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One of the most vexing problems in theology is the problem of evil. If
God is good why does He permit great evils, such as the terrorist
attacks of 11 September? Could He not, with a mere thought, stop all
evil in its tracks, protecting lives and souls from destruction,
physical or moral? Is not His goodness diminished when innocent
people suffer at the hands of evil men?
The complexity of the issue is deepened when the question, which a number
of religious commentators have raised, is asked: Did the sins of our
own society merit this chastisement? In other words, was God
punishing or speaking to America through this event? I will try to
throw some light on both questions, though ultimately it is not
possible to know definitively what is ultimately a mystery of the
working of Divine Providence.
The
Problem of Evil
God is by nature infinite and eternal goodness. He cannot do anything
evil without violating His own nature. One could say that His
omnipotence ends there. His power is not actually limited,
but it is power capable only of good.
God is infinite and eternal justice. He cannot act except in accordance
with the truth, which He Himself is. He cannot tolerate evil. His
justice demands that it be rectified. Yet, He is infinite mercy,
allowing us time to rectify our own evils through repentance and
reparation. If His mercy did not tolerate evil for a time, for the
sake of repentance, no one could survive His justice.
In creating angels and men like Himself God gave us the gift of free
will. This gift is a great good, because it allows us to participate
in God’s goodness, not as robots, but willing and choosing
goodness for ourselves. God also created the universe good, free of
even material evils. The pride of the fallen angels introduced evil
into both their own persons (moral evil) and into creation (physical
or material evil). These angels were to have a role in God’s
governance of material creation. The good angels still do, but the
fallen angels use their knowledge and their power to disrupt the
creation they were intended to help govern. Furthermore, they
tempted mankind to sin, through Adam, and thus introduced both moral
and physical evil to the human race. They continue to tempt human
beings to join their ranks against God, as part of a primordial
battle between good and evil, between the mystery of piety
(represented by Christ) and the mystery of iniquity (represented by
Satan).
Thus, we can say that it is because of sin, and sin alone, angelic sin
and human sin, that moral and physical evils entered the world. When
the fallen angels sinned, and they continue to do so, the
consequences included disorder in the material universe. When man
sinned, despite God’s protection from chaos, he became subject to the
consequences of the angelic sin in nature, and brought the
consequences of his own sin upon himself. The principle consequence
was death, both the loss of eternal life, and the loss of natural
life.
The
Problem of Innocent Suffering
Most of us understand the nature of justice. If we do something wrong we expect to get
punished for it. More difficult to understand is why good people
suffer.
In the Old Testament God tried to teach His people about justice. He
started with strict justice, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth. If Israel was faithful she was blessed, if unfaithful she was
punished. Later on, when Israel seems finally to have learned some
of these lessons, God proceeded to teach His people about innocent
suffering. God had not changed, but like a good parent He conformed
His instruction and His discipline to the capacity and needs of His
children.
We have an example of this in the book of Job. There we see the just man
Job losing almost everything, while holding himself innocent. His
friends are happy to disabuse him of this claim, conforming
themselves to justice as Israel had understood it until then.
However, through means of a dialogue between Satan and God, we see
behind the scenes into the working of God’s Providence. The
suffering of innocent Job actually ends up glorifying Job in the
eyes of man, bringing him greater holiness, and even more
magnificent worldly success. That which evil, Satan, intended is
overthrown, so that after short-lived material suffering, even
greater spiritual and material good is possessed by Job than
previously. This glorifies God, who is so powerful that He is able
to bring good out of evil. The act of Creation only brought good out
of nothing.
Ultimately, the greatest model of innocent suffering is Jesus Christ. To
the idea of justice contained in Job is now added the idea of
justice united with redemptive love. Suffering can be endured for
the sake of others, saving them not principally from material evils,
though that too occurs, but primarily from the greatest evil of all,
the loss of God for eternity. As Job teaches us that innocent
suffering endured for a time can bring great spiritual and material
benefits, Jesus teaches us that innocent suffering endured for a
time can bring great benefits to OTHERS. Thus, the innocent
suffering of Jesus unites perfect justice with perfect love. It
changes innocent suffering into redemptive suffering.
In summary it can be said that the evils we experience in life have two
causes, the sin of the angels and human sin. God permits us
to experience such evils, that is, does not routinely intervene to
prevent the working out of the consequences of sin, because He
foresees one of three goods coming from them. First, the good of
justice, disciplining the sinner, inviting him to repentance, and
balancing the scales of justice in the world. If this is fruitful
converted sinners are spared an eternal spiritual punishment through
a temporal material punishment. If it is not fruitful then the
sinner has chosen his own fate. Secondly, there is the good of
purification, by which the just are purged of their sins and
weaknesses through the patience, the gracefulness, by which they
endure suffering. Finally, there is the good of redemptive
suffering, by which the just participate in Christ’s suffering for
the salvation of others.
So, whether one endures sickness or calamity at the hands of nature, or
tragedy at human hands, the cause is known, sin, but God’s reason
for permitting it varies from person to person, according to their
spiritual need.
Is
God speaking to America?
When there is a mass calamity, such as a natural disaster or the
terrorist attacks, one naturally asks about the divine calculation
which permitted it. If the death of a single person involves a
special divine providence, since their salvation is determined in
that moment, how much more the deaths of hundreds or thousands, or
even millions, as in a world war. In such circumstances there are
quite obviously people who die who are guilty of sin, such as the
terrorists or the aggressors in wartime, others for whom the
circumstances of dying will be spiritually medicinal and lead to
their being saved, and others who are just and undeserving, whose
suffering makes them holier and/or allows them to participate in the
redemption of others. Clearly God alone can make those calculations,
such that suffering, even of the innocent, is not wasted.
But is there a further value beyond the personal consequence to each of
those who died - whether punishment, conversion, purification or
redemption? Scripture, as well as the words of countless saints and
mystics, tell us that there is. God uses such events to warn of the
consequences of sin and to lead countless individuals, even nations,
to repentance and conversion. Consider how Jesus responded to the
issue of tragedies. In the first part of His response the tragedy is
the death of Jews, suffering for their faith in God. In the second
it is victims of probably an earthquake.
At that time some people who were present there told
him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the
blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, "Do you
think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were
greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell
you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed when the
tower at Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell
you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!"
(Luke 13:1-5)
Jesus offers the death of the innocent and the guilty alike as a general
warning to all. The sin of Adam, from which we all suffer, brought
mankind physical death (Romans 5:12), personal unrepentance brings
eternal death, a far greater calamity. The physical deaths of so
many brings the reality of death dramatically home to others, and
becomes for the Lord an occasion to teach us that there is an even
worse kind of death.
When calamity befell Israel it was God warning the Israelites to repent.
We must learn the same lesson today, in the circumstances of the
terrorist attacks on America. Indeed, so broad is this tragedy that
it cannot be intended for a single nation but must be for the entire
world, especially the Western world, which has forgotten its
Christian heritage.
Can we say, therefore, that the sins of abortion, sodomy and injustice to
the poor, the three traditional sins which cry out to God for
vengeance, as well as our own sins, are responsible for this act.
No, if we mean personal moral responsibility. That rests solely
with the terrorists, those who formally cooperated in their crimes,
and those who provided immediate material support. However, to the
extent that sin is the cause of death, and that by not ceasing to
sin there are millions in our country and billions on our planet,
who need to repent and convert, we have all materially cooperated in
establishing the pre-condition for God’s permitting such a
dramatic act of evil to take place. As in Sodom and Gomorrah, as in
Bethsaida and Chorazin (whom Christ warned for rejecting Him), as it
is in all tragedies and wars, the innocent will die with the guilty,
for the salvation and purification of those who can be converted,
and the judgment of those who cannot.
Are
the Victims Martyrs?
Given such a vicious assault on human dignity it seems reasonable to
consider those who died martyrs who went straight to heaven. Two
general statements must be made. First, the victims were certainly
martyrs in a broad sense, as they died on
account of hatred of the Christian West. Despite the
secularization of our Western societies, and the hatred by the
terrorists of other elements in them which contradict Christian
values, it remains true that a misguided religious fervor was behind
the attacks. Secondly, notwithstanding that, it cannot be said that
the victims were martyrs in the technical sense, which theology and
the Church employs. For this is required the fulfillment of two
conditions, the conscious decision of the victim to accept death for
Christ (which St. Thomas ascribes to the Gift of Fortitude), and the
motive of hatred of the faith.
Thus, even if we grant the second condition, the fulfillment of the
first would require a)
the rising of those in the state of mortal sin to justice by perfect
contrition, and then, b) the acceptance of their death for Christ,
through the now present Gift of Fortitude. It is impossible for a
passive act of martyrdom to justify a person and earn them heaven.
Unlike the Holy Innocents, who had no personal guilt, adults must
freely change their will to attain eternal life.
Are we justified in thinking, however, that God made some special
provision for these souls? I believe we are on two grounds. First,
St. Faustina tells us that no human being dies without the
opportunity of accepting or rejecting repentance. The statements of
mystics, like Blessed Padre Pio, regarding suicides who converted in
the moment of death, already suggest this. This gives the families
of suicides, as well as the victims of violent acts, a real hope of
eternal life for their loved ones. However, it is a possibility, not
a certainty. Secondly, the honor and glory of God is the ultimate
purpose of the universe. Everything works for that end. In this
attack God’s honor was doubly offended. First, it was done in His
name, a blasphemy of the first order. Secondly, the West was
attacked, at least in part for the Christian faith. Both reasons
give us great hope that the desire of the ultimate terrorist (the
devil) to see large numbers of people die in their sins and be
condemned was, at the moment of death, prevented by the mercy of
God. If this did occur, whether the individuals who repented went to
heaven or purgatory would depend, as always, on the thoroughness of
their repentance. Not knowing their fate with certainty, we should
continue to pray for the repose of their souls.
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