why couldn't the laws of the universe be written so that worldly suffering is excluded by, rather than necessary for, free will?
The response that comes immediately to mind is that God is in fact malevolent, or at least imperfect. The imperfect idea is a little more pertinent because it also suggests that God is not entirely omnipotent, but rather subject to higher universal laws. Like the old "Could God make a rock so big even He couldn't lift it?" chestnut. Perhaps logic is higher than God. Suffering follows from free will, I think, because with free will there is the implication of choice, and with choice comes "right choice" and "wrong choice". And of course nobody's going to choose "right choice" every time.
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Date: 2005-03-03 08:08 pm (UTC)The response that comes immediately to mind is that God is in fact malevolent, or at least imperfect. The imperfect idea is a little more pertinent because it also suggests that God is not entirely omnipotent, but rather subject to higher universal laws. Like the old "Could God make a rock so big even He couldn't lift it?" chestnut. Perhaps logic is higher than God.
Suffering follows from free will, I think, because with free will there is the implication of choice, and with choice comes "right choice" and "wrong choice". And of course nobody's going to choose "right choice" every time.