BVM,
So I’ve had this question bugging me for a LOOONG time now. Can it be true that everything that has ever happened has been willed or permitted by God in advance? As in, God permits sin and death, disease, etc… to happen for the greater good of everybody. In the words of Fr. Drexelius:
Never certainly would such infinite Goodness permit so great wickedness in the world, unless it could thence produce greater good, and turn to salvation things which were devised for destruction. God permitted the jealousy of his brethren to exercise its malice against innocent Joseph; but with how great good was this Permission, not merely to his parents and brethren, but to the whole land of Egypt! God permitted guiltless David to be harassed with the most cruel injuries by wicked Saul, but it was to the greatest advantage of David himself and the entire kingdom of Israel. God permitted Daniel, most unjustly accused, to be cast into the den of lions, but it was to his own great good and that of many others. But why do I mention such as these? God permitted His Own Son to be crucified by murderers, but His Permission was for the ineffable good of the whole human race. And so from every Divine Permission there flow the greatest increase to the Divine Glory, and the richest blessings to the human race.
Personally, I don’t hold this belief or doubt it alot. Why?
Because not every bad thing that happens produces good or produces so little good that it is outshined by the bad. For example, sex trafficking: what good is brought out of sex trafficking? Do the victims learn anything? So what if some of them are rescued, many of them will still have to face psychological trauma. Or miscarriages. I’m 200% against killing a baby for no matter what reason but whats so good about misacarriage? Will it strengthen a woman’s resolve or will or something? What about the choice a prolife woman has to face in deciding whether she should live because she has a life to live or whether her baby should die even though if it does live, he will have the chance to become a good person.
What about this? Lets say a major war and massacre happens like the Rape of Najing or the current chaos that is Congo and Somalia. Thousands of people were or are literally raped and murdered. What good does any of that do? Maybe you’ll tell me that some families would get clsoer together because of the persecution or that saintly people would go there and help the victims out making them eligible to go to heaven but what about the people who are already doing evil? Isn’t it better that people do good things instead of being used as an obstacle for others to jump over? Isn’t it better for a murderer to convert instead of being used as the instrument to make somebody a martyr? Isn’t it better for a sex trafficker to turn himself in and expose the entire business instead of being an obstacle preventing someone from achieving freedom?(Snipped to fit)
MrSylvester:
It is the Church’s conviction, in my opinion, that God wills everything that happens - except
sin. That you and I don’t know what good can come from an event is because we do not perceive through the lenses of Divine Providence. If we did, we would know exactly why God does with the world, and it’s inhabitants, what He does.
In each one of your examples, I’m sure you can come up with a salvation purpose (or, purposes) - even if it is only conjecture. That fact leads me to the conclusion that there must be a near infinity of salvation purposes known only to an Infinite Mind.
You mention that God permits sin. You are correct. While He is the Creator (or Efficient Cause) of all else, he merely
permits “sin.” He creates the Good, and where the Good is absent, amidst matter and energy, there evil and sin reside. We tend to live for this existence and this earthly activity. But, this is a photon on an elephant’s derrière compared to the entirety of our lives.
A reading of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, shows that God is always engaged with his people - calling them, leading them hither and yon, providing, promising, and, despite our inability to reconcile this next reality with his Omniscience,
testing them. There are those that wish everything to be handed to them on a silver platter; then, there are those that allow themselves to be led to do what it takes to earn it. Now, even though we cannot literally “earn” Heaven, or God’s affinity, according to the Church, God still wants us to offer him our filial love and to be fully worthy, by way of his gifts, of our places in Heaven, in front of Him.
And, although, presently, we can’t possibly know what we will be seeing, if we are fortunate enough to receive his gifts and find ourselves at his feet, he has expectations of his children as any parent would.
But, back to your question: think of you and I as thoughts in the Mind of God. not hard, physical stuff, as we seem to perceive, but as lattices of continuous space delineated by point particles, that give the appearance of solids, liquids and gases with the appearance of mass. This is getting pretty close to how Physics is understanding the physical universe any way. So, just as your analytical mind seems to control what we perceive and think, so, for certain, God’s Mind controls all that He perceives and thinks. That clearly points to the fact that he controls everything, except, as I said, sin.
God bless,
jd
