RE: The argument against "evil", theists please come to the defense.
July 24, 2012 at 11:47 am
(This post was last modified: July 24, 2012 at 11:49 am by Mystic.)
Going back to the issue of special pleading towards God. I think this special pleading is fair because he has to be the designer of the world. While he must bring about a greater good by designing the system to include suffering, the humans don't bring about a greater good when they don't try to reduce suffering or not inflict it. The reason is because the character building lies in trying to reduce suffering, while the designer has set up the system for us to do that of our free-will. To be an author of good stories, there needs to be adversity.
Now going back to the issue of whether God can create the value of making our own choices in a world where we face adversity, I think it's not simply virtues like "strong will" or "patience", but it's the value of choosing to adopt these virtues when it's not necessary you have it. It's the value of striving yourself, without being forced upon you. In other words, free-will is worth it, and the value of our choices of these virtues are worth it.
We can say instead of value, honour. And it doesn't seem honour can simply be given, but not earned, from what we understand of it.
Now another factor is an issue of justice here. While I do believe God is Merciful and won't torture bad people with flames, I don't think it's fair at all, if all people were born with perfect virtues, when they would not have chosen that themselves and chosen the opposite. I don't find it fair towards the people that would have chosen a higher choice. This is making people whom would have a chose the higher road the same as the people whom would have chosen the lower road. Clearly here there seems to be issue of unfairness. Everyone is been made as if they are the same, with no distinction. While I feel some people deserve to be honoured over others and not made equal to others.
This is not to say, that people in the future won't eventually become all good. It's just that, the honour of the people whom took the higher road, deserve to be higher then those whom took the lower road.
This maybe true, maybe not true. But it's another possible factor to consider.
Now going back to the issue of whether God can create the value of making our own choices in a world where we face adversity, I think it's not simply virtues like "strong will" or "patience", but it's the value of choosing to adopt these virtues when it's not necessary you have it. It's the value of striving yourself, without being forced upon you. In other words, free-will is worth it, and the value of our choices of these virtues are worth it.
We can say instead of value, honour. And it doesn't seem honour can simply be given, but not earned, from what we understand of it.
Now another factor is an issue of justice here. While I do believe God is Merciful and won't torture bad people with flames, I don't think it's fair at all, if all people were born with perfect virtues, when they would not have chosen that themselves and chosen the opposite. I don't find it fair towards the people that would have chosen a higher choice. This is making people whom would have a chose the higher road the same as the people whom would have chosen the lower road. Clearly here there seems to be issue of unfairness. Everyone is been made as if they are the same, with no distinction. While I feel some people deserve to be honoured over others and not made equal to others.
This is not to say, that people in the future won't eventually become all good. It's just that, the honour of the people whom took the higher road, deserve to be higher then those whom took the lower road.
This maybe true, maybe not true. But it's another possible factor to consider.
