Poneros

Until I had the privilege to take a graduate level Philosophy class this semester, I was unaware of these two features in the scholarly world:

1. The word "insofar". "Insofar" must be the most popular word among English speaking philosophers. It may even be a requirement that your dissertation has say, 100 or so "insofars" to get a PhD. I have made the discovery into how it is used. You start with a long run on sentence with at least 2-3 words that normal people need to consult Websters for, followed by "insofar" then you justify the previous run on sentence with more mumbo jumbo to create one long head scratching experience. If you can do this, you might just be a philosopher!

2. On a more serious level is "poneros" (Greek for evil). The philosophical world goes to great lengths to try to grasp an understanding of moral evil; it's limits and possibilities. In addition to this I had no idea of the issue that exists between theistic philosophers and nontheistic philosophers with this "problem of evil", that is, rationally explaining the existence of evil with an all powerful, all knowing God.

Poneros can be broken down into two broad categories: moral evil and natural evil. Natural evil of course consists of natural disaster, famine, fires, disabilities, disease, etc. Moral evil consists of wrongful acts and bad character traits of human beings: murder, stealing, dishonesty, greed, cowardice, etc. It is in moral evil that we continually learn of its seemingly limitless possibilities because of our fallen human condition.

Consider this short narrative from Elie Wiesel as he recalls his memory of the first few minutes at Auschwitz in his book "Night":
"The cherished objects we had brought with us thus far were left behind in the train, and with them, at last, our illusions. Every two yards or so an SS man held his tommy gun trained on us. Hand in hand we followed the crowd. An SS officer came to meet us, a truncheon in his hand. He gave the order:
'Men to the left! Women to the right!'

Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion.
Eight short, simple words......I had not time to think, but already I felt the pressure of my father's hand: we were alone.....Tzipora held Mother's hand. I saw them disappear into the distance; my mother was stroking my sister's fair hair, as though to protect her, while I walked on with my father and the other men. And I did not know that in that place, at that moment, I was parting from my mother and Tzipora forever."

This story of pain and suffering staggers the imagination. Believers are sometimes asked to "explain" evil. The major questions that non theistic philosophers bring are summarized like this: How can an all knowing, all powerful God exist, who also created the world, if he allows (or ordains) so much evil to exist in his created world? Why doesn’t he do something about it? Is he unwilling, unable?.... These can be tough questions, although I don't think they are quite all they are made up to be. I thank my God that we are not required to have all the answers, save that we defend our faith in Christ. I think the truth of the matter is that evil exists because of an historical Fall (you know who you are! sons of Adam and daughters of Eve).
For some, the emotions surrounding the understanding of evil can create a huge divide between themselves and God. For others, pain and suffering may the conduit that introduces them to faith in God and gives them the opportunity to surrender themselves to something greater. “The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems well with it” (The Problem of Pain, Lewis, 90). Lewis goes on and calls pain God's megaphone that rouses a rebellious world. Pain removes the veil that everything is O.K. "It plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul" (94).

The Christian faith offers something unique from other's religiosity, an historic event that defines it. That is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. "Christianity is not the conclusion of a philosophical debate....it is catastrophic historical event following the long spiritual preparation of humanity" (Lewis, 14). Wow, spiritual preparation... for something better, for something glorious; the hope of living in the presence of God. I'll take that deal.

"If philosophy is the love of wisdom, then what is the wisdom of love?" -Matt Kauffman