The Problem of Evil and The Problem of Free Will
The last few days have been infernal, in the literal sense of the word. With 2016 set to become the hottest year in recorded history, wildfires have been raging in Portugal, with a notorious spike yesterday, August 10th, when the country woke to the nightmare our islands lived through that same night.
It is hard seeing on the news, all the needless suffering, the lives lost, the pain of those who had all that was dear to them vanish in minutes: their homes, their belongings, their pets; the horror of burned houses and trees, and the anguish of all the people who spent the night praying that their houses would not be next.
To most of us, Wednesday’s morning was just the beginning of another regular day. But to these people, it was the realization of all the hard work they would have to do, to rebuild.
It is hard not to think of what could have been done. What we could do to have prevented this. To prevent this from happening again in the future. To make sure no one goes through this kind of suffering again. Of course, such thing is not possible.
But this post is not about what happened in Madeira in particular, but rather about a multitude of disasters and suffering that happen all the time, everywhere. About the 13 children all around the world, under five, who died while you read this post.
The Problem of Evil
So yes, this is going to be about religion. If you have an open mind, regardless of which side of the fence you find yourself on this issue, then I suggest you keep reading. If you’re not in the mood, maybe this article isn’t for you.
All of this made me, once again, think about the problem of evil. And I want to make it clear: the problem of evil is not, for me, a reason to disprove the existence of a deity. It is instead a way of pointing out the inconsistencies of the belief in god, particularly the Christian god.
We all heard, and maybe some of us agree with, the most frequently used defense of god in response to the problem of evil. And that is of course, Free Will.
God gave us free will, and is intervention would result in a partial or complete loss of our free will.
Except that… not really. This made me remember a quote I once read by Christopher Hitchens, telling the story of a woman raped by her father for twenty four years.
You remember reading about it, the woman in Austria who was kept in a cellar by her father for thirty years. And raped every day and bore him children who he raped also. Picture how she must have prayed, how she must have wearied heaven with her prayers and how accidental was her release that we even know about her.
So, I’m left with this question: did she have free will? Does someone in a position like hers possess free will? If you’re like me, you believe she did have, indeed, free will.
In fact, I think this is the kind of thing that you’re told ever since you’re a child, that you don’t really remember to even question it. Does this woman, who certainly wished with every fiber of her being that that nightmare would end, still had her free will, despite being captive and subjected to her father’s sickening wishes?
Free will relates only to the person’s ability to chose, and in no way entertains the capability (or lack thereof) of the person carrying on that choice in the real world.
I can’t flap my arms and fly. Does this invalidate my free will? No. I can still choose to fly. I just can’t fly. Free will relates to choice. Freedom relates to action.
So, would a god stopping this man from hurting his daughter, impair the free will of any of the parts involved? No, it would only impair his freedom.
But is restricting our personal freedoms even a contentious point? Is there even a discussion about limiting certain aspects of our freedom, when some very specific criteria is met? No. No one would argue that our society could function without the police or a judicial system to support it.
And yet, despite all the flaws and missteps of our justice system, we accept it because we all agree that our personal freedom should be reasonably curtailed.
It’s time the set it straight: free will in no response to the problem of evil. The limitation of personal freedom his. And who dares to argue that how personal freedom shouldn’t be reasonably limited?
