Comments on: Tsunami and Theodicy By David B. Hart

By: On Conservative Catholics « Paying Attention To The Sky

On Conservative Catholics « Paying Attention To The Sky — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:06:51 +0000

[...] whom I seem to favor, if not wish to become. In some ways this harkens back to an article (Tsunami and Theodicy) I read a few years back by David Bentley Hart on the 2004 Tsunami that decimated the shores and [...]

By: Ian Hamilton

Ian Hamilton — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:35:02 +0000

Dear Sir,
I have just finished reading David B Hart’s “The Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami?” I enjoyed it immensely. It is beautifully written, thoughtful, provocative, and insightful. I wonder if Dr Hart has read Herman Bavinck’s treatment of “divine permission” in Vol.3 (pp53-70) of his Reformed Dogmatics? Bavinck is squarely within the orthodox Reformed tradition, yet he does not quite follow Augustine or Calvin in their understanding.
For myself, I find that God has kept “the secret things” to himself (Dt.29:29)and that Christians are to live by faith and not by sight. Two texts have shaped much of my thinking re. theodicy: Isa.50:10 (“Let him who walks in the dark and who has no light, yet trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God”) and Rom.11:33ff (“O the depth…how unsearchable…”). In the light of the unimaginable suffering in Japan and elsewhere, what Christians can do is weep with those who weep, and then point them to Christ, crucified and risen (“delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (but) crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” – Acts 2:23).
Dr Hart’s emphases remind me of one of my teachers at New College, Edinburgh, another Orthodox theologian, John Zizoulas.

Ian Hamilton

By: Exclusive: Natural catastrophes and the love of God by Rocket Kirchner « Dandelion Salad

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:29:41 +0000

[...] http://payingattentiontothesky.com/422/tsunami-and-theodicy-by-david-b-hart/ [...]

By: A Discussion On the Meaning of Suffering « Paying Attention To The Sky

A Discussion On the Meaning of Suffering « Paying Attention To The Sky — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:35:57 +0000

[...] Hart wrote (Tremors of Doubt) which came to be a longer article in the WSJ (reading selections here) and finally a book, The Doors of the Sea: Where was God in the [...]

By: P.M.

P.M. — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:05:28 +0000

Good to read of this aspect of freedom – to hate evil and thus choose the God given freedom to do something about it !

There is the power of holiness that He has given us , to be able to deal with even natural calamities – there are rather dependable reports of how Eucharistic Adoration cruises , even in our times ,have possibly helped to avert hurricanes around certain shores !

And yet, is the most prevalent evil in our own times the hardness of hearts to trust that we are loved and thus we are free to love oneself , with a pure , Godly love that sees one’s innate worth and dignity in being human – regardless of age , health, all other externals ! ( is not that what saints were called to show us in an extraordinary way !)

Such love then expanding ….to more realms – family, community, Church ; the latter more so since The Church too is esp. His , even when there are somethings about same that might seem for some rather difficult to grasp ; yet, her children find joy in the very same things – that The Church makes it easier in granting the freedom to accept with certainity ,in the form of Dogmas, certain aspects of faith – Immaculate Conception and Assumption . it is only to help us to grow in love – awe at what a great and special Mother we have been given ;to celebrate with even more joy the great freedom to call her as our own Mother and in turn , to take in better that we too are lovable, worthy – inspite of the trumpet blast of the culture that yells about the worthlessness of humanlife !

The dogma on papal infallibilty , again giving one the freedom to know that The Shepherd’s voice, in such a God ordained capacity , is free of errors and thus trustworthy , in The Spirit that speaks through the Lord’s visible representation here on earth ; all these gifts through His Church , in turn ,adding up – to help us all to know that we, His beloved Church is greatly loved and cared for and we in turn can love ourselves and others , in gratitude and love for The Father and thus to be freed from the evils of selfhatred and hatred of others ; evils of misunderstandings and hatreds that have been built up over centuries , esp. through the presence of those who mistakenly believe that God needs evil and hatred , those who do not want to believe that in the midst of the hatred He faced from us His children, on The Cross , He did not hate us but chose to see our worthiness as His children and thus setting us free , to love ourselves and Him , to be even able to do the same for others , thus again freeing us from the fear that hatred could drown us !

Acceptance of the truth that the Holy Spirit of The Father has come to His children through The Son, through this great forgiving love , esp. shown on The Cross , may be a needed aid and help in this growth in selflove and gratitude , as a step to overcome fears – of evil where it is not !

In mercy , the Church recognises that the exercise of such freedom to trust may not come in that easy , after centures of the rule of fear and thus chooses to wait , with the gentle exhortation – ‘Be not afraid ‘

May the freedom to trust in God given goodness and the freedom to hate evil of divisions , within ourselves and between us become ever stronger !