Thursday, March 5, 2015

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Resurrection Proves the Case for Christ-Lee St...

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Resurrection Proves the Case for Christ-Lee St...

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: Show #120 "Death & Purgatory" Father Benedict Gro...

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: Show #120 "Death & Purgatory" Father Benedict Gro...

Show #120 "Death & Purgatory" Father Benedict Groeschel CFR


The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For T...

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For T...: The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Existnce of Good God Part (3 of 3) Suffering ... ...

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Existnce of Good God Part (3 of 3) Suffering ...

The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Existnce of Good God Part (3 of 3) Suffering ...: Part 3(3)  Suffering(The Existence of Good God)               What does it all have to do with evil and suffering in human life? Actu...

The Existnce of Good God Part (3 of 3) Suffering www.dpl21.com

Part 3(3)  Suffering(The Existence of Good God)


 
            What does it all have to do with evil and suffering in human life? Actually all people consider suffering, pain , torture , war as evil and all this evil is done by man. To a great extent this creates the misery of living together in the society of sinners and it takes away the certainty and stability of life. The suffering coming from the natural causes like diseases, old age, sickness and death are also part of the evil confronting man after his fall and rebellion against God. It all has to be accepted as part of growing in this life towards complete absolute trust in God no matter what happens. Only this strong faith in God in spite of misery and tragedy will make man strong enough and acceptable to God who is love Itself. 
             Leo Tolstoy one of the most talented Russian writer in his fifties experienced a deep doubt about the meaning of life and felt a growing desire to commit suicide . He was hiding any guns and knifes visible around afraid that he will kill himself . He says that the desire for ending his life became more powerful than his joy of living. He learnt from the simple peasants who lived in poverty but were happy to exist and live. Tolstoy concluded that life no matter how difficult must be meaningful.
         Man according to Christianity has an immortal principle (soul) and therefore death is not really such a great tragedy and horror as it may appear in the eyes of an atheist. For a Christian death is a transition from this life in space-time, into eternity.        


          The Judgment implies  not only eternal salvation in heaven but also the possibility of hell. One cannot say much about the judgment of God.   All knowledge about it comes  from the teaching of Christ who very often  mentioned the reality of judgment and  man’s eternal   destiny.           For many there appears the difficulty to  reconcile the loving and forgiving God   with existence of hell . Hell is    existence  in complete isolation  from God and others  in eternity without possibility of any change. This seems to many  absolutely unacceptable  and too cruel, it  seems ridicules and absurd part of Christian teaching.  How can God who is love and who wants salvation of all men  throw someone into hell  knowing  human limitations  and  mistakes  even when  the sinfulness is  clear  like deliberate murder, torture , exploitation of others and even  intended extermination of millions of innocent people. After all  when Christ was  dying on the   cross did He not pray to the Father:  “… forgive them for they don’t know what they do?.. All this  is true. However  one should not  approach the problem of hell on emotional level  only but try to see facts as they are. Suffering is the very center of the human condition in a world of fractures, conflicts, dichotomies and tragedies. Suffering is therefore inscribed into the very core of human existence. This fact is recognized by most religions of the world and also stressed by the ancient writers like Sophocles in the story of The Blinding of Oedipus. In Buddhism, which some consider a religion, life is suffering and the human soul is gradually liberating itself from it through a number of reincarnations until it attains the state of complete bliss in Nirvana.

           In Christianity man’s condition is infected with evil mainly of man’s own doing. Man is a person and therefore responsible before God for his acts. The objection against existence of hell is based on the unimaginable decision : I want to go to hell and be eternally miserable ! Nobody consciously would make such a decision because he would have to be his own enemy and in love with misery rather than happiness . However every day hundreds of small decisions are made. Those decisions accumulate through a lifetime and they form the character of the person and the direction of life. If therefore man is completely dedicated to the values hostile to the commandments of God and lives in this way for longer time he becomes completely alienated from God. When a person dies in a state of hostility towards God there is a possibility of eternal loneliness and that is hell.


         Christ, the Son God became man to show human beings how to live in such a way as not to end in this final rejection. People do not willingly choose to go to hell but man cannot escape from decision making for to decide not to make a decision is a decision also. God respects human freedom even when it becomes evil. The following Christ’s parables illustrate possibility of hell

 1.The parable of the dragnet, 2. The parable of the great feast and 3. The parable of the last judgment ( which is not only a parable but a description of fact). 

        The dragnet catches all kinds of fish, and the fishermen make a selection. The bad fish are thrown away . 

         In the story about the great banquet a rich man sends his servants to his friends with an invitation to come. But all of them find excuses not to come. One says that he bought a piece of land and he has to inspect it. The other says he bought a pair of oxen and must try them and the third one says he just got married and therefore he cannot come. The Lord of the banquet gets angry and tells his servants to invite anyone and everyone so that his place will be filled with guests. However when the Lord of the banquet observes one who is not dressed properly for the feast he orders his servants to throw him out. There is nothing wrong in buying a piece of land, a pair of oxen or to get married. The excuses however show that the invited friends do not value much the invitation nor do they show respect for the Lord of the banquet. The usual activities of the day are more important for them.

In the story of the last judgment ( Mt. 25) the judge , Christ himself ,divides all people into two groups. The group of “ sheep” on the right. Christ turning  to those on the right says : come you blessed of my Father and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from all eternity – for I was hungry and you fed me , I was naked and you clothed me , I was in prison and you came to me.  And the people ask:  “ Lord when  did  we feed you, or clothed you  or visited you in prison? Christ answers : ? “...Whatever you did to the  least of my brothers you did it to me....”

 
           Those on the left  are  rejected. They did not show any love or concern for others and when they asked  the same question :  When did they not do service to Him?  They receive the same answer:  “Whatever you did not do  to my brethren you did not do to me.”
      The services mentioned by Christ are not  necessarily very spiritual in nature : food and clothing are very material services and  it does not matter  to whom one serves them. One simply helps the person in need without any gain for oneself.  It does not matter  who the person is or what  position he has in the society. 
      In the parable of the compassioned  Samaritan   the same truth is stressed. The merchant did not know the wounded man lying in the ditch . It was not his relative, but on the contrary  as a Samaritan he was an enemy. He not only took care of him but  he took him on his  beast and brought him to the innkeeper , paid  money for the care of him and promised that additional expenses he will pay on his return. .
     God is always ready to accept  anyone  if he  honestly and sincerely tries to turn away from evil.  The father of the prodigal son was waiting day by day  and  searching with his eyes the horizon until one day he saw  still far away  the  son coming slowly   back to him. He did not say anything  but full of joy embraced his son and  told  servants to give him the new robe, sandals and a ring on his finger. There was feasting and singing. The older son  who was in the fields heard  the music  and asked what  is going on. He was told that his brother returned    and father was extremely happy to have him back. The father  knew only one thing : This son was lost and he is found again, he was dead but is alive. It is proper to celebrate such a joyous event.       To the proud Pharisees thinking themselves to be very good people and  having God’s favor already, Christ said that  publicans,  tax collector and prostitutes will be first in heaven. Why ?  Because they repented of their sins and therefore  the first will be last and the last will be the first. God’s judgment  is not   very much like human judgment. 
 
          Man therefore is  his own quasi-creator of his own future and  destiny . Imprisoned in his sinful attitudes man needs help  and liberation  from his condition.  This is  salvation brought by the incarnation of the Word  becoming Man. Christ calls Himself often The Son of Man, because  He suffered  as the Son of Man and  was  identified with humans.  He  became the Savior and Liberator from human  bandage and slavery. Every action of God  towards man  is always  a gift of freedom in some form or another
.
           Evil is  always  parasitic on good . Every being  is  good because it is being  and evil is always some reduction of being. Evil does not  have any meaning by itself. It is always a limitation of   good required by the nature of the being involved. That is why  Thomas Aquinas calls evil: privation of good . Human life  from the Christian view point is  a great opportunity to  learn to  know God  and  strife  towards Him within a  difficult human situation  infected with evil. The personal  God in Christ  became   identical with human beings  in all except sin  and    lifted  sinful   man to the level  of  childhood in relation to God.  That is why  the most important prayer  in Christianity begins    with    the sentence : Our Father who art in heaven…  A Christian  does not  pray  for himself only  but always for his brethren. Suffering and evil are part of  the human fallen condition but they also  can be  meritorious, conciliatory and saving  as long as they are accepted in faith and loving obedience to God. Humans live  in an unpredictable and dangerous universe . There are many tragic accidents, sudden reversals, diseases aging  and  dying. This is not a static and quiet universe. 
      Christ never promised an easy life         for those who will decide to follow Him, neither did He promise that  all people  will accept  His offer of salvation. That is why Christ stressed that anyone who decides to be His disciple would have to carry his own cross in life. 
       The parable of the sower makes it  clear  that    the word of God  is  very often  falling on an  unfruitful  ground : on a shallow ground  where  there are no   conditions for  strong roots  and  the word is wasted. In many  situations  the word is  neglected or simply forgotten.
(a) There is mental laziness some people are so lazy  that they refuse to think. Socrates found this out. He wanted  to make man think , and he went  about the streets of Athens with his questions until man  thought of him as an nasty gad-fly and because they did not want to think  they sentenced him to death. Tennyson in  the poem the Lotus Eaters tells the story of the sailor’s Ulysses who came to the island  where the Lotus  flower grew , Who ever ate  that flower never wished anymore to make any effort but desired only to lay and sleep. In that land  there was always  afternoon. 
   But we are thinking creatures  and not to think is to shut the mind  to God’s truth.
(b)  There is mental arrogance: the man who thinks he knows everything already and he has nothing to learn it’s attitude of the Pharisees  who believed they knew already all  and they did not listen to the message of Christ 
(c) There is mental fear. It is the attitude  of those who deny the existence of God  not because  they are convinced that God does not exist but they don’t want him to exist . In Christianity  it is always necessary to think things out.  It is not easy to be a Christian but unless we go  on to think things out, whenever some storm comes  our faith will collapse.
      Jesus was telling man  to count the cost of following Him.  Mathew Chapter 10 describes  what does it mean to be a disciple . The good ground on which  the word falls  is the person who (a) understand the word  that is  he not only hears what is said  but tries to comprehend it’s meaning . (b) the good ground is the person who accepts the word and keeps it . It becomes  a part of his thoughts and life and (c) the good listener holds to the word.
       Nevertheless when the word falls on a good ground it produces fruit  thirty, sixty,  or hundred percent. The good ground is  the  person who develops strong belief  and  incorporates the meaning of the word into everyday life.  Such person  becomes the light of the world   and the  salt of the earth. The basic vocation  of  the new man in Christ is to be a witness  ready to pay any price  in any situation in life no matter how hard it may be. Physical  death loses it’s sting  because  for the Christian death is  a transition  from the life  in space and time , suffering and frustration  into eternal  presence of God. 
            Christianity is a religion of  resurrection which is the central promise of Christ for all those who decide to follow His teaching . The destiny of man is eternal life  as participation in the life of the  Holly Trinity.
When Christ was teaching,  his  brothers and  mother  wanted to talk to Him.   Christ refused  and  said  those who listen to the word of God are His brothers , sisters and mother. The Son of Man   completely  identified himself with  humans 
Conclusion
                  The answer to the problem of  existence of evil and the good God  can be  summarized    as  follows: God is the Creator  of the universe  which is    precisely constructed, and in the process of which  life , consciousness , personality and humans as  moral agents  appeared. All this was good,  there was no evil at the beginning (compare  the first   chapter of Genesis.)  Human beings  were  given God’s directions  for their  lives. However  they were free  to choose  obedience and loving relationship to God  or to  choose their own way   and  their own destiny . 
 Humans  rebelled against the plan of God.  Evil , deception, lies and murder entered the history of humanity. This evil  gradually became part of the  nature of man  who became  literally a slave of evil and hostile  to God  and His fellow humans. 
 God   did not change the plan for man and  gradually  in  different times  and circumstances liberated man from  physical slavery ( the Egyptian slavery of the Jews) and  spiritual degradation and emptiness. 
 In proper time  God became human in the person of Christ of Nazareth,  who  as Son of God,  and also Son of Man  through His complete  loving obedience to God, the Father  reconciled the fallen humanity  with God and offered through His suffering and death  a new possibility of  eternal life for man as  a glorified image of His Maker . Christ’s sacrifice proved  that God is Love.
Man  is free  and can  reject  the offer of eternal happiness given freely to him by God.  God respects human freedom even  when man  rejects Him definitely for eternity. Man after Christ’s coming  has  the power and the ability to conquer  evil  thoughts , intentions and actions.  However he does not have to . The evil  which man produces  by his hostility to God and other humans  is  existentially final. The above  is addressed  to  people who are passionately  interested in truth and  have the courage to face reality no matter what  and are also ready to pay the cost of being witnesses  to God’s love. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     







 








Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Albert Einstein- How I See the World


The Existence of Good God (Part 1a of 3) The Problem of Evil -L.Figurski www.dpl21.com






There is no question that the most  ancient  and the greatest obstacle  to belief in God is the existence of evil. When it is said  “the problem of evil” it sounds  abstract, but suffering and evil  is as real as the existence of the universe.  Evil seems to be omnipresent and far more powerful  than the good. Suffering and hardships,  man’s inhumanity to other heartbreaks  and  unjust social structures, hunger  and widespread poverty, and other  acts against humanity lead people to the conclusion that God does not exist. One must simply be an atheist.  Where is God? Why God does not care? If God exists then  why He  does not help? The history of this world  is an  inconceivable story, of suffering and death    indicating  the absence of God.  The question must be  analyzed on the existential and logical level , but  one must remember always  the emotional , personal and concrete experience of evil  in individual lives.
 
            Rabbi Harold Kushner in his  book:  “ When Bad Things Happen to Good People”    gives a  vivid illustration of possible reaction to evil when it is experienced on personal level. Although it is impossible to agree with his conclusion , one must acknowledge the fact that  abstract analysis of evil, it’s existence  and  concrete personal experience  are two different ways of approaching the question. When unexpected tragedy strikes in personal life  humans  simply lose their balance and accuse God of  extreme cruelty and unnecessary evil which seems to be  absolutely incomprehensible. This is how people become atheists usually  for personal emotional reasons.                Very often   the problem seems to be beyond solution  because of   false notions  such as : the concept of being , the notion of  God , the nature of man.The plan of God relative to man and the  freedom  of the human being facing God, the  universe and God’s relationship to man. For the atheist the problem of evil  does not exist. The atheist  rejects  any notion of God  and also any  human privileged position within  the context  of the evolution of the universe. The atheist simply  has no problem here . The universe is somehow self-existing, something happens in it, passes away  and that is all.  An atheist  does not expect anything. Any kind of existence beyond  the space-time is rejected. Man is  one of the  billions of entities  of the universe. There is nothing extraordinary about   existence.  The human being  is  thrown into existence. He does not know why he/she exists,  and what for does he exist. Life seems full of misery: aging , sickness, suffering and death. Life is finally  blown  out like  a  candle.   One could  say that man    pops up into existence , exists for a  short time  and disappears. According to the atheist  this is how the things are. Do not ask why, what for, do not  complain or  curse  life and misery because there is no point of asking such questions and   there is nobody listening. The universe is  neutral to what happens, how it happens and why it happens. The immense spaces of the cosmos are empty and indifferent to man.
            This attitude  is a dogmatic and unproved  assumption  of  those  who do not bother  to justify it in any way and  accept the views   of atheism  even if it violates  and  neglects  the   most fundamental principles of logic and experience.
           
The problem of the existence of evil  is only  a serious problem for a believer in God. Not only of any god  like  the pantheistic god,   or the deistic god  or even  a god who  is  on the same level  as the evil god  like  the Persian  notions of Ahriman and Ormuzd. The  God of Judeo Christian theism  is radically different  from any other. This is why the  theist faces the obvious  seemingly  unsolvable  situation, as below: 

1. God exists .
2. God is all good  and  omnipotent.
 3. But evil  both natural and man-made  exists too.
Conclusion: (a)  God  cannot exist.
(b) Either He cannot  abolish evil, then He is not omnipotent, or  
(c) He does not  want to abolish evil then He is evil too.
Our knowledge of God begins with the  surprise  that something exists. It is the Leibnizian     question  : why is there anything at all rather than nothing. The existence  of  any being must be  somehow intelligible to the human mind.  From analysis of a finite being  the mind moves to the idea of contingency  and causality. There must be  one being which is self-existing  that is  existence is  it’s very essence . This way the mind arrives at the existence of  the Prime Mover , the First Cause, and Designer of  the Universe. This is  the philosophical notion of God. The problem of God’s existence  must be separated  from the problem of  the existence of  evil in the world.  Those  are two separate  questions. Quite often  the distinction is not acknowledged . People say   “…    if evil exists God does not exist…” The idea is the following: An all good and Omnipotent God  cannot allow any evil whatsoever to exist. This conclusion  does not follow at all. God is Omnipotent, immaterial absolutely transcendent and perfect. In Himself God is completely infinitely happy  and therefore He did not create the universe, for any other reason,   but only  to share  in some form his goodness with His creatures. Being good  is  always the very root of any perfection and value of any  kind. Nothingness does not exist therefore  cannot be known or created in any way. Even the minimum degree of any perfection or value must be   good and the product of good. Therefore  God being  infinite  is infinitely good  and His  creation  must be good. This is why St. Augustine expressed the question very simply:  “…If God does not exist why so  much good, and if  God exists  why so much evil?...”  God’s perfection and His  Omnipotence enable God to create all finite beings “… out of nothing…” This expression however must be properly understood. It  means  that  nothing existed,  but God the creator alone. The power of His creative word was enough  to let existence be given  to what was not existing.    God is completely happy in Himself and in absolute independence and freedom . It follows that  God did not have to create a universe. He did not need  to call non existent entities into being . Ultimately there is only one reason why  God called the  universe into  existence: to share  in some way His happiness with His creatures. The personal God   let persons be. God being good cannot  intent directly evil  in any form.
3This brings the analysis  to the  important  question :  what is evil?
Thomas Aquinas  defined evil  as lack of perfection which ought to belong to some being. For example   a stone has no vision because the stone has no power to see   and  therefore  it  is not evil but absence of vision in a human  is evil because normally vision belongs to the  human nature. Being is first in existence and evil is parasitic  on a being which is in itself good, but  limited  and deprived of some  perfection. It follows that  God  by creating  finite beings  did not intend evil, however by creating humans, He   indirectly allowed the possibility of abuse of  freedom given to man.  Freedom of choice  is the expression of the nature of man  created as a person       capable of  own choices.
 Without free choice  humans  simply would not be  human beings. They would be  manipulated things only. As such  there would not exist any moral value or responsibility  of any kind . Freedom of choice gives man independence and self-determination. Man can  reject  God’s offer and ignore   God’s  directions.  This is the essence of sin and spiritual decay. It is a positive  rebellion and rejection  of  God. In the first Chapter of Genesis there is the story of  the  rebellion against God. Sin and evil became  part of  man’s existence destroying his relationship to God, to other people  and also making man a slave of sin. Evil seems to be more attractive , more effective  and far better in practice  than  the directions given by God. Evil becomes  all pervasive and  omnipresent. This is visible  in all aspects of human existence , all social systems , even  within the closest human relationships in families. As  mentioned above evil  is parasitic on the good. It  destroys  man himself and       brings death, moral corruption.
  Moral evil  can be compared to leprosy. It attacks  the spiritual life of man and  deprives the person of the ability to recognize the difference between moral evil and moral good. Man recognizes clearly the difference between moral evil and moral good  but  with time  and repeated  silencing his conscience he loses the ability  to  feel the difference of moral activities and  he continues to live quite often in  complete blindness  to the obvious evil in which and with which he habitually lives day by day. Moral values simply  become unimportant and considered nonexistent. What remains is  self-centeredness , self-interest and  the competition  by all means  in the fight for survival and material gain.
Once this happens  man is practically enslaved by  the power of evil and   becomes  accustomed to it. Evil becomes normal way of living.  It is now a habitual way of  thinking and decision making and creating temporal idols in human life. Man loses  the ability  and  desire for change  because change requires an  awakening to  evil governing one’s life. It requires  strong and deliberate decision   to begin  a new life in freedom and according to the plan of God.  But that is exactly  what man does not want  because he does not want to surrender to  God’s will. Freedom of choice  is  like double edged sword. It can cut both ways. However it is the greatest gift  given to human’s by the Creator. Man is an image of God.
 God  cannot  create evil in any way . God is goodness itself . By  giving  man freedom of choice  God  created  the possibility  of manmade evil . This is  why human beings are afraid of their own great calling: to be eternal participants of divine life as chosen children of God who is Omnipotent Love.
Summary of  the above points:  1.God did not create evil but only good. 2.Man as a creature of an all good God was created also good  because  he is called the image of God. 3. Human freedom of choice  is necessary condition  of  being a person. 4.Freedom  of choice  involves the possibility of choosing evil. This is the very condition of true freedom.  5. Man   rebelled against the will of God,  chose disobedience,  and  became  infected with  evil,  hostile to God,  and to other humans  losing  the clarity of vision of his own nature and destiny . 6.     Evil and sin  multiplied and became man’s  habitual way of living. The image of  God became disfigured,  tarnished and   poisoned, infected towards sickness unto death.(S. Kierkegaard)  7. Only God can  liberate  man  from  the deadly slavery of sin.  8. God is the God of freedom and liberty and He respects  the freedom of man,  even   if  man   turns against Him  and can opt for eternal loneliness without God.   9.      God  desires  the salvation of all men  from enslavement to evil.
The real question   is   the co-existence  of evil and God . Usually the   problem  is      formulated as follows:
1.If  God exists  evil cannot  exist.
2. Evil does exist.
3. Therefore  God does not exist.
   Existence of God  is  evidently  proved  by  the  nature of the universe  and  the  demand  of the First Cause ,  the  Intelligent Designer  of  the universe and the First Mover of the dynamism observable  in the world. Those proofs are metaphysically certain on their own , independently on other  problems. Therefore  the problem of God’s existence  is  separate from the fact of the existence of evil. The real question is whether  God  and evil can co-exist. The  answer to this problem of co-existence  of God and evil  is in the affirmative, yes God exists and evil exists too. Why is this  so?
    God being all good  cannot  directly create   evil  but since He wanted to have free and responsible persons  He opened  the possibility of choosing evil. This explains why evil and God co-exist. So  the first part  of the syllogism : if evil exists God does  not exist is  false.
    It can be  asked  why  did God create  the universe and human beings at all. The    answer seems clear:  God did not have to create the universe at all  because being God, He is perfectly happy and did not have any need to create. The motive for creation can  only be love.   God wanted to share  His own happiness with  conscious , responsible free persons  capable of   loving answer to his  love  and  participating in  some way  in His divine nature   even for eternity .  Man’s  personality and his free choices  are the necessary conditions for fulfilling  the vocation  to be a  living image of God. Man is  a responsible  creator of his  destiny because it depends  on the way he responds to God.  This    is the burden of responsibility for one’s own free decisions. Responsibility is understood as  real burden and everyone must try to grow up towards being responsible for his own  decisions and actions. By  decision and action  humans shape their own character . Sadly enough    history of humanity  shows  the depth of man’s depravity.  One would not exaggerate by saying that it is written in blood and horror.  The depth of human depravity  makes man far worse  than other animals. The saying of Thomas Hobbes ”homo homini lupus” – man is the wolf to the other man remains painfully true.              

God’s plan cannot be frustrated  by human evil .  God did not give up on humanity and  revealed His will and plan  for humans.
            Man in his rebellion against God is  enslaved in his own evil and is  inclined to  worship  human made idols which temporarily may fascinate him  only to lead to final frustration.
           

The concept that this life here and now  is destined for  human happiness is a misunderstanding. The problem of  coexistence of God and evil  has it’s roots in 
the fundamental  vision of life, the nature of the universe  and  the meaning and destiny of human life. The adequate solution of the problem is given in the context of Christianity in a very special way. Human life can be understood adequately within the Christian dogma.  The basic errors and distortions enter  when  life  is  conceived as   the time from  conception to the moment of physical death. In such view that is all man is given. It  is all of his existence . Eternity existed before man’s birth,  he lives for a short time  without   any direction or meaning of his life and he dies forever. This creates  the anxiety  and the  fear  which dominates his life. Man is not certain practically of anything at all.  He does not know  what the others will do to him  and  subconsciously  as Thomas Hobbes said, …man considers everyone else as potential enemy against whom he must arm himself   and he is not even certain how much time is left for him before the inevitable death. Man does not put his hope in God  but in  whatever   he can accumulate  of material values , popularity , power over others  and climbing the social ladder . In everything  he does  he wants to be first and he would eliminate anyone in the fierce  fight for survival. Objective moral values in  such  existence  are obstacles to  his success. They would  limit  his  self-adoration and pride. Consequently  man creates his own  values which make it  easier for him to dominate others. The language  of such people  becomes completely devoid of any  moral good or evil . Instead  words are used completely morally neutral such as like  productive, effective  progressive, scientific  and so forth. Man greedily acquires many things not because he really needs them but to impress others with his  possessions   and show that  his material goods  are far better  and more valuable than those of others. For example he would buy an expensive new car not because he needs one, but to feed his vanity. Life becomes  a constant competitive effort to outshine others. It is deprived of honest , true human relationships and  it becomes selfish , short and finally ending in death.

This is the evil created by man himself in his falsely understood  nature of life which  becomes one dimensional , horizontal and ultimately frustrating . The evil  described above  is not only situated in the very soul and spirit of man , but according to the Bible, nature itself, that is the world in which man lives is also affected by the fall and hostility. According to the words of St. Paul: It is yearning for liberation. The universe follows it’s own ways of development from the beginning  and  becomes also a dangerous place  to live in : diseases, old age, all kinds of suffering and the inevitability of death are all part of the human experience.

            If  looked upon in the above described way  the world  seems to be a very difficult  place to be born into and  there are those who accuse  God  of cruelty and  unloving despotism and  hostility to man. In Dostoyevsky’s book “The Brothers Karamazov,” Ivan , the brother of Alyosha    says the following:  “If in this world which you think God made even one small child  suffers and cries  then the world is not worth living and I myself give the ticket back.” There is  seemingly too much  pain   and  disappointment in this world and  many people  lose their faith in a loving and good God . When suffering and pain become overwhelming some commit suicide. As discussed before, God is all good and God cannot directly create evil , and He did not . Evil  originated in the  hostility and rebellion of man against  the plan and commandments of God. The Will of God seems to be an intrusion, and a burden from outside. It seems to suffocate man  and  his imaginary independence  Briefly speaking  God  is not  wanted. For many people God  has no place nor meaning in their lives , they live  as if God does not exist,  and they do not bother even to know  anything about God , His existence and His plans for humanity . The fascination  of  pleasures of this life and their  successes in this or that area  and   the constant hunger for entertainment of all sorts does not leave much time for  deeper reflection and search for truth.  Man becomes deeper and deeper alienated from God and other people  and does not even  question  the fundamental  issues of existence. The evil  perpetrated by humans in history is beyond any description. But man does not want  to accept  the  obvious  fact of  the evil done by  man and  the responsibility  for it . Man blames always either God  other people , the circumstances of his life  or anything else but himself.  The Grand Inquisitor  in his accusations against  Christ whom he recognized in the streets and ordered  to be arrested for creating a tumult  gests more and more excited and finally he completely dumbfounded by Christ silently  kissing him    shouts: Go away ,go away and never come back, never! The Grand Inquisitor  could not  forgive Christ that He gave freedom of conscious to men.God respects human freedom. Man is   endowed with immortal soul and destined  for eternal  life.