Sam: Hand me that light. I can't see what I'm doing with this hook.
Frank: I don't think we'll catch any more tonight, but here you go.
Sam: Maybe we should go about this from a different angle.
Frank: You mean we should use different bait?
Sam: No. I'm talking about the injustice we see in the world. For the last hour and a half we've bemoaned the fact that it seems injustices will never end. In fact, it seems reasonable that our expectations of a just world are unreasonable. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should always seek to bring about a just world, but that we should also be realistic. It will never happen. It can never happen.
Frank: I agree and I disagree. I think it is possible for there to be justice. But, there are certain conditions that need to be in place for this to happen. And I know for a fact that these conditions will not be to your liking.
Sam: Let me guess, the existence of God is one of the conditions you're shooting for.
Frank: Yes. If you're willing to accept them for the sake of argument, I'll offer two premises. First, God exists. Second, every single entity that is not God depends on God for its existence.
Sam: Okay, I'll accept these two premises. Give it to me.
Frank: Is God obligated to give me, or anybody for that matter, a particular kind of life?
Sam: What do you mean by a particular kind of life?
Frank: Is God obligated to give me a good life?
Sam: What's a good life?
Frank: Let's take the extreme for clarification. Is God obligated to give me the kind of life that entails all of the following to the extreme: health, longevity, wealth, loving relationships, wisdom, and so on? Now keep in mind I don't mean some or a portion of these. I mean all of these to the extreme degree. Is God obligated to give me a life in which I have all of these to the nth degree?
Sam: I don't know. Take wealth for instance. We spent a good bit of time this evening discussing the injustices that result from the unequal distribution of resources. Some people have so much more than they need. This excess possessed by some ensures that others will be in need. There's only so much to go around. Or, take longevity as another example. Let's assume no one dies. Again, there will come a point when there is simply not enough resources to go around. I guess what I'm saying is that if everyone had all of these to the nth degree, then eventually someone is going to suffer for it. Of course, I'm assuming nothing changes in this world except the kind of life we each have. By that I mean the amount of resources, space, and so on doesn't change. So, I don't think such a situation would help bring about a just world, if that is where you were headed. If God is obligated to give a particular kind of life, it could not be the kind of life where all of these things are possessed to the nth degree.
Frank: Okay, maybe we need to take a step back and regroup. Is God obligated to give life? Forget the kind of life for the moment. Just simply, is God obligated to give life?
Sam: No, I wouldn't think so. Now I see what you're saying! Yes, it does seem that once God gives life, it should be a particular kind of life. It seems unjust to give life and then for that life to be unduly miserable and short.
Frank: Okay, that is really vague but it'll do. So why is God obligated, once life is given, to ensure that the life that's given is not unduly miserable and short?
Sam: For God to give life that is miserable and short is not befitting a God that is good and just. And, by the way, this is the very reason that I don't believe there is such a God. We are surrounded by lives that are miserable and short. A good and just God wouldn't create this kind of life.
Frank: Hold on.That God is good and just was not one of the premises we accepted. Maybe God is like Descartes' evil demon. Maybe this evil demon created lives for the express purpose of making them miserable and short. Dang! Hand me those pliers, my line is hung up.
Sam: See, you should be more careful about what you say. Look, Descartes had his reasons for positing the evil demon. I don't think we need to go that route. If God is not good and just, then God is neither worthy of worship nor worthy of trust.
Frank: Why are you waxing poetic? Oh good, my line came loose! Anyway, I agree. So maybe we should add one more premise to our initial two. But, before we go forward we should define what we mean by justice. What is justice?
Sam: Good question. What is justice?
Frank: I take it you want me to go first. Okay, I think we've been dancing around a definition this whole time. Justice is flourishing life.
Sam: Like Aristotle's eudaimonia?
Frank: Sort of, yes. If God is just, then God is a "Good Spirit," if you will. But let's not get tied down to Aristotle's treatment of eudaimonia. Justice is flourishing life. So for instance, when we speak of injustices we are pointing to those acts and state-of-affairs that hinder, prevent, or even eliminate flourishing life. A just world would be a world in which life flourishes.
Sam: Okay, I'll go along. But I don't see how this helps. It's a fact that many a life has come into being that did not flourish. The seven year old that is abused and murdered by her step-father is a brutal example of this fact. It looks like your Good Spirit is not faring too well.
Frank: You're correct, if this life is all there is. But if there is an after-life, an after-life in which the life that began in this world is allowed to flourish, then we would have the conditions necessary for justice to obtain.
Sam: I don't like it Frank, it's ad hoc.
Frank: Maybe it is. All I'm saying is this: If there's a God who is good and just, then there must be an after-life where the lives that began here are allowed to flourish.
Sam: What about hell?
Frank: Who said anything about hell? We haven't made any distinctions between a heaven or a hell.
Sam: Look, I'm not a fan of the idea of God, much less the idea of heaven or hell. But, it doesn't seem just that everyone gets to go into a flourishing after-life. What about the step-father mentioned a moment ago? Shouldn't there be some consequence for that kind of horrible act? In his case, I say flourishing life be damned!
Frank: Let's assume there is a hell. If God is just and if God is obligated to bring about life that flourishes, due to the very nature of God being just, then it cannot be the case that lives are extinguished or that lives are tormented forever. In either case, the life under consideration is not allowed to flourish. I guess what I'm saying is that if there is a hell it must be remedial. If there is a hell, it must be designed to bring about life that eventually flourishes.Maybe such an after-life, or hell, is designed to purge that particular life or that particular person of his tendency to hinder or eliminate flourishing life. Eventually the goal is the same, flourishing life.
Sam: I don't know Frank. It sounds good, but there's no reason to believe such things are true.
Frank: I say if these things aren't true, then there is not and never will be such a thing as justice. As long as there's one life that doesn't flourish, then justice is mere sentiment. Even if all lives from this point forward flourish, there are an untold number of lives that have passed and didn't flourish. But, you know as well as I do that chances are there will always be lives that are miserable and short. And so we're back where we started.
Sam: I see what you mean. I have one other issue with all of this. If people believe what you've laid out, won't it bring about complacency? Won't people be so heavenly minded that they're no earthly good? It seems some folks will just assume it'll all work out in the end, so there's no reason to struggle to bring about justice now.
Frank: I suppose someone could take that approach, but it's not necessary. In fact, I think someone who would take that approach surely hasn't understood what justice is. Such a person neither understands, nor cares for justice. Such a person belies the very thing she claims to believe. But, your concern is reasonable. My concern is that justice actually obtains. This, in my estimation, is the only possible way.
Sam: I'll have to think all this over. I'm too tired now. Hey, the sun is coming up. You want to get some breakfast before we clean these? I'll let you buy.
Frank: That sounds fair.
Acknowledgments:
Although I did not quote directly from any of the following I would like to acknowledge their influence on this dialogue.
1. Aristotle Nichomacean Ethics (see here)
2. Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy (see here)
3. Marilyn McCord Adams Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (see here)
By referencing McCord Adam's Horrendous Evils, I do not mean to imply that she would agree with anything said here, or that this dialogue is a representation of her work. That being said, the work cited influenced my thinking on the problem of evil. I no longer think of the problem of evil in general terms, but always in relation to individual lives.
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