Theodicy

Theodicy is the branch of apologetics which addresses the question of how great evil and wrongs can exist in a world created by God, an omniscient being, and controlled by Him.^[1] Although bad things constantly happen, this question is frequently addressed philosophically in the context of great natural disasters such as the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 or the Christmas Tsunami of 2004.^[1]

With respect to the Christmas Tsunami of 2004 the matter was addressed by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, in an opinion piece published January 2, 2005 in The Sunday Telegraph:

The question: "How can you believe in a God who permits suffering on this scale?" is therefore very much around at the moment, and it would be surprising if it weren't - indeed, it would be wrong if it weren't. The traditional answers will get us only so far. God, we are told, is not a puppet-master in regard either to human actions or to the processes of the world. If we are to exist in an environment where we can live lives of productive work and consistent understanding - human lives as we know them - the world has to have a regular order and pattern of its own. Effects follow causes in a way that we can chart, and so can make some attempt at coping with. So there is something odd about expecting that God will constantly step in if things are getting dangerous. How dangerous do they have to be? How many deaths would be acceptable?^[2]

In the end the archbishop's suggestion was "to listen; and then to work and – as best we can manage it – pray."

That is also why the reaction of faith is or should be always one of passionate engagement with the lives that are left, a response that asks not for understanding but for ways of changing the situation in whatever – perhaps very small – ways that are open to us. The odd thing is that those who are most deeply involved – both as sufferers and as helpers – are so often the ones who spend least energy in raging over the lack of explanation. They are likely to shrug off, awkwardly and not very articulately, the great philosophical or religious questions we might want to press. Somehow, they are most aware of two things: a kind of strength and vision just to go on; and a sense of the imperative for practical service and love. Somehow in all of this, God simply emerges for them as a faithful presence. Arguments "for and against" have to be put in the context of that awkward, stubborn persistence.^[2]

The archbishop's attempt to explain this massive injury to hundreds of thousands of innocent people was characterized as "feeble" by Frederick Crews in the introduction to Follies of the Wise, his collection of essays debunking widely held, but unverified, contemporary beliefs:

...an acquaintance with scientific laws and their uniform application is hardly compatible with faith-based tales about walking on water, a casting-out of devils, and resurrection of the dead.^[1]

However, to those closely affected such a disaster may result in a revival of faith as occurred with some charismatic Catholic Haitians after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[3]

[edit] Notes