Just a reminder that you can still hear my Philosophy Bites interview on the problem of evil here.
Stephen Law is a philosopher and author. Currently Director of Philosophy and Cert HE at Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. Stephen has also published many popular books including The Philosophy Gym, The Complete Philosophy Files, and Believing Bullshit. For school talks/ media: stephenlaw4schools.blogspot.co.uk Email: think-AT-royalinstitutephilosophy.org
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^_^
Hannah: there's also Warburton's other podcast sets: http://nigelwarburton.typepad.com/virtualphilosopher/
http://www.open2.net/ethicsbites/index.html
The dignity of unbelief
by John Fischer
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." (Proverbs 25:2)
Why does God hide His stuff? Why does He play hard to get? Why is it His glory to conceal it? Well think about it this way.
If God were fully visible, it would be a real bummer for people who didn't want to believe. "Elephant in the room? What elephant in the room? Do you see an elephant in the room?"
I think one of the reasons God remains obscure is to protect his own dignity, and the dignity of the unbeliever. God has made room in His universe for credible unbelief. You can [not] believe in God and get away with it, at least in this lifetime.
God hides because He would be too big to miss otherwise, and you would be a fool for not believing what was right in front of your face. And if He were that obvious, people might believe reluctantly, or for the wrong reasons. As it stands now, you are a fool if you do believe, and we who believe can afford to entertain that foolishness since our belief itself is the evidence of our faith. We have been asked to do this. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). In this way God insures the integrity of everyone.
Frank Sinatra's "I Did It My Way" has been on the play list at the Starbucks that has become my office of late, and I have often thought of that song as the theme song of hell, but I am changing my mind about that. It's either the theme song of hell or one helluva statement of the value God places on the individual. If a person wants to walk into hell with head held high singing, "I Did It My Way," no one's going to stop them. It would be a tragedy, but it would also be an illustration of the dignity of unbelief. And if God allows this in His universe, we might want to learn to respect those who choose it in spite of the tragedy.
God loves them so much he'll let them spend an eternity in torment?
Nice.
Is God awful because he allows some to go to hell, or is he gracious because some don't?
I guess I'll just say the glass is half full.
Heh.
"You may call me a mass murderer, your honour, but I'd like to point out that I let at least half of the people in that room live."
Can't see a judge being too impressed by that defence.
If the only way of avoiding everlasting agony and torment is to believe in God, then isn't it a tad unfair that he's playing hide-and-seek with a large part of the population?
An opinion that you are certainly entitled to.
I don't think this makes God less worthy of our loyalty/faith/trust/whatever either. My dog loves me though I am only perfect to him because I declare myself to be so. Is this so different?