Post by brythwen on May 1, 2018 1:42:50 GMT
Hi there, y'all.
I've been wrestling with this question since I was small. I am currently revisiting the question as I am working through some struggles in my life. The formal name for it is "The Problem of Evil." It can be summarized as two questions:
1. What is Evil?
2. Why does it happen?
Now, I think most of us can agree that evil is misfortune that befalls the undeserving. But that is a really loaded statement that needs simplification. After all, if you fall ill with pneumonia, I highly doubt anyone can argue you deserve to be ill. It is misfortune, however. Which moves to an alternate possible definition of evil: misfortune that serves no purpose. Back to the pneumonia example, I think everyone would be hard pressed to say that there is a purpose to pneumonia. There are causes, symptoms, and treatment methods, but pneumonia is a morally neutral experience. Thus we cycle back to the question of what is evil?
If we take a moment to pick one of the possible definitions listed above, misfortune that falls the undeserving, for example, and we ask the second question: why does it happen? we run into a few tricky questions. What is the prime cause of the misfortune? Why did it happen to person X? Some of the answers we can sort of point at and say they work. The pneumonia happened because of a virus that was transmitted due to contact with another individual infected. Ok, we have one answer, but it then leads to asking why, ultimately, does the virus exist. Similar questions pop up from other angles taken.
This boiled down leaves with a few more questions that I am struggling with. They are:
1. What is the source of suffering?
2. Why is this the source of suffering?
3. What is Dea's role in the cycle of suffering?
4. How does this impact our suffering?
5. How does one relieve or escape the cycle of suffering?
The scriptures give contradictory indications. It leaves me questioning things more. All rather frustrating, to be honest. (I've been wrestling with this particular question since I was a very young child.)
I've been wrestling with this question since I was small. I am currently revisiting the question as I am working through some struggles in my life. The formal name for it is "The Problem of Evil." It can be summarized as two questions:
1. What is Evil?
2. Why does it happen?
Now, I think most of us can agree that evil is misfortune that befalls the undeserving. But that is a really loaded statement that needs simplification. After all, if you fall ill with pneumonia, I highly doubt anyone can argue you deserve to be ill. It is misfortune, however. Which moves to an alternate possible definition of evil: misfortune that serves no purpose. Back to the pneumonia example, I think everyone would be hard pressed to say that there is a purpose to pneumonia. There are causes, symptoms, and treatment methods, but pneumonia is a morally neutral experience. Thus we cycle back to the question of what is evil?
If we take a moment to pick one of the possible definitions listed above, misfortune that falls the undeserving, for example, and we ask the second question: why does it happen? we run into a few tricky questions. What is the prime cause of the misfortune? Why did it happen to person X? Some of the answers we can sort of point at and say they work. The pneumonia happened because of a virus that was transmitted due to contact with another individual infected. Ok, we have one answer, but it then leads to asking why, ultimately, does the virus exist. Similar questions pop up from other angles taken.
This boiled down leaves with a few more questions that I am struggling with. They are:
1. What is the source of suffering?
2. Why is this the source of suffering?
3. What is Dea's role in the cycle of suffering?
4. How does this impact our suffering?
5. How does one relieve or escape the cycle of suffering?
The scriptures give contradictory indications. It leaves me questioning things more. All rather frustrating, to be honest. (I've been wrestling with this particular question since I was a very young child.)