Evil and the Morality of God (Jewish Perspectives) [1 ed.] 0878205020, 9780878205028

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Jewish Perspectives

EVIL AND THE MORALITY OFGOD by Harold M. Schulweis with a .Fbreword by

ChaimPotok

Jewish Perspectives 1.

Eugene

2.

Sheldon

3.

Harold

rlih aly,

H. �'.

A Song to

Bla nk,

Creation:

i'rophetic

S c h u l w eis,

Thought:

A Dialogue with

a

Text

Essays and Addresses

Evil and the Morality of God

Harold M. Schulweis

Evil and the Morality of God

Hebrew Union College Press Cincinnati 1984

Copyright Hebrew

1 9 8 3 by the Hebrew Union College Press

Union

College-Jewish

Library of

Congress

Sc hulweis,

Harold

Evil

and the

Cataloging in

Bibliograph y:

1.

of

Religion

Publication Data

�1.

Morality

(Jewish perspec tives,

Includes

Institute

of

God

ISSN 0740-1-582;

3)

p.

index.

Theodicy.

2.

Good

evil.

214

19 8 3

BL2 1 6.838

and

I.

Title.

83-1 8 6 59

I S BN 0-87820-502-0

Designed by

Noel

Mart in

Manufa ctured in the Uni ted

States

of

America

Dis tribu ted by KTAV Publishing Hou s e, New

York,

New York

10013

Inc.

II.

Seri es.

To

Malkah and Our Children, Seth, Ethan and Alisa

Contents Foreword by P re fa c e

and

Potok

Glos s a r y

Introduction: Internal

Chaim

Problem

Religious

Conflict

The

Internal

Evil

wi thin

E vil

Cri si s :

th e

I ntrapersonal Outline

1.

The

Drive

to

of

The

T h e r a p e u tic

The

Drive

Tacit

T h oma s ' s

T wo

the

t o b e Pursued

Drive

�

of

to

Be

Known

11

Be

Knowledge

Known

The

Core P re s u p p osition

Dim e n sion o f th e Perfec tion as

Ii

Fiv e

Mind

Principle

Idea

of Vindication

Way s

o f Meta p h y sical

Ideals

23

T h eolo g y

of t>erfec t

Meta p h y sical Good n e s s

Grand

and lor

Th eodicy

37

Knowle d g e

C o g nitive Perfec tion a n d The

of

Drive

Models in

Perfec tion

S i n gle

1

an

Drives

T h e Idea of Perfec tion : of T h eodicy

The

as

The P r e s e n c e

Argument

Co g nitive

Perfec tion

3.

Evil

Con fli c t s

the

The

The

of

Con text of Monothei s m

Know an d

The Twin

2.

v

The

th e

[mitaHo Dei

Vie w B ei n g

Goo d n e s s a s a Whole The Some

4.

Logic

C ritical

T h re e Contemporary T heodicy

of

I n e q u ali t y

Ob servati o n s Ver s i o n s

of Meta p h y sical

C h arle s Hartshorne : Meta p h y sical Love and Meta p h y sical B e a u t y O b s e r va tion s : m d God's

Limitin g

C riti q u e

Po w e r s

Meta p h y sical A e s t h e tic s :

Whiteh ead

H e n r y Nelson Wieman : t h e T h eodicy of Metap h y sical Na tu rali s m

53

C ritical Obse rvl-ltions Pau l Tillic h :

Theodicy and th e Grou nd of B ei n g

Critique B y Wa y of Summa r y: P eak Co g ni tion 5.

T h eodicies of

a

Abraha m Maslow l-lnd 77

Personal God

Personality and Cove nant Relationship Karl Barth: of Job

Yahweh.

Eloh i m .

and th e B ook

Personali t y as Subj e c t B arth 's Use o f Divine Personality T h e Janus-faced P ersonality

Character of Divine

B etw een Man and Man Martin Bub er:

Evil and th e Dialogic Principle

T h e B roke n Dialo g u e Ethical Decision and Absolu te Pe rsonalit y T h e Com p re h e n sibilit y o f God Joh n Hick:

th e P e rson al God of Infi nite Love

C ritical Obse rva tions

1 15

6. Toward a Pre dicate Th eodicy T h e Predicateless Subject Subject Th eodicy T h e S p lit ti n g of Subject and

Predicate

Toward A Predicate T h eolo g y I s Predicate Th eolo g y Subjective? Are th e Predicates Real? Whe re

Are th e P redicates Lod g e d ?

A r e th e Pre dicates One ? Predicate Theodicy:

"Wh y Did

It

Hap p en ?"

From Wh ence Ungod li ne ss? Natu ral Evil History and Evil Why th e Use of God -Term s? T h e Load ed

Selec ted Index

Op tions of Reli gion's Critics

14 7

Note s Bib lio g r a p h y

161 165

Foreword

The

Gothic

gives

word

rise

to

of evil, its re'1lity,

W e need as

God

Harold

li v e .

sin,

makes

misfoI'tune,

a hole in the

th e u niverse th at

dis'1ster.

heart

of

The

the

in

Schulwei s puts it in thi s book

the

upon

pI'esence

believer.

in oI'der to "flatten out the abrllsive edges of life," -- in shor t ,

in ord er to

B u t what are we to make of a God who too often

less del'

to th e force in

"evil" refers

wickedness,

face

them?

of

those

To

deny

edges God

-- indeed, seems

is to open

the

seems help ­

Himself

dooI's

of

the

heart to th e probllbili ty of cosmic indi fference or chaos ; G o d is t o confront daily t h e need s u fferi ng

ma nkind .

Ancient culti c

man

neglect in

his

t h e error

to I'egllrd

WOI'ship of

misfortune

p la g u e that was kil li n g su ffenng, individual

th e rea s on for

IlS

in

resulting

fI'om

ord er to uncover

For th e early

collective, was the

of the covenantal stipulations;

and

affi r m

th e god s and b rou g ht on th e

hi s people .

and

mind

to

A l-fittite king once

the gods.

hard through his records

th at mi g h t hllve an g ered

foun­

to thi s dilemma?

How do we res pond tended

searched long and

to u n d erstand

to

later,

for

I s ra eli tes ,

resul t of violations

the

prophets,

it was

linked to morlll bli ndnes s .

The ancien t s

gazed upon th e world with

o p en ey es and

th e horrors

th at often shlldow ou r li v es .

th eirs

Bu t

wOI'ked;

was

ful

a

when it

and do good," For

SIlW

the

God-filled,

God -dominaterl univer s e:

dirln't, the clluse was clearly

uI'ged

Lord loves

on es . . . .

clearly

the

what

PS'l.lmist, "and is right,

Bu t tran s g res sors

He

you

does

man's.

shllll

th e cos mos "Shun

ab ide

not ab'md on

shall be u t terly

evil

forever.

Hi s

destroy ed .

fllith­

the

fu ture of the wicked shall he cu t off." Between the covenant of sand .Job

years

of biblical

religion.

Moses For

and the cry

of

Job

lie

'1.

th ou ­

th e Iluthor of th e B oo k of

th e cove n a n t a l relationship of reward and puni s hment s eemed to be fu n ction i n g .

no longer

Perh ap s th a t au thor wa s wi tnes s to

the decades of slaughter

visited by

faithful

OI'

to

suddenly sensed

the

ke e n

and

covenant.

perhaps

Syrian

Hellenizers upon

he looked

Ilt the world

Jews with

new ey es and staterl bravely wha t others had dimly

had been fe'1.rful of saying:

God

is no

lon g er hold i ng

Foreword

ii to th e terms of th e covenant .

T h e breakd own of th e covenanta l r elati onship f u nd a m ental respon s es in th e S econd an answer a s s erted

th a t suffering

of covenanta l violations by man , mad e sense ,

a nd

Tem ple p eriod :

(1)

th r ee

t h e Jobi­

wa s not necessarily th e result

th at th e cosmos as a tota li t y

th at th e rea s on f o r th e seemingly indifferent

m anner in which th e good and God

elicited

th e wi cked

are puni s h ed is known to

to us becau se of our finite intelli g enc e ;

but is bewild e ring

( 2) t h e mes sianic res p onse d ef erred to a la ter time th e reward (3)

for ad h erenc e to th e covenant ;

the apoc aly p tic response was

an a s s u ranc e th at in a time soon to com e all would

be righ t ed by

a sud d en catacl y smic intervention of divine pow er into human af­ fairs .

The second

t h e third ty .

r e s p onse became th e h eart of Pha ri sRic Jud ai s m ;

res p onse bec a m e th e d ri ving force of early

Both have end ured

Hiroshima ,

Nag a saki ,

until our

a nd

C h ri s tiani -

time -- until Au schwit z ,

th e g eneral ambienc e of

Dachau ,

seculari sm which

mak es d i sbeli ef an easily acc ep table contem porary position and

a

p o w erf u l ly tem p ting alte rna ti v e to str ained d ialog u e s with a blind ly

puni shing d eit y .

It is at thi s point th at Harold T h i s is

a highly sop h i s tica ted

L eibniz ,

which

work of th eod icy

means God ' s j u s tice) .

Whiteh ead ' s wi s e wa rning :

" S e ek

evil ,

word

coi ned

God is omnipotent ;

d i s t r u s t it . " Much

with cool logic and

God

remorseles s

is

all good ;

God is

wholly

" T h erein li es th e failure of th e maj or traditional and

t h eodicies , " writes Schulwei s .

by

th e very nature of monoth ei s m

we m u s t sac rific e one or anoth er of these conflicting

o sitio n s : al.

Conf ronted

(a

Schulwei s remind s us of

sim plicity and

of th e p rob lem of evil comes from and i t s pos tUla tes .

S chulwei s begins h i s book .

" I t rem ains one of

prop ­ mor ­

mod e rn

th e chief

sourc e s of contem porary reli giou s d i scontent . " I n car ef ul and

sometim es

cated lay man who read s wi th low ,

Schulwei s examines th e streng th s and

odicies of Maimonid es , and ant ,

technical lang u a g e ,

oth ers .

Aquina s ,

Whiteh ead ,

Alwa y s his tone is re s p ec tful ,

weaknes ses in th e th e­ Til li c h ,

Barth ,

Buber ,

his arguments trenc h ­

h i s d i s sati sf a c tion mad e pai n s takingly clear .

l y led

which th e edu ­

seriou snes s ou g h t to be able to fol­

W e a r e pati ent­

to a new possibility in th e way we mi g h t rela te to th e na -

Foreword ture

of

evil

-- to

"The aim," of the cates .

a predicate theodicy.

writes

The critical

question

believe

that

God

you

believe

that

doing

The

of

reside

predicates

form

happ en?"

gard to history,

is

"is not to prove the existence

and

the

(if

not

"Why

of

caring,

caring,

how

they and

ungodliness,

the

admits that this theodicy is not

those

who

are emb arrassed by God

morally

but 'Do godly?'"

where the

not

the

of

"Why did

mean

predicates

act

in

explored

the questions

prayer,

concep ts • for

are

real?);

whether or

the

other traditional religious

didly

w hich leave

they

answer

what

peace

carefully

(are

in a Subject);

is not 'Do

peace-making?'

making

this position are

me?";

of the predi-

predicate theology

the prediclltes

a unity;

nature

and

of

of

for

merciful, mercy,

implic'ltions

the nature

predicates

it

Schulweis,

Subject but to demonstrate the reality . . •

you

terms

iii

with

re­

God and

Schul weis clln­

everyone. "It is for

the theoiogiclli rationalizations

defenseless

and turn

Him

into

less

than a

moral being." One might olution, tellect,

ing

or disa gree

but one wil l certainly be the closeness

search.

quest

flgree

T hi s book is

for

an

of a

answer to

and bewildering

his

problem

of

Schulweis's

taken with

reasoning,

mirror

one

with

of the oldest of

his keenness of

the quiet

modern

religious

of

preferred

passion

res­ in­

in his

mlln on a sflcred

questions:

the

haunt­

evil. Chaim Potok

Preface and Glossary

In

Nathaniel

column

for

West's

the lovelorn

Dear

Miss

receives the

Lonelyhearts

foll ow ing

writes a

who

letter.

--

am sixteen years old now and

I

and

Lonelyhearts a character

Miss

would a p p recia te it if you

don't know what to do

I

could tell me wha t to do .

W hen I was a li t tle girl it was not so bad bec'lUse used

to the

kids

mak ei n g

th e block

on

fun

me ,

of

w o uld like to have boyfriends li k e the oth er girls ou t on Saturday nites, born

but

boy

no

wit hout a nos e -- alth ou g h

g ot but

now

an d go

will tak e me because I was

I am

a good dancer and have

nice sha p e and my fa ther bu y s me pret ty cloth es .

a

and look at myself all day and cry .

sit

I

have

a big

hole in the mid d le of my face that scares people even mysel f for

cant blam e the boys

I

so

mother loves

me ,

bu t

not

wan t i ng

if

I

did

he

do some

old

and

doesnt

sins.

know,

I dont

born

but

believe

I co mmi t

Ought

bad things

I was

My

out.

me

she cries terrible wh en sh e looks at m e .

W hat d i d I d o t o des erve s u c h

y ear

take

to

I didnt

this way.

that

terrible bad fate?

Ii

Even

do any before I was a I asked

Papa

and

he

says

maybe I was being punished for his

tha t bec au s e he is

a very

suicide?

nic e ma n

.

S i nc erely yours, "Desparate"

Social

and

individual

pai nful and

holocausts

leave

in their

profou nd of hu man qu es tions:

wak e the most

"Why us? "

"Why me? " Few

p eople in ou r culture have not a s k ed that very question.

In

aca­

dem ic circles the question

of

evil,

and

in

theology

seeks to ju stify

power

with

s t at ed,

it

and

hold

is

given

subsumed rise

of

even the

a

to

under the problem

theodicy,

that

God's providenc e by reconcili ng

the reality of evil .

the answers seem grab

has

answers

always

His

branch

which

goodness and

The p roblem of evil can be sim ply can

to raise

be put forth simply, still

more

complex

except

questions.

that We

weed only to discover after much pulling that we

v

vi

Prefa c e and G l ossary

h a ve the lon g e s t and far bey o n d theod ic y

the

thickest root in ou r hand s ,

area

in

which it

we are wel l cou n seled

one

fi r s t a p p eared .

by

Whitehea d :

In

that extend s

dea li n g

" Seek

with

sim p licit y

and

distru s t it . " In major

ou r es s a y

strategies

p oi n t m e n t common with Our

with

sou g h t

of Western their

to org'mize and

solu tion s .

own

which

proposal

b elief th a t

for

sows

the

the

of

God

seed s

fel t cti s a p ­

the roots t o a

and

of it s

His

rel:ttion ship

own

theolog ic'll recon s truc tion is

so-called

analy z e the

the wi dely

W e h a ve traced

theological progre s s

with

an d

theod icies

theolog ic a l concep tuali z a tion

the universe

g ra p p le

we h a ve

moral colla p se . of fered

in

the

can be mad e only if we dare

perennia l p roblem s

of reli giou s

thou g h t . Deali ng

with

s ome philos ophic with

this

subje c t

fac ili t a ti n g l ai t y ,

this

and

sort of

ma t ter ,

The b rief

may

glos s a r y

of

nece s s itates

vocabulary .

such

com m u nic ation .

such jar g o n

p rob lem

theologic

For

the

use of

those who deal

tec hnical lan g u a g e is

a shorth a n d

F o r t h e larger au d ience o f intelli gen t

prese n t ter m s

more of a hind rance tha n

which

follows

wil l hopef u l ly

the reader in u n derstan d ing the ar g u me n t s of ou r

a help . assist

presentation .

Glos sary

A l t r u ism - a ter m coined b y Au g u s t Co m p te which has come to melin the

A p odi c t i c

p u r s u it of

Axio logica l

the

good

of others

exp res s ing neces s a r y

-

-

pertai ning

Dia le c t i c - for Hegel , p as ses

to

value

or

as

op p osed

to egois m .

ab s olu te certainty .

and

the theory

of valu e .

the proces s o f c h a n g e i n which a n entity

over into and

is

preser ved

and

fulfilled

b y its

op p o ­

s ite .

Dua lism - the view which hold s th a t two Ul tima te 'lnd irredu c ible p rinc ip le s g ood

and

are nec e s s a r y bad

princip le s

t h a t everything

Emp irical

-

Gr .

is

actual facts;

The branch

the

of Mith rai s m .

world , Cf.

redu c ib le to one kind

emperikos -

E p is t emo l ogy - Gr .

to explai n

-

relating

"ex perienced . "

e.g. ,

the

mon ism: the view

of thin g .

Having

reference to

to experience .

episteme

--

of philosophy

"k nowled g e " which

+

logos

inves tigates

--

"theory . "

the orig in ,

Preface

methods ,

vii

Glossary

'lnd valic:li ty of knowledge .

- Gr .

Eschatology

anu

ta eschata

-- "death . " That pA.rt of th eology

deali ng with th e hst thi n g s; e . g . ,

death , heaven and hel l ,

t h e end of the world , afte rlife . �vil

- Some philosophers diffe rentiate th ree types of evil : ( a) Natural evil -- evils which ori ginate ind ep e n d e n t of hu­ man action s ;

e. g . ,

hurricane ,

drou g h t ,

earth q uA.ke .

( b) Moral evil -- evil th a t hu man bein g s ori ginate ; cru el 'lnd unj u s t thou g h t s and deed s . ( c) Metaphy siC'll evil -- evils ori ginating in con sequence of t h e finitude and limitation within th e created universe ; e . g . , it is in th e na ture of thi n g s th a t lions are carnivor­ ou s and lam b s herbivorou s .

Hypostati s

-

A Greek

word si gnifying th a t which stand s under and

serves as a s u p p ort . Monism

- ( Greek ,

sin g le) - th e view th a t eve ry thi ng can

mones

be reduced to one singul>l.r ki nd of thi n g or th at one pri nci­ ple of ex planA.tion ( e . g . ,

materiali s m or spirituali sm) is

su fficient to explain everythi n g .

Noetic - those concepts conceived by reason alone . Those aspects of re>l.lity knowi\ble by reason .

Ontology - ( Greek , ask ,

ontos

for ex a m ple- ,

o f God ,

=

b eing , and logo s

=

th eory ) - wh e n we

what is the ontological statu s of th e idea

we inq uire wh ether God is reA.I or illu sory ,

wh ether

it depen d s upon ou r mi nd or exi s t s ind e p e n d e n t of our mind .

He i fy - to re g ard som ething ab s tract as a concrete or material thing .

Teleology - Gr . telos view

that

-

"end ,

holds the

goal"

ually th e th e

defense

fa c t

of

of

evil .

logos -- "th eory . " The

universe to be designed.

T h eo d i cy - Gr . theos -- "God " of

+

Go d ' s

Cf .

+

dike -

-

goodne s s

ju d g me n t , ju s tice . " U s ­ and

an t hropo d i cy

--

ju s ti c e in th e

face

th e defe n s e of

man' s capabiliti es to will, ac t , smd know in th e face of evil.

Introduction: The Problem of Evil

as

an Internal Religious Conflict T rue dep t h s of' tragedy become ap parent when two e q u a lly div i n e prin ciples co me into conf'l i c t . --Nicholas 8erd yaev We h!lve come to know thin g s "so unh eard of and so st!lg g eri n g th at the question of whether such thin g s are in any way reconcil'lble with th e idea of

'1

good God has become burni n g ly topical .

no lon g e r a prob le m for ex perts in th eological seminar s ,

It is

bu t

a

u niversal reli giou s ni g h tmare . ,, 1 Jobian boils have reapp eared in ou r time s more ma s s i vely spread th an before . for ters ,

not Job ,

It is now th e com­

who feel con s t r9.i ned to place their hands upon

their mou ths in disbelief . T h e los s of faith in a benevole n t ,

provi d e ntially directed

u niverse remain s a major concern of cont e m p orary th eologia n s .

No

one can doub t th e multidetermined cau s e s of th e colla p s e of faith i n tran scendenc e .

But typ ically th ey are traced to factors ema n ­

a ti n g from sou rc es ou tside th e circle of faith .

Afte r-th e-death­

of-God ( post-mo r t e m dei) analy s e s poi n t ou t w a r d s to Copernican as tronom y ,

Darwinian biology ,

Freudian metapsychology ,

i deolog y , high e r biblical criticism ,

Ma rxist

and tech nocra tic cul tu ral

bia s e s as th e ex ternal forces leading to modern di s b eli ef . 2 Far les s atte ntion is paid to the internal cri s e s dwel li n g within th e ma trix of monotheistic fai th s ,

sp ecifically those th at are en­

g e nd e red b y th e p rob lem of e vil .

These are more devas tati n g to

trllditional fai th th an th e challe n g es from withou t . 1 T h e implosion sparked by th e holoca u s tal events of ou r century has exposed seriou s cr'lcks within th e monoth eistic faith system itself . Not tha t th e ou tcry of in nocenc e in th e face of genuine evil is new . B ut the cultu r'll en viron m e n t in which it is heard is ne w .

In a

tr'lditional society th e mu rmu ri n g s of Job could be smothered by th eodicies attrib u ti n g hid d e n si ns to m'ln and inscrutable ways to God .

I n a society op e n to oth er alte rnatives besi d e s ac quiescence

1

2 to

Evil the

mystery

of

and

God's

the

ways

Mora li t y

and

of Go d

promises

of

a

happy

epil o gue,

repressed resent m e nts ag'linst traditional theodicies burst out a­ fresh.

There is nothing

new under the sun except the changing

bience itself. The spirit of for

old

reason

for the

breakdown

"Modern

resents originality cisive

culmination

tion. ,,4 T he

God

lent cient

is

problem.

pO S iti on s

examined

of

but

of

questions

process

of

of

seculariza-

created

by

of tr'ldition'll

questions

appear

condition

written, "rep­

a benevo­

'111 being is indeed

scaffolding

old

has

of surprise but as the de­

long

ground

familillr

enabling

Marty

in a universe

evil

single

the

Martin

century's

a

the

The

old

faith

not in the sense

surrounding the

conditions,

has fll llen.

new and

old

is not must

8.nswers

Under

answers

8.lone

he

which

to

the

paid, but

theodicies

collapse

to

the

offer

of the

structure

seem

so

scaffolding itself.

beside

that at­

do the

Why

the

point,

appear

so strained?

Is it simply the com pl e xit y

problem

of evil

which

to

sensibility? by

Brand

theology

will

in the

Our

focus

to

me

'm

logic, is

8.S

of innoc e nc e.

destruction

call good

seems

Blllnshard

seems

mu ch

bility, as

mlln?,,5

such

rnust be re­

they

do

an­

an

presup­

anew.

It tention

in

unbelief,"

presence

who

provides a new atmosphere

We understand secularity to be not the sUbstantive

doubts.

of disbelief.

secularity

am­

Deity

the conscience of

modern

has written,

"the treatment of

evil

intellectu>ll

disgrace. "

Moral sensi­

against such rationalizations

anyone

can

he would

of

regard

moral

failures

in

the

defense

of

the

clelln conscience as intensely

ree x a m inatio n of tr adit i onal Ilnd modern

up on

why

embarrass

" How

what

Ilnd

of the

of

evil in

theodicies

God.

The Internal Crisis: The Presence of Evil For post-Holocaust spirit

of

belief.

sec ularity

of

the

'Inworldly

categories

process

have

The postwllr

cosmologies ural,

man,

of

not

progmm

reconciliations

touched

of

the

Greek

activity,

metaphysics

-- none

of

with the

rllw nerve

of

modern

un­

demythologizing the prescientific

biblical testaments,

divine

philosophy

theological

the with

these

the exorcism

replacement those has

of

of

of sllpranat­ the

static

existenti'llism

dispelled

the

or

Nietzschean

Introduction m ood

wh ich

r e m ai n , been li e s

cli n g s

to

w e l l af t e r

called

off .

T h ree touc h ed

Could

lie

it

wi t h i n

evil

e p oc h s

of

the

cla s s i c

relation s h i p

ref e r s

w i t hi n . " log ical e vil

to

Buber

d raw s

i n its

d e p th

s u r rou nd ed

of

is

crisi s

b rou g h t

ma n

th e

by

th rou g h

to

th e

soul' s it s

th e

th e

and

u nb eli ef

of

eac h

th e

th e

u ni v e r s e

tradi ­

oth e r , In

u ni v e r s e ,

which

the

of

Marti n

"break s

i nt e r nal collap s e

and

have

reviewi n g

d i s solu tion

ex p e ri e nc e of

d ep th

up

from

of cosmo­

p robl e m

th rou g h

it s

of

feeli n g

u ni v e r s e . ,, 6 T h i s i n t e r nal forr.1

a divid ed

wit h

of

mark

has

it s elf?

problem'l ti c .

whi c h

th e

th rou g h

contrasted

ab ou t

of

at te n tio n

and

of b e ing

i nde p e nd e n tly

b et w e e n

"t h rou g h

i r ri t a n t s

monoth e i s m

i nter nal

i nc reduli t y reli gion

th e locu s of

major

of

and

sc i e n c e a n d

that

th e

homele s s n e s s

th e image

s e curity

th at

corp u s

maj or

a

th e

Sub e r

th e n ,

writi n g

as

man' s

be

Di s e n c h a n tm e n t

b e twee n

be,

th e

au t h or s ,

upon

warfare

Could it

els e w h ere?

tio nal f'lith

mod e r nit y .

th e

3

b reakup

of

th e

ex t e r nal i m p ac t o f

u nifi ed

th e

u ni v e r s e

s c i e n tific

cos-

mos . Hans and

Jonas

Heid e g g er' s

t e m p orary g nostic

p h y sical It i s

at

p h y sical

t e ri z e s

to

ou r

was

th e

in

Yet ,

th ree

telli n g not

an i nt e r nal

fact

by

reconcili n g

three

can

th e

"it

nihili sr.1

of

th e

that

"the th e

b ef o r e

such

a condiim piety

sci e n c e

and

same

ki nd

in

of

p rovid e nc e

World th e

by

wi t h

cata s t ro p h i c

t h a t charac ­

g n o s ti c i s m . 8

Fir s t

rej ec tion of

era

th ou g h t and

a q u e s ti o nn ai r e

but

sec u-

C h ri s ti a n

s c i e n tific

th e

co n ­

th e

cosr.1ic

th e

evid e n t of

of

nec e ssarily

u ni v e r s e "

ar g u m e n t s ,

th e idea o f

citati o n s

was

" t h eir

scientifi c

th e

of

results

work e r s

of

g no s ti c i s r.1

between

not

create

mode r n

ar g u e s ,

is

cau s e of

c e n t u ri e s

re s e m b li n g

repor ted

in

T h e kinship

that

whi c h

to lay

Jonas

German

i m p e rf e c t i o n All

concl u d e

alone

co n t e m p orary Web e r

motivated

c u l ty and

to

s p iritual d e nud ation

thou s a nd s of

d i sclosed

by

any t h i n g

both

"an t h r o p ological ac os m i s r.1 "

th e f e e t of dep e r s o nali z i ng

s c i e nc e .

Max

him

th e fir s t

devoid of

d evaluati o n o r

existe n tiali sr.1 .

sim p ii s tic

Clearly ,

an i n t e r nal confli c t

th e

science

too

ali e natio n

were

and

te m p er lead s

mod e r n

and

form o f

nihili s m

t i o n . ,,7

lari t y .

sug g e sts

War .

It

God-id ea

their

the

sub r.1it ted

diff i ­

i nj u stice

social order . ,, 9 ref e r

p roblematic

and

to

cri s e s

of faith

sp ecifically

by

brou g h t

th e

ab o u t

ex p e ri e n c e

of

4

Evil

evil .

Yet ,

i t s eyes

fo r

Ii

an d

the

M o ra li t y

vari ety o f reason s ,

elsew h ere t o sellrch

li g iou s break down .

of G o d

con tem porary th eology cas t

for th e cau s e Ilnd

In this it wa s

mi sled .

rem ed y of th e 1')­

For most p eop le,

the

b reaking point o{ traditional monoth eistic beli ef l i e s not i n Da rw i n

or Ein s t ein,

but

in

Dac h a u

an d

Hi ro s h im a .

If t h e earthquake a t Li sbon in th e eigh teen th century could have sh a k en th e op ti mism o f m'ln ,

what should be ex p ec ted

from th e

wides p read holocllu s ta l ruins of t he twentieth in which th e d es tiny of others th reatens ditional

faith

d u c t as itou s

th orou g h ly as

evil .

an d

aspect

of

religious belief

and

con-

th e on e fell blow from th e ham mer of gratu ­

Th e fou n d a tion and

fai th are jolted : meaning

to become ou r ow n ? N o challen g e to tra­

attacks every

su p er s truc t u re of mon o th eis tic

th e rellli ty of th e attribu tes of divinity ,

of providen c e and

histor y ,

th e

th e si g n i ficance of miracl e ,

th e relevan c e o f prayer a r e all shaken b y th e at tack.

jarri n g mold .

p resenc e of evil threaten s Its

The

th e unity of th e monotheis tic

theodicies ex pose b rood i n g duali s ms too con trary to be

reconc iled by th e dialec tic of paradox and Ap p eali n g

to God's mys terious

il l usionment born of th e sha t tered

wa y s

polarity . will not a s s u a g e th e dis ­

promise of th e governing

mor a l

G o d o f t h e B i b l e a n d li t u r g y .

Tillich h a s ad moni s h ed con t em por­

ary th eologian s

''b ou ndary

th a t people in

situ ation s " will not ac ­

c ep t th e esca p e into th e di vine mys tery in view of th e daily p erience of th e neg ativity of exis tenc e .

refu s es

ex ­ to

such existential questions, it has neglected its ta sk . ,,10

answer

T ha t th eology

can

no lon g er

ad d res s its cla s sical th eod icies to

t h e su r vi vors of th e Holocllu s t need of God .

It may

h ellr t of

by

no mean s

su g g est tha t tradition has u p h eld

imllg e of divi nity .

a new

"If th eology

Out

traditional

s p el l the death an inad eq u a te

of th e i nner con tradictio n s teari ng at th e

faith, as revealed

by the experience of evil,

incent ive fo r th eological recon s t ruction may

be born .

Two

or mo re conflicti n g idea s ru bbed to g et h er in op position ma y kindle n ew ener gy

for reli giou s renewal .

This new pow er is

t h a n th e force o f ex treme d es p ai r , can hllve

li fe ,

but

one

of

two resul ts:

"noth i n g les s

a d es p ai r so elem ental th a t i t the

sapping o f

the

last

wil l of

or th e renewa l of th e soul . ,,1 1 T h e evil w e h a v e witnes s ed is radic al .

No patch work will cover

5

Introduction

its

agony .

Theology

or

disc over

within

one,

::It any

will either

end u re

the catastrophe a

r::lte,

which is

the

pain

God ' s

of

death

truer im a ge of His divinity

worthy

of belief.

Evil within the Context of Monotheism We propose to examine respond

To

do

convincingly

so prop e rl y

p re su p p osition s ers

of th e

req uires

prob lem of

h a ve ten d ed

fai th

context.

Given pose

of

ex tricated

ad hoc

3.

Evil ex is t s .

and

th e

deeply

whole

org ani s m ,

as if it

stoo d

fait h . hel d

solely wit h

domai n ,

led

God's

of

to pro­

"omni p o ­ re­

faith ,

ma n y

corpus of monothei s m . of

of

have

the believer

seg reg a ted

the problem

divine perfection

Like the caricatured

to

the

theodicy

with

i g nore the holi s tic

th ose maladies falling

on

is

moral con notation s .

( Ca s sirer )

ideals

writ e r s

u n related

combination of

ou t t o be more

th e body

re m aini n g

They

wit h ou t re gard

many

a

ob li viou s t o the con sequences

the di ssa tisfa c tion

monothei s tic belief .

cialist concerned

from

"lo g odicies "

c h arac t e r of monoth eistic

tu r n

nor mal

defe n s e

for the

wider

"Good" and "evil" are given

their

p roble m a tic their

sol u tion s

T heir

predicate s .

"freedom "

from

its

reduced to an

philosophical theodicy

understood.

cannot understand

th e

from

false .

God is omnipote n t .

solu tion s .

the

third

God is all-good.

their

p a r ticular

the

1.

T hey

make up

of those critical

philosophers of reli ­

2.

quite diffe re n t

o f evil from

of evil

qualific a ti o n s of key

t h eologia n s u n d ertake of their

and

the

problem

times .

provide th e paramet­

within three propositions,

stricted than initially

Ha vi n g

which

the problem of evil is

ren d e r s

"omniscience , "

mean i n g s

fait h

Theologia n s

Frages t e l lu ng,

a

sema n tic

tence , "

evil .

Logically,

which

such

theol ogic al analy sis

to isolate

alleged contradiction

two

the Jobian distress reborn in ou r

to

of monothei s tic

gion

any

the failure of traditional theodicies to

which

medical spe­

within his

treatm e nt's ef fect on treat

the

problem

the

of e vil

to the or g anismic com plexity of monoth eistic

6

E v il an d th e Mora lity of God

faith .

Theological surg ery is performed

th e corp u s of a n or g a nic faith

p a ti ent of th e los s es h e h a s s u s tai ned Toulmi n has ob served

and p a r t s removed from

withou t informi ng

by s u c h correction.

th at ove r ma tters of

fai t h ,

li eve or disb eli eve i nd ivid ual p r esu p p o sitio n s : j e c t s com plete

th e beli evi n g

one does

S tep h en not b e­

one acc ep ts or re­

notions , 1 2

Intrapersonal C onflicts E xtimi nation of the constitu e n t ele m e n t s of monothei sti c faith i s n e c e s sary if we a r e t o grapple with t h e i ntra p e r sonal charac t e r o f th e problem of evil.

Unli k e m a n y oth er prob lema tic area s ,

as if it were an i nter p er ­

p roblem of evil cannot b e u nd er s tood

s o nal conflict b e t w e e n t w o or m o r e p e r s on s . e x a m ple ,

to th e sep arate back g rou nd s ,

t h e Jobia n confli ct em erg es

from

b ack g rou nd

ex plai n the inner d iscord

In contrast , th e same p erson.

No alien beli efs or

rai sed b y hi s exp e ri e n c e of

from a n ex cess of pref er ­

from a n affirma tion o f id eals inh erited

beli ef which are u p h eld j oi ntly and

tem p erament s ,

parti es.

within on e and

Th e tension ri s es from wit hi n ,

a s s a u l t of evil ,

He trac e s the

interests ,

Hi s beli ef s and attitud e s are of one piece .

enc e ,

Stevenson , f o r

divid e s inte r p ersonal ethical confli c t s i nto d i s a g r e e -

and i ntel lectual capacities of contend i ng

evil.

L.

C.

m e nt of b eli ef a nd d i s a g reeme n t of attitud e s . 1 3 c o nf li c t s

th e

from

sim u l ta n eou sly.

the u nity of fai th falls apar t .

traditional B efore th e

To attack

th e

p robl e m of evil without relati ng it to th e internal matrix of holi stic faith is c r etenes s.

to fall prey

p o sition s of monoth ei s m a nd

shap ed

by

which have colored

th e p roblem of evil

th e th eod icies of tradition.

A r thur Lov ej oy , cau tioned

to the fallacy of mi splac ed con ­

Theological a naly sis cannot i g nore th e maj or presu p ­

in hi s ma s terf ul

T h e Grea t Chain of Being,

th a t th e d oc tri ne s or te nd e ncies which are d e si g nated

- ism and -ity suffix es pres ent only an ap p earance of si ngle­

ness and

id enti t y . 1 4 S uc h ad mo nition is particularly applicable

in th e ca s e of monoth ei s m ,

whose highly com plex faith contai ns

d i s p ositio n s and clai m s d eri ved from a vari ety of biblical a nd p hilosophi c traditio n s .

Philosophers and

theologia n s have noted

7

Introduction

the

diverse

ment

strand s

throu g h

th e

of th eology

whole

church

fa t h e r s

has

tra n s lated

that ever

of th e

F.

G.

to

of sim plicit y ,

what

exte n t

c e n tury ,

unity ,

thi s

ou g h t to be

(e. g . ,

attem p ted ,

Bultman n ,

Tilli c h ,

wh a t app ears

whom

all sor t s

moral ,

rem ai n s

t o be

with

th e

principle

the

For

th e

evil ,

p erfec tion , es

ably ,

tha t

seemi n g

which

in

c om p elle d

"the

th e

however ,

toward

problema tic th e

bet w e e n

si n g le

of evil

wi t h

th e

me ta p h y sical or

excu l p a tion

exp e n s e

arou n d

th e

that

re veals

govern

th e conc e p tualiz a tion

tacit

th e unarticulated ap p ea l .

d e fe n d s Each

th e

exp os-

.

a

major

a s p e c t of is

to b e

th e

more

th a t

th e

arg u m e n t s

aspect

of the

God-i d e a .

precon c e p tions

hold s i n

Invari-

typ e of th eodicy

A

the may

th a t

typ e s o f monoth e i s ti c

di sc over

uneasy

which

C h aracteri s tically ,

of perfe c tion

maj or

val-

s t u d y o f th e ­

p r e su p p os i tion s o f perfec tion

I n com p a ri n g

whic h

C ll te gori e s

to

vital part of monotheistic

exclu d e d

th eological a naly s i s

of monothei s m

meta p h y s i ­

which

th e moral i d e a .

of God

of anoth er .

to dive s t it s e l f of some

It i s

th e

G o d li e s a

b ri n g s

cou n te rar g um e n t s o f th eodicy a r e c e n tered .

b ib li cal

R.

monotheistic claim to divine

and

th eodicies ,

H.

of valu e

to p rod u c e an apolog etic

odicies

to

to

eit h e r one or ano t h er pole of th e idea of

eith e r

at th e

rei g n i n g t o th e

id eal .

is

God

of being i s i d e n ti-

ued

th eodicies

has i nh e r ­

of a si n g le

p rinciple

b elief i n ord e r to prote c t wh a t it con siders

it

theolog y

meta p h y sical and

p ri n ciple

and

harmony

th e

th eolo g y

th e attem p te d

p e rfec tion

con c e p ti o n

asc ribed

challen g i n g

for c e s

its bias

p erfec tion :

bib lical reli-

a c e n tral i s s u e in

of perfe c tion ,

of valu e

bib li c a l attrib u t e s

late n t d i s s o n a n c e for e .

with

and

of b e i n g . ,, 1 5

Beneath c a l and

succ e s s fu l ,

The ideal of radical monotheis m ,

affir m s

principle

is

monoth eism ,

a seamle s s

adh ere .

Ni eb u h r explai n s , fied

incom preh e n sibili t y .

Hartshorne ) .

of at trib u t e s

properly

is

spirituali t y into

and

tra n s la tion

T h e con temporary b e li e v e r in ited

for one ,

sc ri p tu ra l philos o p h y

w h e t h er alte rn a te metaphy sical correlation s g ion

Moore ,

of com mit­

since P hilo of Ale xandria an d

second

th e bib lical notions o f God ' s

m e t a p h y sical i d eas W h e t h er an d

we ave a network

of monoth ei s m .

not alone in con t e n d i n g the

whi c h

har n e s s

th e

strai ne d

nerve

metaphy sic'll and

E v il and the Mora lity of God

8

But the situation prove s more complex . m e r g ed a ted

tradition s have been

theod icie s ,

pulled

apar t ,

E v e n af ter the two

eac h forming ind i vid u ­

the Job ia n alarm i s not sil e nc ed .

a r g u e th rou g h ou t ,

a crucia l moral ideal of

h e r e s to b oth th e meta p h y sical a nd

For ,

a s we

p erfection which ad ­

personali stic th eologi e s i s

forced t o b e sac rif i c ed i n t h e cou r s e of their j u s tification . b ib lically ori e nted of

personali stic theod icies ,

God's good ne s s i s cata pulted

h e n sio n .

to a poi nt beyond

I n metaphy sical theod icies ,

ou t of its moral connota tion .

In

the moral meani ng hu m a n com p r e ­

God ' s good ne s s i s qualif i ed

In effec t ,

eac h th eod icy req uir e s a

s acrifi cium morali s . Therei n li e s the moral failure of the maj or traditional a nd

mod e r n theod icies .

It remai ns one of the chief

sourc e s of contem porary reli gio u s d isconte nt .

Outline of the Argument to be Pursued I n the op e ni n g cha p t e r we tu r n to i nterests of

some of the maj or mo tive s and

homo religio s u s which i nform the affectively lad e n

i d e a s of divine p e rfectio n . W e id entif y and basic reli g iou s need s as k now n . "

charac teriz e two such

"th e d rive to k now " and

These motivati ng d ri v e s a r e the sou r c e s of two different

i m p licit id eals of

perfection .

The la t te r fi nd

f ulfillme n t in the metaphy sical a nd p erfectio n .

In

their re s p ective

personali stic id eas of divine

C ha p t e r 2 we examine

some of the mul tiple f u n c ­

tio n s of t h e p erfection parad i g m s i n selecti ng , g rad i n g

"the d rive to b e

the attrib u t e s of divi nity .

or g a niz i ng ,

a nd

We foc u s upon two maj or id e a s

o f divi ne perfection which sha p e t h e c harac ter of metaphy sical a nd

p e r s onali stic theologies and

theod icies .

I n Cha p t e r 3 we analy z e some of

the cla s si c positions of

metap h y sical th eodicy as rep rese nted b y Maimonid e s , L eib niz .

Thi s is followed in

conte m p orary

meta p hy sically

a uthors of p roc e s s , p hi e s :

ori e nted

naturali stic ,

C harle s Har t s horne ,

A com m o n th read

Cha p t e r 4 by

theod icies rep r e s e nted b y

a n d exi stentiali st philosoand Paul Tilli c h .

th eir j u s ti fications of evil .

pite t h e d iff e r e nc e s betwee n them , m e t a p hy sical ideal of

and

an exami nation of thre e

Henry Nelson Wiema n ,

ru n s th rou g h

Aqu inas ,

Des­

their tacit com mitm e n t t o a

p e rfection subj e c t s them to a f u nd ame ntal

9

In t ro d u c t i o n

c riticism based upon th eir neglect of the moral conn ota tion of d i vi ne g00dne s s cen tral to the li t u r g y and scri p t u re of the mono­ theistic tr'ldition . Wi th Ch'lp ter 5 we tu rn to th e pers onali stic ideal and its role in th e reli g iou s explA.na tion of evil as pre sented i n some of the rele vll.n t writi n g s of Karl Barth and Marti n B ub el' .

Of particu­

I'll' inte re s t is th e use p u t to the te rm "personality " as applied to th e divine subject b y both thinkers .

In th eir th eodicy ,

"per­

s onality " allows th em to assign a tran s moral mean i n g to "good­ n e s s . " Func tionally thi s a p p roll.ch is similar to th e metaphy sical conve rsion of th e moral con notation of good n e s s , :md se riou s ly 'liters th e ori ginal God-idea to be defe n d ed .

In ou r disc u ssion of

the strategies of personali s tic theodicies we inclu d e Joh n Hick's cont rib u tion . Hi s i s th e mos t com p reh e n sive cont e m porary re s p on s e to th e challe n g e o f evil .

Additionally , it is ar g u e d from th e

tradition of Irenaeu s Il.nd th e E a s tern chu rch , in con tras t to th e more usual app roach of Au g u s ti ne and th e We stern chu rch . We are led to conclu d e that th eodicies typicll.lly dis solve th e p roblem of e vil by blu rri n g th e moral claims of monothei s tic faith .

The failu re of trll.ditional theodicies to adequately re-

fle ct th e morll.l ideal in th e God-i dea which th ey defe n d sug g e st s a ma jor flaw in th eological c0nc ep tull.lizA.tion . ti ed to theologies .

All of the

major th eologies and th eodicies of

monotheis m are subject-dominated . proc e s s ,

Theodicies are

They refe r to a sep arate being ,

or person concerning which speculation s of inte ntion and

power are offered . fe nding the subject ,

Theodicies are thu s as signed the tas k of de­ wh ether characterized as

" I t " or "Thou . "

To s u s tai n th e sovereig n ty of th e th eological subject chA.I­ len g ed by th e presence of evil , are ,

con sciously

or

not ,

th e moral predic a te s of divi nity

rep re s s e d . The need to d efe nd God from

moral criticism le ad s trll.ditiona l theodicies to minimize th e le ­ gitimacy of the com plai nt .

The moral cate gories central to th e

p rote s ta tion s of the plll.i ntiff are shown to be inappli c able to the sub ject . As a re sult of such strll.te gies ,

the moral charac t e r

of G o d i s compromi sed in ord e r t o s a v e th e sovere i g n subje c t . T h e m o r a l connotation o f good ne s s is s u p p lll.nted by amoral meta phy si­ cal or amoral pers onalistic meani n g s . Wha t remai n s ,

afte r th e

10

E v il

and

the

M o ralit y

of Go d

th eod icy , is a subj ect to which a set of metaphy sical and person­ a li stic predicate s are attached b u t removed from their moral m e a ni ng and use in reli giou s life . I n th e concluding chapter ,

we propose an alte r native to

s u bj ec t-oriented theology which would free th eodicy from it s role of ex one rati ng th e divi ne subj ect by d e nying th e norr:lal reli giou s meaning of its moral p redicate s .

Such a reconstruction would al­

ter th e trad itional formulation of subj ect-p redicate relationship s by ad a p ti ng an inver sionary th eological p ri nciple .

The pre­

d i cate s of divi nity are tre a ted as th e prop er subj ect of th eolo­ g y , a nd

God is u nd er s tood e s s entially b u t not exclu sively i n

terms of th e r:loral quality of th e attribu t e s d escri b ed . God li ne s s

( E lohut h) , conc e p tuali z ed i n neith e r sUb s ta ntival nor personali s ­ t i c cate gori e s ,

charact e riz e s th e org a nization of qualities d i s­

c overed in th e tra n sactions of man and societi e s with th eir e n­ vironme nt . We discu s s th e con seq u e nc e s of such a pred icate the­ o logy for th e problem of evil ,

a nd particularly th e character of

p rayer th at such th eological recon s truction e ntail s .

Pred icate

th eology offers a radical alte r na ti v e to th e traditional subj e c t concep tualiz a tio n s of God , o n e hopef ully more re s p o n sive t o th e s piritual sensibilities of post-Holoc a u s t man .

Chapter 1 The Drive to Know and the Drive to Be Known

One can dis t i n g u is h two ways of ap p ro a chi n g Go d;

t h e way o f overcom i n g es t rangeme n t a n d

the way o f mee t i n g a s t ranger. - - Pau l

In

on e

sense ,

evil n e e d

oth ers c a l l evil with

th e objec ti vity

no hellish

p a n t h ei s m ,

nor

ri d

acosmic

s c iou s

di s tortion s universe

" S h a l l we

not

v e g e t a te s b l a m e it

so for

The in

of th e

th e

of rea li t y .

witb

cli n g

mean

as

piety to it

gran d ly

"not

state

of

su fficient [ Na tu re]

and

is

ma y

and

uniquely

something

look its

w h i c h p re s s e s o n

good a n d

which

th'it it

evil u p o n events

To deal situ a tionally

fe r e nc e .

i n v e s ti gation i n to What is

s e n siti z e s

th e

th e inte rior set of clai m s

th e beli ever to th e

faith-expec ta tion s

which with

colors

th e

oth ers

state

find

may

prob l e m

for

us

to

l

th ose

fou n d

"situation "

pas s e s ju d g me n t

re g a r d of

by

of

but

th e i n s c a p e

evil

wi th calls

of beli ef of th e

en tailed

11

for

th at it

Mar c e l explai n s

I t is

monotheism

problem of evil ? p e rc e p tion

"il ­

s e l f f r o m th e ou tsi d e ,

meani n g

th e

not

did . "

By

Gab riel

state s . ,, 2

assigns

ma y

its

at an uncon ­

seeing

prob l e m a ti c

th e

Brah ­

impartiali ty .

that it is

which

which colors its interior

th rou g h

prai s e it ,

never k n e w

of

philosophies

seeing

to lau d

and

so sadly ,

evil

by

Stoic cosmic

fol lowe r s

moni s ti c

e vil

of i n volv e m e n t

of th e b e li e v e r ' s faith

theist .

of

of

for th e

Natu r a li s t s

wh a t dou b tle s s it

presence of

tha t

s omething

an

adh erents

ethical situation o f monothei s ti c belief .

we

of

Disciples

p roblem

What

non-j u d g m e n ta l ly ,

The occ u r r e n c e of evil

prod u c e an guish

p a n t h ei s m .

th e m s elves

l u s ory "

confli c t for th e

wil l it

proble m .

recorded

of a seismo g raph .

wil l create

manic

p re s e n t n o formidable

ma y be ob s e rved a n d

Til li c h

indif ­ for

mono­ which

Wha t comple x of

th e believer cal li n g

12

E v i l an d the M o rality of God

for

th eological j u s tification

i d e al s

of

divin e perf e c tion

f r u strated the an

by

ev e n t s

com posite

units

app reciation

of

in

of the

of

certai n

i n te g ral

n a t u re

ac t s

or hi s tory?

r.1onoth ei s tic

b elief

int e r n al i t y of It i s

t e rr.1i n e s

what

w i t h i n fai t h ,

ed g ed any the

id eas

of

p ro p os e d

divin e perf ection

ju s tific atio n of

ch aracteris tic

i m pli c i t

ou r

to

Whic h

it

SOl'1e

of

i n d i s p e n sable for

is

of

th e

We

evil and

the

d e­

ad equacy of

then

which

"second ary Williar.1

the

whic h

h alf-ack nowl­

tu r n

passio n s

which

seer.1

of

ch aracter o f fai t h

and

a n ticipatio n s

b efore h a n d .

is

probler.1

wa y s .

h Ul'1a n d ri v e s. and

those

b elief s

Analy si s

which d e te rr.1ine

God ' s

id eas o f divin e perfection

r.1onot h eism , "fix

and

the

the

ta s k o f t h eod ic y . evil ,

ev e n t s?

to monot heis tic fai th

req uired

is

and

to

lie

SOl'1e

behind

of

the

form ulas" of

Jam e s

claimed

,,3

The 1\vin Drives Wi t h i n

the

reli g iou s

d ri v e s

i nforr.1

the

p u rp o s e

of

and

d ri v e

the

lit e r a t u r e of

dominant

analysis

they

to b e

ment

expre s s ed

id eas

of

divini t y .

In

one

id eals

r.1ay

k now n .

of

be

d w ell

two preconcep t ual

divine perf ec tio n .

separa t e d

Eac h

re s p ectively in Bot h

rlonoth eism

i n to

d e v elop s

its

r.1etaph y sical

side

by

sid e

the

For

drive

th e to k now

ow n id eal f u lfill­

ann

p e r s on ali s ti c

u n til

ch alle n g ed

by

evil .

g iou s

r.1a n

imme n si t y not ,

I

are of

t h e r e . "4

is

this

obli q u ely

spaces

of

ar.1 f ri g h te ne d , To

be

e s t r a n g e r.1 e n t g iou s

of Pa s c al ' s

which and

for

d ouble form seeks

I

ar.1

th e s e polar

,

ref e rred

ig nora n t a n d

whose

aspiration

monoth eism

Pe n s e e s

to:

al'1

"Eng ulfed

ignora n t ,

as tonis h ed

to b e i g nored

of

alie n ation

God

and

which

in

and

at

aff irr.1ativ e forr.1ulation cog nition of

d ri v e s

are

which

reli­

know

here

two

fou nd

l'1e

ra t h e r

than

expre s sion s in

reco g n i tion

the

the

t h e infinite

b ei n g

is

of

th e by

God .

homo religio s u s

of

reli­ It

of

to ov ercom e .

The Cognitive Drive Kaf k a , e a t of

in

on e of

h i s parable s ,

t h e T r ee of

Knowle d g e

wond e r ed thou g h

he

th a t

Adar.1

was free

to

had

chos e n

ch oo s e

th e

to

T he

fruit o f th e over li fe ,

Driv e

Ka fk a's

tree ,

known by

knowled g e ,

"are

t h e P e r p l exed, S uc h

con sciou s

not

two

for knowle d g e

ma rked

n'lme s ,

th e ori ginal

in

ex p l sti n s

th e

moti v 'l te s th e

to be

primordial

g r ac e ,

or

ends in

th e

for

man .

by

greater

The

drive

atte n tion

as

G u ide of' in

every

thi n g ,, 6

same

emulated

craving

natural li g h t , speculative

for knowle d g e is th rou g h

•

divine

to know

a

major

which

ele m e n t

whether

a noetic

th e

u nion

not li mi t e d

th e

asc e n t b e

with

ma d e b y

m y s tic

of not knowing

goal is

to

dialec ti c

(e. g . ,

To

know

God

is

to

divine

u s e of which

the

a salvific knowled g e

God .

rational

rationa l d emons t r a tion ,

meta p h y sics or b y

the hi g h e r k n o w i n g

plac e i n th e doned

oth e r ,

are

th e intelle c t u ali s ti c

n o r an t i a of C u s an u s ) , achieve

each

wi s d o m

"Wi s d o m

of t h e

for e s h a d o w s

Wheth e r ob tai n e d

and

au thor

fou n d

quest .

reli giou s

th eolog y .

fro m

and

th e ideal d e s e r v e s

reli giou s A

logic

one

li fe

th a t

li fe .

mythic com m e n t a r y is

th e

13

Known

howe ve r ,

chose

write s

diffe r e n t

of itself ,

an identification

p e rfection ,

doc t a ig­ which

fi nd

ma y

one ' s

s c a l a n a t urae, i n an inte l li g ib le universe n o t ab an ­

to cap ri c e . This

meta p h y sical hu n g e r

cal p a s s ion " i nh e r e n t i n

man ,

Tillich

th e

d ri ve

we b e t t e r

to k now

so

th a t

p a s s ionate

meta p h y sical i d e a of God

i d e n tifi e s

this

g ra s p i n g

for

lon g i n g

Spinoz a ,

th e

Evidence

for

tru th

Hegeli a n of

II

its

th e

pas sion

grow i n g

th e

a p p recia tion

for

own

i n t e r p r e t a tions

of th e la ter

p r oc e s s

th e Platonic the

Au ­

si g ­

Prote s t a n t

th eology

may

philosop h y ,

Heide g g e r . 8

Til lich

reli g iou s

on tological theology ,

Til li c h ' s

of White h e a d ' s

sh'lping

th e

be

in

in

th eodicy .

llb solu te . 7

d ri v e within

fou n d

It i s

amor de i in t e l le c t u ali s

nifican c e of th e cog nitive

a d a p t a tion s

role

dri ve for wi s d o m ,

th e for

"ontolo g i ­

charac t e r o f th e

d e fe n s e i n

S toic

itself ,

an

in s e a r c h o f Being .

reli giou s

ap p recia te its

and

as

ec s ta ti c knowled g e i n

eros yearning for th e Idea , g u s ti nian

d e s c rib e s

the bei n g

i m portant t o em p h a s i z e

of

Be

prefere nce which

Adam

of thi s

li fe i n refe rence t o God , "

b ei n g

the

thi s

to

Maimonides' i d e n ti fication o f t w o at trib u t e s o f God .

and

in

Dri v e

Heb raic le g e n d ,

T h e ological for mulation in

was

con tinu e s ,

olcl e r

In choosi n g

and t h e

It

ex e g e s i s An

wa s b u t o n e

gard e n .

Know

of Life . 5

Tree

b lu n d er of man . t h e re

to

But

in

the

and

th e

in

reli giou s theological

l o c u s cl as s ic u s

14

e v il

an d the Morality of God

of th e reli g iou s noetic drive which ex alts k nowle d g e a s man ' s ul­ ti ma te beati tu d e is i n the writi n g s of medieval theology . We cite 'vl:ai monides and Aquinas as two of its clll s sic th eolo gical mod els . For Mllimonid e s , th e imago dei which est'lbli s h e s th e bond between God

and

ma n

is

th e

overflowi n g

tellectual love is ex emplifi ed i n

int e l le c t a

of

God

in

mlln .

This

in­

divine providence which i s

correlated with a n d proportionate t o man's exercise o f h i s intel­ lec t . For

provi d e n c e

C'ln

only

proc e e d

from

an

int e l li g e n t

b ei n g ,

from a bei n g tha t is itself the mos t perfect intellect . T hose creature s ,

therefore ,

tellectual influenc e ,

which receive part of th a t i n ­

wil l become subject to th e 'lc t of

p rovidence in th e same proportion as th ey are ac ted upon b y the intellect . 9

In

th e s e fe w sentences we are offered clue s to th e salvational

role of knowled g e , Imd to th e direc tion which its

im itatio dei i s

lik ely t o take .

U n d e r s ta n ding or wi s dom ,

Maimonides' major at­

trib u te of God ,

fore shadows th e typ e of theodicy lik ely to follow

s u c h 'In intelle c tu a li z ed version of providence .

For thi s 1 2 th ­

century theologian , th e severi t y of th e cal'lmity befallin g th e rig h teou s is proportionate to th e le n g th of ti me duri n g which th e afflicted ri g h teou s were intellectually indole n t .

Man neglects

the ex ercise of his intelle c t and occ upies himself with "th e vile n e s s of matter " ; in so doi n g ,

th e divine influence which guides men and unites th e m to God is brok e n . 1 0 'fan ' s intellectu­

al distraction cau s e s God to hide His fac e .

Con sistent with thi s

rationa li s tic concep tion of God' s provi d e n tial character and man's imitative

goal ,

M'limonides will ex plai n Job ' s an guish

'lS

an

i ntelle c tulli faili n g . While scri p ture ascrib es virtue and up­ ri g h t n e s s to Job , h e wa s intelli g en t ,

Maimonid e s arg u e s tha t nowh ere doe s it say th a t wi s e , o r clever .

" If he were

wi se , he would

not hllve any doub t ab ou t th e cau se of his suffe ri n g . ,, 1 1 H a vi n g ex ercised

h i s intellect ,

.Job

would

eit h e r

have

avoi d e d

some

of

th e tra g e d y which came upon him or have fou n d con solation in the k nowle