Since this blog is the Anne show, and she does a thorough job updating the world on our doings, there is not much for me to say in that regard. We make a good team, as my preference is usually to focus on the more abstract / theoretical / etc.
With that in mind, I just purchased two new books on Amazon.com (goooo giftcards!). The first is called Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami - it’s basically an exploration of theodicy. Theodicy is defined as:[v]indication of the divine attributes, esp. justice and holiness, in respect to the existence of evil. If it’s not obvious, the book deals with questions of evil in relation to the Indian ocean tsunami of 2004. The reference is to a phrase from Job 38:8. Job 38 states in context:
8 Who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as issuing out of the womb :
9 when I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in swaddling bands?
10 I set my bounds around it, and made it bars and doors :
11And I said : Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves.
Job itself is a discussion strongly centered in theodicy, and ends with the idea that we cannot know why evil acts occur; that such knowledge is left to God. For instance, Job 42 states:
1Then Job answered the Lord, and said :
2 I know that thou canst do all things, and no thought is hid from thee.
3 Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have spoken unwisely, and things that above measure exceeded my knowledge.
4 Hear, and I will speak : I will ask thee, and do thou tell me.
5 With the hearing of the ear, I have heard thee, but now my eye seeth thee.
6 Therefore I reprehend myself, and do penance in dust and ashes.
The question of evil is one of the great questions which faces humans - how to reconcile the actions of a loving God with evil, whether natural or unnatural. C.S. Lewis dealt with the question in his book The Problem of Pain, but he is one in many authors who consider the issue. I look forwards to reading this text.
Interestingly, the second book is related to the question of evil. It’s called Original Sin: A Cultural History, by Alan Jacobs. He writes for one of my favorite magazines on occasion, First Things. It’s a brand new book, so I don’t have much more information on reviews. However, it did garner a good review in the Wall Street Journal, so it’s another book which should provide interesting insights into the idea of original sin.
-j.
