WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN?
A commonly asked question in theology is: "Why do bad things happen, especially to good or innocent people." Misfortune occurs in every life, but when it happens to a hateful person we tend to shrug it off as bad karma coming back around, or the person getting what he or she deserved. That may very well be true, as souls are indeed punished. But what about the toddler diagnosed with a glioblastoma, or the nun who is raped and murdered while doing God's work in Africa, or the righteous folk who perish right alongside the sinners in an earthquake or cruise missle strike? Why does God permit those things to happen, or more pertinently, how can such things be compatible with Grace?
Oftentimes the answer is along the lines of: "It's all part of God's mysterious plan, which we mere mortals are not privy to." We will try to do a better job than that, though the Truth may not be any more satisfying to those who seek it, or to those who question God's existence. The answer is multifaceted and includes some points that we have already discussed. But first, let's define what we mean by "bad things." What is good or bad can frequently be a matter of perspective. For instance, a cogent argument could be made that the extinction of humankind would be a good thing for the other species on earth. Also, a divorce, getting fired from a job, or your futbol team losing in the World Cup can certainly be traumatic events, but life goes on and those affected can still find Grace. There are worse things that can happen to an individual, a family, a community, an ethnic group or a nation, and that will be our focus here.
Bad things can result from the actions or failures to act of other humans, natural causes (disease, famine, etc.) and accidents. Virtually every human activity has an element of risk to it, and sometimes things happen simply by chance. Stercus accidit! You can also cause or contribute to cause your own tragedy by such acts as driving while intoxicated, leaving a loaded handgun where it can be found by a child, or building your house out of straw. God rarely plays a role in any of those things, except to the extent that evil is considered part of the universal consciousness. However, for the remainder of this discussion, any reference to God will only mean Her core and those elements of YE that are beneficial to our world.
We know that God is not all-powerful. She has to maintain order in the universe, and does not have the ability to watch over and protect each individual intelligent lifeform simutaneously. We also know that humans are assaulted by vilons on a regular basis. Just as a human mind is not aware of every cell in its body, even one that is cancerous, and that cancer can proliferate, spreading to the brain itself before it becomes symptomatic, so it is with evil. It can begin with a single vilon and grow to the point where the soul and its host cause great harm before God becomes aware of it. And the Truth is that it's not God's responsibility to control the behavior of humankind, or that of any particular person. It is ours!
The Nazi Holocaust is a perfect example.* It was an abomination that was neither caused nor permitted by God. It was created by evil men and allowed to occur by the indifference or fear of "good" people who might have prevented it. If humankind was truly deserving of Grace, then it was our responsibility to stop such genocide. Although we did so, we apparently did not learn much from the experience, as the hatred, prejudice and disregard for human life that led to the Holocaust have largely continued to this day.
* The photo above depicts "The Gate of Death" at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where approximately one million Jews were murdered between 1942-1945.
Next: Why Do Bad Things Happen continues