The absence of evidence...

The absence of evidence is not evidence for absence. I have not been on here in a while, and I know the significance of this blog is minuscule in the entirety of life. I do not feel as if life is this big thing that we somehow attain, but rather it is the essence of life that our lives can find value in. Because we have life (whether we are spiritually dead or not) we are inherently valuable. Trying to understand evil and suffering within that context can be pretty messy, but when it is understood through the lens of our Lord and Savior then life seems to find more meaning through suffering. A person must suffer in order to know life, and it is through that reality that the Christian differs from the agnostic or atheist. I am taking a philosophy class on the Problem of Evil and Suffering, and I find it so far to be the most beneficial academic endeavor that I have ever been involved in. There are two sides when thinking about this issue: free will theism and Augustinian-Calvinist theism. My heart tends to be a free will theist, but my mind is pulling me to a more Augustinian-Calvinist tradition. I get wrapped up in the practical application of these two sides. You know, which side when actual suffering occurs best comforts the believer. But then I think of it as a witnessing tool, which side would best comfort the non-believer. Is it comforting for a non-believer to be told that their suffering is for a greater good, or that their suffering is not of God and is in fact the work of man's depravity? I do not know, and these are just some of the questions that I hope can be answered in this academic semester. I stumbled upon a quote in a book one day that I think I might agree with and it is by Norman Geisler: "God made evil possible, man made evil actual." David Hume, sometimes dubbed the "happy atheist" (although in one of his introductions to an essay he states it is clear there is a designer behind the earth), rightfully called into question of the origins of evil and how he believed it contradicted the belief of God's omnipotence. I am not saying he is right at all, but it was a good challenge for the classical theists to answer the question 'Whence then the evil?'. We as Christians need to deal with the experiential side of dealing with evil and suffering, but I think we need to also ponder the topic in our heads and spirits to discern what we should see as from God. A weird topic I know, but it is weighty when you take the time to dive deep into it.