Logic Times

The Problem of Natural Evil, Part One

The Problem of Natural Evil, Part Two

The Problem of Natural Evil, Part Three

Commentary by Aslan, 3/21/06, 11:46pm. Comments (0)

One of the reasons that many young people raised in a religious environment drift away from their faith only to later return is that along with youth comes a feeling of invincibility. It is like a difficult final exam that is weeks away – there is plenty of time to study, plenty of time to do other things before paying serious mind to such a distant deadline.

This, of course, is an illusion of youth, but a powerful one that demonstrates the human tendency to change behavior based upon risk. If the Creator, overwhelmed by compassion, fashioned a world that suspended harm, illness and death for some agreed-upon fair amount of time, then the imperative for spiritual maturation – the need to respond to the unsettling insecurity of life by answering fundamental questions about purpose – would be suspended until one approached this end-of-life deadline. And then, unlike the depth of spiritual development that can take place in an uncertain world, the effort would take on a shallow, compulsory, even frantic, tone, very much like cramming for an exam.

Between the moment that we are conceived and the moment we die, something is supposed to happen, and that something is not simply the biological imitation of plant life – growth, consumption, excretion, procreation and decline. If the Creator has a purpose, then creation by definition facilitates that purpose…and that purpose is inheritance. Just as children do not inherit the wealth of their parents until they mature, so too mankind cannot inherit the wealth of their spiritual parent until we mature. Mature is defined as "The state or quality of being fully grown or developed." Spiritually, man is wholly immature without the test of uncertainty to demand contemplation about purpose and the subsequent moral choices that matter. This moral implication of purpose is developed in the essay Soul-Making, and summarized in this passage:

If courage, as an example, is a desired trait, it begs a question: what is the source of courage? Courage is defined as: "The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery." Without exposure to moral and natural evil, one cannot fully develop the trait of courage. What about compassion? Compassion is defined as: "Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it." Here, too, without moral and natural evil, compassion cannot develop. What about fidelity? "Faithfulness to obligations, duties, or observances." The underlying theme to this trait is a resistance of temptations and enticements to abandon duty. Again without the prevalence of moral and natural evil, the concept of fidelity would be incomplete.

So it is true that the intersection of hardship/evil and free will gives rise to most characteristics of the divine, of a theological sentient.

But the greatest test of uncertainty is not simply spiritual growth, for such an effort by itself is doomed to be inadequate. The greatest test is first and foremost to understand, internalize and embrace the divine purpose, which implies mastery of the greatest impediment to our inheritance: "I." Just as military discipline breaks down an immature, self-centered recruit and then rebuilds that soldier into a part of a powerful team, so too the uncertainty of life breaks down the arrogance of man in order to prepare him for the divinity that lies ahead.

With certainty, there is no knowledge, only information; there is no depth of experience, just instructions. If God, as C.S. Lewis would say, chose to "ravish" instead of "woo," where is there room for anything but compliance? Mankind would neatly separate itself into two groups; a small number of nihilists choosing death, and the vast numbers of sane lining up to choose life, with as much depth as second-graders lining up for a fire drill. In such acts of robotic compliance, there is no need for courage, duty, compassion, honor and fidelity, just an orderly line.

One might ask, "So what?" Why the need for all this spiritual personality development? Here is a reason for excitement. Skills are skills, and if Someone wants skills - if creation is designed in part to produce skills - that means He intends to put those skills to use.

This is not what the problem of natural evil is preparing you for:

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