The Problem with Pain
C.S. Lewis defends the coexistence of God and evil in The Problem of Pain by arguing that evil is a parasitic corruption of good rather than a created substance, and that real free will logically entails the profound risk of wrongdoing. One can say that one strays from the path and isn't following the Light that's in front. Without the Grace of God one is lost in any event or circumstance.
Indeed, evil often starts from a small step off the right road, where tiny, practical choices or small compromises lead a person step-by-step into deep wrong. Viewing evil as not following the light means that bad acts come from turning away from truth, goodness, and God. Like darkness is just the absence of light, evil is seen as a lack of goodness rather than a real thing on its own.
Lewis followed Augustine by his asserting that evil has no independent existence; it is a derivative perversion of something inherently good. I could do a Michael Caine imitation here, and say: And not many people know that. Even hardened so-called Evangelical Catholics don't know anything about this which is a shame and something to remind them each time around.
We're all depended on the Grace of God. Standing in the Light means to glory in all the fullest of being close to God. The absence of that Grace or the warmth of standing in the Light feels as cold as the coldest winter's day, because evil requires a good foundation (a living, thinking will or entity) to corrupt. Therefore, goodness is primary and real, while evil is just some sort of life-threatening parasite.
The Free Will defence is still valid according to Lewis because he argued that a world of autonomous creatures capable of real love and morality must also carry the capacity to choose selfishness and cruelty. God could not just "force" creatures to be good without destroying free agency, which would actually reduce humans to mere puppets. No, that we're not because we're ultimately still responsible.
How does God reach us in the cold darkness? Lewis famously wrote that God "shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world". Personally, I feel God's presence most indeed in the most difficult periods of my life. It's as if physical and emotional suffering disrupts human illusion and pride, offering an opportunity to turn toward the Light gaining in spiritual reality.
[media=https://youtu.be/HhfmbkP9zgU]
Indeed, evil often starts from a small step off the right road, where tiny, practical choices or small compromises lead a person step-by-step into deep wrong. Viewing evil as not following the light means that bad acts come from turning away from truth, goodness, and God. Like darkness is just the absence of light, evil is seen as a lack of goodness rather than a real thing on its own.
Lewis followed Augustine by his asserting that evil has no independent existence; it is a derivative perversion of something inherently good. I could do a Michael Caine imitation here, and say: And not many people know that. Even hardened so-called Evangelical Catholics don't know anything about this which is a shame and something to remind them each time around.
We're all depended on the Grace of God. Standing in the Light means to glory in all the fullest of being close to God. The absence of that Grace or the warmth of standing in the Light feels as cold as the coldest winter's day, because evil requires a good foundation (a living, thinking will or entity) to corrupt. Therefore, goodness is primary and real, while evil is just some sort of life-threatening parasite.
The Free Will defence is still valid according to Lewis because he argued that a world of autonomous creatures capable of real love and morality must also carry the capacity to choose selfishness and cruelty. God could not just "force" creatures to be good without destroying free agency, which would actually reduce humans to mere puppets. No, that we're not because we're ultimately still responsible.
How does God reach us in the cold darkness? Lewis famously wrote that God "shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world". Personally, I feel God's presence most indeed in the most difficult periods of my life. It's as if physical and emotional suffering disrupts human illusion and pride, offering an opportunity to turn toward the Light gaining in spiritual reality.
[media=https://youtu.be/HhfmbkP9zgU]
