Thanks! This clarifies the view for me.
> In PT God calls & urges ("lures" is the world sometimes used) the world at
> each instant toward its best possible future. & as part of that, God is
> calling & urging each one of us to our role in what is best for the world.
> Such calling & urging can be painful - as anyone who's had a demanding
> parent or prof or coach knows - even if we can't be literally _forced_ to do
> something. Cobb has a page long (53) quote from Kazantzakis' _Report to
> Greco_ that expresses this very well.
What modes of calling are adequately non-coercive? I'm not certain what methods of influence would be less coercive than, e.g., choosing a quantum outcome.
> Why should we care? Because what we're called to is what is best for the
> world, including ourselves. & part of God's activity at each instant is
> trying to show us that.
What is best? How is it defined? I'm not sure what the point of reference is.
> & of course God can operate contrary to your preferences. Just because God
> is not omnipotent doesn't mean that he can't do anything. In fact, God is
> continually trying to thwart & minimize evil, but he can't simply do it by
> fiat.
What's the difference between painful calling and urging and a situation in which God failed to achieve his goals? Using this to address theodicy seems to me to involve an arbitrary distinction, based on whether something seems OK (though not necessarily pleasant at the time) to me. How does one draw a line between, e.g. being called to additional responsibilities, requiring more work but having fruitful effects, and a terrorist attack, which might serve to discredit the position of the terrorists and to mobilize people in favor of peace?
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa
Received on Fri Jun 25 13:11:05 2004
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Fri Jun 25 2004 - 13:11:07 EDT