Philosophy
Is the standard notion of heaven self-consistent? Can you have both the necessary freedom from suffering and freedom of the will for those in heaven? If you say that there is no suffering in heaven because the only people allowed in are those who would never choose to inflict it, then it is not necessary, but contingent. There could be suffering in heaven, but there just happens not to be because of the choices. On the other hand, if God can guarantee it, say, by over-ruling or correcting for free choices that would inflict suffering on others in heaven, then it surely is a much less robust notion of free will than we would want. There is no corresponding problem with the concept of hell, because we could strip away free will or not and still have plenty of suffering, but with heaven we seem to have a concern. So, can the freedom of the will and freedom from suffering be reconciled in a way that saves necessity?
- Is There A Moral Difference Between The Needs Of Victims In Japan And Haiti?
Looking at the Red Cross signs for donations to help the victims of the earthquake/tsunami/potential nuclear meltdown in Japan, raises questions about the moral imperative to help. When the earthquake struck Haiti, there were horrible conditions as well....
- Charity For Romney
I've been thinking about Mitt Romney's claim from his religion speech the other day, "Religion needs freedom and freedom needs religion." It has been largely written off as a sop to the religious right, a slap to secularism designed to do nothing...
- Id, Ego, And Supercalifragilisticexpialidotious
Schadenfreude -- enjoying the suffering of others... Freudenschade -- suffering in the delight of others... Freudundschatze -- A famous psychologist and his sweetie... Freudenschadenfreude -- suffering at others enjoying the suffering of others......
- The Golden Eagle, Bird Of Evil
When presented with the problem of evil (the logical inconsistency between an omnipotent and benevolent god and the existence of needless suffering), religious believers usually argue that human suffering is a necessary cost we pay for the greater benefit...
- Edge Of The Universe
Daniel Boorstin, The Discoverers [dust-jacket illustration; attributed to a 16th-century woodcut by the Bettmann Archive] A Medieval science thought experiment...well, maybe not so Medieval: "If you thrust your hand beyond the outermost sphere, would...
Philosophy
The Problem of Non-Evil
Is the standard notion of heaven self-consistent? Can you have both the necessary freedom from suffering and freedom of the will for those in heaven? If you say that there is no suffering in heaven because the only people allowed in are those who would never choose to inflict it, then it is not necessary, but contingent. There could be suffering in heaven, but there just happens not to be because of the choices. On the other hand, if God can guarantee it, say, by over-ruling or correcting for free choices that would inflict suffering on others in heaven, then it surely is a much less robust notion of free will than we would want. There is no corresponding problem with the concept of hell, because we could strip away free will or not and still have plenty of suffering, but with heaven we seem to have a concern. So, can the freedom of the will and freedom from suffering be reconciled in a way that saves necessity?
- Is There A Moral Difference Between The Needs Of Victims In Japan And Haiti?
Looking at the Red Cross signs for donations to help the victims of the earthquake/tsunami/potential nuclear meltdown in Japan, raises questions about the moral imperative to help. When the earthquake struck Haiti, there were horrible conditions as well....
- Charity For Romney
I've been thinking about Mitt Romney's claim from his religion speech the other day, "Religion needs freedom and freedom needs religion." It has been largely written off as a sop to the religious right, a slap to secularism designed to do nothing...
- Id, Ego, And Supercalifragilisticexpialidotious
Schadenfreude -- enjoying the suffering of others... Freudenschade -- suffering in the delight of others... Freudundschatze -- A famous psychologist and his sweetie... Freudenschadenfreude -- suffering at others enjoying the suffering of others......
- The Golden Eagle, Bird Of Evil
When presented with the problem of evil (the logical inconsistency between an omnipotent and benevolent god and the existence of needless suffering), religious believers usually argue that human suffering is a necessary cost we pay for the greater benefit...
- Edge Of The Universe
Daniel Boorstin, The Discoverers [dust-jacket illustration; attributed to a 16th-century woodcut by the Bettmann Archive] A Medieval science thought experiment...well, maybe not so Medieval: "If you thrust your hand beyond the outermost sphere, would...