1. The Problem of Evil, Part 5
I have been exploring the question: If God is good and God is all-powerful, why is there evil in the world? I have found #3, #4, #5, and #6 from the list below problematic. Today, I will consider #1:
It sometimes seems like God is not good or that God is indifferent to the
suffering in the world. Indeed, there is suffering and death throughout
nature. It is hard to reconcile the notion of a compassionate God with the
travails of nonhumans, most of whom die young and many of whom suffer severe
hunger, thirst, or other maladies during their lifetimes and then die
violently. Further, if God cared about the suffering of nonhumans, how would
God permit humans to perpetrate massive crimes against nonhumans? In
addition, humans have caused other humans to experience great suffering.
This has been mitigated somewhat by pluralistic, democratic impulses, but
the decline of both pluralism and the vitality of democratic institutions
throughout the world illustrates how tenuous those gains have been.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, who wrote Why Bad Things Happen to Good People,
reflected on the death of his 10-year-old son, who had a genetic disorder.
Kushner said that, if God wanted his son to die, then he would choose not to
worship God. We might find that we still abide by God’s dictates out of fear
of divine retribution, but this would be an act of fear rather than love or
respect.
While it is possible that God is not good, why would God go to the trouble
of creating and/or impacting the universe? As Christians, we abide by Jesus’
teachings about the nature of God. Jesus described God as loving and
compassionate. As a matter of faith, we accept this depiction of God. Is
such a faith reasonable? As we turn to the last option in the list above,
#2, we will consider this question.
Stephen R. Kaufman, MD
2. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry
We hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter. It includes undercover cameras
on animals stream farmed animals’ POV — author Matthew A. King’s live
interview — more AR philosophy from Tom Regan — former captive Dolphins’
rehab and retirement center — facts about Sheep and Lambs — debunking animal
experiments because humans are not big mice — sweet Gibbon Chloe — poems:
fireflies, frogs, humankind — Veda Stram podcast interview — lactose
intolerance? — beyond leather cruelties — and more....
All-Creatures.org Newsletter, June 28, 2023
Do you have things that you would like to see included? Then send it to us
at veda@all-creatures.org
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank L Hoffman
All-Creatures.org
and
Kindness,
Tams Nicholson
Executive Directress
All-Creatures.org