Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Theodicy

Month, Day: Mercy, Glory (Justice)

Since it is the month of Mercy, perhaps some discussion of evil would be in order. Theodicy is one philosophical way to handle the subject. Related to this subject would be some discussion of God, as some posts in this blog have attempted using the Writings.

Many times, arguments in this regard can be considered adolescent (Ref 1). We might, many times, hear someone say "I prayed and wasn't answered" as support for not believing. The modern press is full of books dealing with suppositions, essentially lumping belief into a type of state of wishful thinking.

All this is very interesting to a Baha'i who is looking independently at establishing a sound BASIS.

As said before, science is public; belief is private, except a lot of religion is public. Yet, the methods of demonstration can differ. That will be one thing to discuss.

A final note of introduction comes from the SAQ #66:
  • Question.—What is the condition of children who die before attaining the age of discretion or before the appointed time of birth?
  • Answer.—These infants are under the shadow of the favor of God; and as they have not committed any sin and are not soiled with the impurities of the world of nature, they are the centers of the manifestation of bounty, and the Eye of Compassion will be turned upon them.
------

Ref 1 -
James Wood, "Holiday in Hellmouth," New Yorker, 9 June, reviews Bart D. Ehrman's God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer our Most Important Question -- Why We Suffer

Remarks:

10/11/2009 -- Will, an operational imperative for science.

05/29/2009 -- The Transcendent baffles.

Modified: 10/11/2009

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