{"id":62042,"date":"2018-06-16T13:55:34","date_gmt":"2018-06-16T19:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=62042"},"modified":"2018-09-05T09:53:32","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T15:53:32","slug":"a-thought-on-one-small-portion-of-the-theological-problem-of-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/06\/a-thought-on-one-small-portion-of-the-theological-problem-of-evil.html","title":{"rendered":"A thought on one small portion of the theological problem of evil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Hawaii's<\/a>
The lava lake in Kilauea\u2019s caldera can rise or fall in a matter of hours. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image) And its lava is continually flowing into the Pacific Ocean, making the Big Island a little bit bigger every year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most serious threat to theistic belief is the problem of evil. \u00a0If God exists, and if God is both good and all-powerful, evil is difficult to explain. \u00a0Again assuming that he exists and that evil exists, God is either not good or he is not all-powerful. \u00a0He either cannot prevent evil or chooses not to do so. \u00a0(Perhaps, indeed, he even wills<\/em> it.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is a thorny problem, and I won\u2019t pretend to resolve it in a blog post, nor even to resolve it to everyone\u2019s satisfaction in a virtually infinite series<\/em> of blog posts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, I will point out that, in my view, the concept of eternal life and postmortem reward helps to mitigate<\/em> the problem of evil. \u00a0But that\u2019s a topic for further discussion, on another occasion.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For now, I point out that the problem of evil is typically divided into two distinct parts: the problem of human evil and the problem of natural evil.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A response to human evil \u2014 e.g., murders, theft, rape, abuse, cruelty, dishonesty, and so forth \u2014 is possible on the grounds of human freedom. \u00a0This world is not, a defender of theism might point out, the world that God wills. \u00a0And it\u2019s arguably not God\u2019s fault. \u00a0If people followed the Ten Commandments, for example, or lived according to the Sermon on the Mount, a great deal of human evil would be eliminated. \u00a0So long as God permits human freedom, alas, human evil is possible.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what about natural<\/em> evils? \u00a0A great deal of human suffering comes from pestilence and disease, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and the like.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I offer here a brief note on one class of such natural evils:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The principal areas where earthquakes and volcanic activities occur fall at the intersection of Earth\u2019s tectonic plates, which, in their movements, create and then suddenly release enormous pressures and stress and\/or provide seams through which magma can rise to our planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, as it happens, such tectonic activity may be indispensable to the emergence of life in the first place:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

See, for example,<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Earth\u2019s Cracked Crust May Be Essential for Life: Life needs more than water alone. Recent discoveries suggest that plate tectonics has played a critical role in nourishing life on Earth. The findings carry major consequences for the search for life elsewhere in the universe.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(For a dissenting view, see\u00a0\u201cDoes a planet need plate tectonics to develop life?\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If tectonic activity really is essential to life, or at least to complex life, this may be relevant to reflections on at least that part of the problem of natural evil.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the first article, incidentally, you may be surprised at the prominent role played by the film director James Cameron<\/a> (Terminator<\/em>, The Abyss<\/em>,\u00a0Titanic<\/em>, Avatar<\/em>, etc.). \u00a0He is, as it turns out, a very serious and quite intrepid oceanographic explorer. \u00a0His name figured prominently at the National Geographic Museum when we visited it yesterday. \u00a0One reason, obviously, was the special exhibit on the H.M.S. Titanic that was on display. \u00a0But Cameron is actually a serious explorer. \u00a0I\u2019m impressed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Washington DC<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Perhaps the most serious threat to theistic belief is the problem of evil. \u00a0If God exists, and if God is both good and all-powerful, evil is difficult to explain. \u00a0Again assuming that he exists and that evil exists, God is either not good or he is not all-powerful. \u00a0He either cannot prevent evil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA thought on one small portion of the theological problem of evil<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Perhaps the most serious threat to theistic belief is the problem of evil. \u00a0If God exists, and if God is both good and all-powerful, evil is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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