Catholics believe that the world was fundamentally and metaphysically created good. [This is opposed to world views (like Maniceanism) that see anything material as bad and see only the spiritual as good and pure. Ideas like this lead to self-abusive behaviors, a disregard for the physical needs (or even the physical life) of others, rampant sexual immorality (because it "doesn't matter & doesn't affect me), etc.] God did not create some twisted, ying-yang merry-go-round world for His personal, sadistic enjoyment. He wanted the world to harmoniously flourish under His loving care. However, among the goods created was the good of free-will [another idea denied by old-school Calvinists and modern members of the "he can't help it because of how he grew up" club]. Free will is the ability of man [and angels, since they are also intelligent beings] to use his rational soul to understand the world in his own way and act freely in that world.
Sometimes it's tempting to think that evil in the world and a curse on all of the original pair's human progeny is a rather rough punishment for eating an apple (figuratively or literally). But consider it this way, Adam & Eve lived in a perfect world. They had no knowledge of something opposed to that goodness around them. The only way they could have free will was to have a choice presented to them that would represent their acceptance of ultimate good (and a relationship with God) or a rejection of that gift. That choice was the tree. Little actions can have big consequences. Saying that God's punishment for eating the fruit is too big of a result is like saying that detonating an atomic bomb with the push of a button is too large of a consequence for a small physical action. Our immaterial, spiritual choices (to reject God or blow up a city) often times have consequences that cannot possibly be measured by physical collateral damage. Welcome to life as the height of earthly creation . . . you're not a monkey with a monkey brain--deal with it.
God didn't (and doesn't) cause evil; He values that gift of free will that He granted us so much, that it would be contradictory to Himself to take it away and make us peaceful little robots. God allows us to experience evil, and He hopes with the ardor of a lover that we will turn to Him to discover a peace that transcends these mortal discomforts and agonies.
Evil is not a "thing" in and of itself. Evil is a lack of a due good, a good that should exist or a good that has been twisted to no longer be truly good. For example, darkness is a lack of light, it is not a corporeal or spiritual something in and of itself. Evil is the root of suffering. Sometimes our own evil actions (to which we have a greater tendency after the Fall since our human natures have been distanced from our intended intimacy with God.) cause us suffering. We chose a perceived good in eating 20 Twinkies at one sitting because we think they will be delicious. However, that taste was not as great of a good as health, and our warped perception of good causes us a stomach ache later on. On the other hand, sometimes the evil and suffering that we experience is outside of our control. When we are sitting behind someone on the Eurorail that thinks bathing is overrated, we suffer. When a large storm knocks out our electricity for a while, we suffer. And when those who have a warped perception of good persecute us for our beliefs, we suffer.
If all of this suffering was merely the bad aftertaste of the apple in a cosmically cursed universe, the suicidal man who decides to shoot himself rather than endure purposeless pain would seem rather rational. But something deep inside us wants to hope. Here enters the Catholic view of suffering [the only understanding of suffering I've found that makes me want to stick around and keep pushing through hard times] . . .
-- Suffering has meaning.
-- That meaning is related to the salvific nature of suffering. [Salvific = something that brings our souls closer to Goodness Himself, God.]
-- Suffering rightly considered is salvific because of the Sacrifice of Christ.
-- Suffering in union with that Sacrifice unites us to God and our fellow man, gives us increased clarity in wisdom and knowledge of the truly good, increases our capacity for love and endurance, and brings us closer to the person we were created to be [currently we are tarnished from the stains of Eve & Adam's original sin; suffering burnishes us.]
More on how all of that works later . . .
Image: http://pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=207&size=550x550_mb&ptp_photo_id=143416
2 comments:
SO good! and i'm in the group! so well said Kelly, bravo!!!!!!
Polar or seemingly contradictory forces are interdependent in nature; they give rise to each other in turn. The classic natural dualities are omniprevilant and representitive. Man and woman, North and South sloping sunlit hillsides (with attention to shadows and their importance), and the unrelenting crest and trough of waves following sun and moon, etc.
Complementary opposites within a whole achieve a higher greatness. Natural God-given balance never exists in absolute stasis. We depend on polarity to achieve place.
I am asking questions always, always. The diction is simple. How?, and then why? You are speaking to those answers with subtle precision. Thanks. I hope you don't mind if I continue reading these posts.
Post a Comment