Thus I can understand present evil as being used by God as a necessary condition for future good. That does not mean that I can state for many, probably most, incidents of evil what God's purpose may be for them. The standard illustrations cannot possibly measure up to the extent of evil in the world. However, they do demonstrate the fundamental logic.
For example, we are now on the technological brink of having a truly totalitarian "Big Brother" state. Hypothetically speaking, as a thought experiment, it's possible to conceive of how the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II led to unforgettable historical lessons which will forever prevent the rise of a global one world "Big Brother" government which would have resulted in many more and much more intense evils than if God had not allowed World War II and the Holocaust to occur. It would be analogous to allowing a child to fall off her tricycle and scrap her knee at age 4 so that she learns lessons which prevent her from falling off her motorcycle and killing herself at age 24.
Allowing a smaller evil to occur to prevent a much larger evil from occurring is a common theme in Science Fiction. Think for example of the Star Trek TOS episode "City on the Edge of Forever;" which CBS has kindly provided on YouTube for free HERE.
Good rejoinder.
ReplyDeleteCorduan rightly wrote:
ReplyDeleteThus I can understand present evil as being used by God as a necessary condition for future good. That does not mean that I can state for many, probably most, incidents of evil what God's purpose may be for them. The standard illustrations cannot possibly measure up to the extent of evil in the world. However, they do demonstrate the fundamental logic.
For example, we are now on the technological brink of having a truly totalitarian "Big Brother" state. Hypothetically speaking, as a thought experiment, it's possible to conceive of how the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II led to unforgettable historical lessons which will forever prevent the rise of a global one world "Big Brother" government which would have resulted in many more and much more intense evils than if God had not allowed World War II and the Holocaust to occur. It would be analogous to allowing a child to fall off her tricycle and scrap her knee at age 4 so that she learns lessons which prevent her from falling off her motorcycle and killing herself at age 24.
Allowing a smaller evil to occur to prevent a much larger evil from occurring is a common theme in Science Fiction. Think for example of the Star Trek TOS episode "City on the Edge of Forever;" which CBS has kindly provided on YouTube for free HERE.