The Problem of Evil: A Dialogue - Assignment Example

The Problem of Evil: a Dialogue Number Scene I: John Hicks’ Residence The story begins in one Thursdayevening, during the mid-1950s English society. It is after sunset and in the rapidly darkening environment, John Hick (45), the astrophysicist priest who is also called Father Tom takes his three-legged stool in his outhouse in central England. Hick is a well-known figure within the community by virtue of the local church where he is a preacher every Sunday. I have, on more than five occasions attended his church to receive the soul food and have become known to him personally. The weather is calm; lights are dim most probably due to power outage, so the priest is slightly illuminated with the dim candle light when I join him for a discussion. Out main agenda was about Science and Religion and which theory of the two seemed more credible as evident in the Star by Arthur Clarke (Rabkin, 1980). The narrator: Hello, Father Tom… (I was stretching my hands to greet him). Good evening! John Hick: My evening is fine … how about you? (He stretches his right hand to meet mine in a greeting. I realized that the lines on his face symbolized one who is deeply troubled by some questions he could not find answers to. So I interjected to help him think aloud about his woes). The narrator: Father… why are you in the outside? I thought it would be fine if you were inside the room so that this candle could bring light into the room and scare aware insects… you know… things like that (I paused to allow him time to respond while he scrambled a seat for me to join him in the conversation). John Hick: (While supporting his cheeks, he began): Little one, you are yet to live the length of time I have been breathing. That is why you may not be able to understand some of these things. To begin with, I’ve chosen my outhouse ostensibly to come to terms with what religion and science has in store for us humans. The narrator: (still inquisitive); How do you mean? John Hicks: The house is artificial; it technically obfuscates my vision of nature. The symbols of science such as the planets, galaxies, the moon, darkness, chirping crickets, wind are more real to me here than when I’m inside the house. With these symbols of nature so true and real, I do entrust my religious faith with answers as to their origin, but in situations where I’m certain that religion is not providing me with the answers that I need, I refer to Science. However, my main worries stem from the competing theories; I’m technically lost for though with regard to which side has all of the answers to nature. The narrator: (In an interjection). But, why don’t you just trust the theory of religion because you are a man of God? I mean, aren’t you a faithful priest? John Hicks: It is not that easy the way you think, my little friend. I must admit here before you that that the lines you are seeing on my face are evident enough of the crisis of faith I am facing; I mean what I have seen really has taken me back to the drawing board; to rethink the role of religion in society and in explaining nature. I’m technically split between the natural evil and moral evil. I surely cannot understand whether morality ever exists in this planet as far as unearthing what has become of mother-nature. But one thing I’m slowly building points of reason to discount is the issue of religious faith. The narrator: religious faith? … (I was still inquisitive to know more). John Hicks: (Pulls a deep breath, followed by a long pause and a stretch of his arms in what could be seen as signs of recollection, before he began to talk). Religious faith is a very complex issue that is technically based on deep, blind faith in itself, even where answers to some amoral actions may not be forthcoming. The crisis of faith dawned on me when I recently set out to phoenix nebula on an exploration mission. It is a long story, possibly for another day! (The curtains close when an unexpected wind blows off the candle living use in total darkness). Scene Two: The Tor In the second scene, John Hicks is reminiscent of the space exploration mission in which he participated alongside other space explorers. The four of us (John Hicks, the Priest, Devil, and me) are seated on top of a small mountain in central England to the receding sunlight exactly one week after my first encounter with Hicks. The four of us engage in a flashback conversation about what the two astrophysicists encountered during their recent space exploration mission in which they came face to face with the real impacts of the explosion of the supernova. Devil is representative of the devil, because throughout his 41 years of existence (23 of which he has been an ardent astrophysicist). Devil has never attended a place of worship for a decade. The character has been too immersed in science to contemplate how life is for the religious faithful. The Priest: (The character starts the conversation by placing his right hand on my shoulder and the left one on Devil’s. We are seated very close to each other ostensibly to get every word from the conversation). Comrades, I’m pretty uncertain about the concept of religion despite my long service of God. Devil: (While playing the devil’s advocate) how many times have I told you about the problem with religion? I mean why did God allow the explosion of the supernova to consume life an entire civilization if he cared about the people He created? (He exchanges glances with both of use in succession advisedly to legitimize his argument). The narrator: I think God is perfect. Yes! He may have been merciful enough to allow the entire civilization to exist, but because the humanity defied His teachings, the natural evil brought damage to the population. The Priest: (He appears split in thought). Maybe… maybe not … (I interrupt) The narrator: Hicks, you are a man of God. Why the uncertainty? Devil: (In an interjection). Oh yes! Nowadays, he has abandoned religion for my profession – science because science offers practical answers to natural events. John Hicks: (In a response) you may be right. How come God could allow the extinction of a whole human civilization under the weight of supernova, but allow lifeless artistic riches, landmarks, and what have you to remain… (The Priest interjects). The Priest: … artifacts that are ironically rich and carry deep meanings of the kind of life the people in the planet lived prior to their annihilation? The narrator: Maybe, God was too fed-up with the sinful population to allow them live. The artistic riches were basically left intact for the rest of humanity (through the space explorers) to get a glimpse of the kind of evil life lived by the extinct population and come to terms with the existence God and evil for purposes of choosing the path to righteousness… Devil: I think you people are crazy. Religion is superficial. God does not exist and whatever is existent is subject to science. If not, how else could he allow natural evil to consume the entire civilization? John Hicks: Dowry you may be wrong in your observation; because during our recent space mission, it was evident that religion is existent and God is also alive. But how the Supreme Deity could allow or for that matter visit a devastating catastrophe on His people is technically beyond my ken. The narrator: Take it easy, Hicks. God exists and so is evil. I believe that God is tolerant to humanity and strives to see to it that the human race is delivered from sin. But when He is sure that is not achievable … The Priest: His mercies run out and he could pillage the world and everything in it. I think that is what happened to the other planet. Devil: No comment! That sounds Greek to me … (The conversation ends. We can barely trace our way back in the darkness but due to the small led light carried by the Priest he calls the shining star, we manage to descend down the slope. The curtains close). Scene Three: John Hicks’ Church The four of us (Hicks, Devil, Priest and me) are seated in a roundtable in the Priest’s church for a conversation. The last faithful has just left. The walls are awash with religious texts and symbols. At the center of the table at which we are seated, the symbol of Jesus Christ on the cross does not escape anybody’s notice. His bare torso, countable ribs, and the head hanging sideways are particularly rich and symbolize his painful death, but ironical to his coming to life, which is rumored to have caused the extinction of life in the Pluto-like planet. The Priest starts the conversation with the controversial issue of whether or not God may be evil. . The Priest: (Using his hands in expression) Comrades! This is the house of God where all people, particularly the religious faithful expect only positive events to take place. But how evil things find their way to such a holy place baffles me. The narrator: I believe God is merciful enough to tolerate some evil by the population for purposes of enabling the people to choose the path to righteousness, but when He is sure that the people he loves have been deeply sucked into evil beyond redemption, He sees no need to continue tolerating them. Devil: That may be true because even in science, when matter is stretched beyond the limit, it breaks away. John Hicks: Now comrades, there is adequate evidence to show that the extinction of the humanity in the planet was occasioned by the arrival of Jesus Christ. What worries me is how the bright light and superpowers that came with the arrival of the “savior” led to the elimination of all of the people he came to save in the first place. The supernova and the evils that it precipitated on the population are arguably heavenly (Poole, 2012). The narrator: (Looking at the symbol of Jesus Christ on the cross). I believe in both science and religion: that science and religion play complimentary roles even in their conflicting statuses. Clarke (2002) said we are finite, but God is infinite. Devil: (In an interjection). Then what do you say about the moral evil and natural evil? The Priest: Moral evil can be defined as the negative outcomes of evil actions such as murder and slavery, which can be resolved by prosecuting the perpetrators (Curtis, 2008). But natural evil is heavenly, for example, deaths caused by typhoons or other disasters that are beyond human control and therefore not actionable. The narrator: I agree with you. Natural evil is beyond human understanding and has more devastating damages than moral evil which might harm only the immoral person and those within their immediate environment. Godly “natural evil” therefore, is visited on humanity rarely, but devastatingly (Rabkin, 1980). Moral evil on the other hand is common and can be avoided by human beings by acting morally. Devil: (Nodding his head in approval) the (narrator’s) argument makes some sense: that the negative effects of science are well within the ability of humanity thus constitutes moral evil, but supernatural powers constitute natural evil, thus are beyond human control (Jones, 2013). John Hicks: I believe we have come to a consensus, that science provides some answers to natural events and conditions, but what is beyond science is beyond human control, thus it is heavenly. I hope we, humanity will see the sense in God’s existence, and act righteously in order to avoid moral evil and limit the chances of an explosion of another supernova in this planet … (The curtains close). References Clarke, A.C. (2002). The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. Curtis, R. (2008). Katrina and the waves: bad organization, natural evil or the State. Culture & Organization, 14(2), 113-133. Jones, A. (2013). Mythic origins of moral evil: moral fatalism and the tragic self-conception of the Mekeo. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 122(4), 333-371. Poole, R. (2012). The challenge of the spaceship: Arthur C. Clarke and the history of the future, 1930-1970. History & Technology, 28(3), pp.255-280. Rabkin, E.S. (1980). Arthur C. Clarke. 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