part of this then becomes the discussion of Theodicy, why there is "Evil" if God is genuinely "Good." One might extend the question in two directions (or more, certainly):
1. Why does Satan succeed in foisting evil, if God is actively paying attention and cares?
2. Does God itself willingly or wantonly allow or even encourage evil to continue?
I have my own beliefs about these things, and they are unimportant for this particular stream here.
But a book that is an excellent playground for all of this, and a fantastic read in general, is Blameless in Abaddon by James Morrow. A man whose life has been destroyed for no obvious reason takes God to court, defense offeredciphercypher for C.S. Lewis. Now, if you actively hold that the human beast is a hideous blight of nearly irreconcilable sin, unworthy of a glance from God, let alone salvation, except by inexplicable mercy, then you probably won't like or even understand this book. If you're open to playing around with the idea, then you may find it charming and interesting, as I have.
posted by Tyler Anderson at 2:13 PM
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