Prolegomena to a Dissolution to the Problem of Suffering
Identifieur interne : 001949 ( Main/Exploration ); précédent : 001948; suivant : 001950Prolegomena to a Dissolution to the Problem of Suffering
Auteurs : George Dennis O'Brien [États-Unis]Source :
- Harvard Theological Review [ 0017-8160 ] ; 1964-10.
Abstract
Few criticisms of Christianity are so emotionally charged or so inexorable in their logic as the argument against the almightiness and goodness of God based on the fact of human suffering. “Either God cannot abolish evil or he will not; if he cannot, then he is not all-powerful; if he will not, then he is not all-good.” Numerous solutions to this dilemma have been offered by theologians, philosophers and poets which have pointed to the educational value of suffering, the realization of such second-order goods as compassion from the existence of first-order suffering, the promised compensations for earthly suffering in another existence, and so forth. Even the best of these solutions leave great dark areas. Suffering, in fact, is not always ennobling. Must God have created so much and such devastating first-order evils to produce compassion? Can we possibly comprehend what could count as a “compensation” for the brutal, pointless agonies to which human beings are subject? We seem constantly faced with the necessity of saying in extremis that it is, after all, “a mystery.” I happen to agree that it is a mystery, but in Christianity “mystery” means not merely a problem that we cannot see through but something that is revealed. The problem is of such importance that we simply cannot be satisfied with a few rhetorically convincing forays signed off with the reminder that God's will is inscrutable. I agree with Fr. Daniélou, “The question is fraught with anguish for too many sorrowful hearts to be lightly put off: we must get to the bottom of it.”
Url:
DOI: 10.1017/S0017816000023300
Affiliations:
Links toward previous steps (curation, corpus...)
- to stream Istex, to step Corpus: 001533
- to stream Istex, to step Curation: 001529
- to stream Istex, to step Checkpoint: 001693
- to stream Main, to step Merge: 001965
- to stream Main, to step Curation: 001949
Le document en format XML
<record><TEI wicri:istexFullTextTei="biblStruct"><teiHeader><fileDesc><titleStmt><title>Prolegomena to a Dissolution to the Problem of Suffering</title>
<author><name sortKey="O Brien, George Dennis" sort="O Brien, George Dennis" uniqKey="O Brien G" first="George Dennis" last="O'Brien">George Dennis O'Brien</name>
</author>
</titleStmt>
<publicationStmt><idno type="wicri:source">ISTEX</idno>
<idno type="RBID">ISTEX:08ECB491E56D50482D3C1484AA032B7817E7A4B5</idno>
<date when="1964" year="1964">1964</date>
<idno type="doi">10.1017/S0017816000023300</idno>
<idno type="url">https://api.istex.fr/ark:/67375/6GQ-PT32DJBL-V/fulltext.pdf</idno>
<idno type="wicri:Area/Istex/Corpus">001533</idno>
<idno type="wicri:explorRef" wicri:stream="Istex" wicri:step="Corpus" wicri:corpus="ISTEX">001533</idno>
<idno type="wicri:Area/Istex/Curation">001529</idno>
<idno type="wicri:Area/Istex/Checkpoint">001693</idno>
<idno type="wicri:explorRef" wicri:stream="Istex" wicri:step="Checkpoint">001693</idno>
<idno type="wicri:doubleKey">0017-8160:1964:O Brien G:prolegomena:to:a</idno>
<idno type="wicri:Area/Main/Merge">001965</idno>
<idno type="wicri:Area/Main/Curation">001949</idno>
<idno type="wicri:Area/Main/Exploration">001949</idno>
</publicationStmt>
<sourceDesc><biblStruct><analytic><title level="a">Prolegomena to a Dissolution to the Problem of Suffering</title>
<author><name sortKey="O Brien, George Dennis" sort="O Brien, George Dennis" uniqKey="O Brien G" first="George Dennis" last="O'Brien">George Dennis O'Brien</name>
<affiliation wicri:level="4"><country>États-Unis</country>
<placeName><settlement type="city">Princeton (New Jersey)</settlement>
<region type="state">New Jersey</region>
</placeName>
<orgName type="university">Université de Princeton</orgName>
</affiliation>
</author>
</analytic>
<monogr></monogr>
<series><title level="j">Harvard Theological Review</title>
<title level="j" type="abbrev">H. Theolo. Review</title>
<idno type="ISSN">0017-8160</idno>
<idno type="eISSN">1475-4517</idno>
<imprint><publisher>Cambridge University Press</publisher>
<pubPlace>New York, USA</pubPlace>
<date type="published" when="1964-10">1964-10</date>
<biblScope unit="volume">57</biblScope>
<biblScope unit="issue">4</biblScope>
<biblScope unit="page" from="301">301</biblScope>
<biblScope unit="page" to="323">323</biblScope>
</imprint>
<idno type="ISSN">0017-8160</idno>
</series>
</biblStruct>
</sourceDesc>
<seriesStmt><idno type="ISSN">0017-8160</idno>
</seriesStmt>
</fileDesc>
<profileDesc><textClass></textClass>
<langUsage><language ident="en">en</language>
</langUsage>
</profileDesc>
</teiHeader>
<front><div type="abstract">Few criticisms of Christianity are so emotionally charged or so inexorable in their logic as the argument against the almightiness and goodness of God based on the fact of human suffering. “Either God cannot abolish evil or he will not; if he cannot, then he is not all-powerful; if he will not, then he is not all-good.” Numerous solutions to this dilemma have been offered by theologians, philosophers and poets which have pointed to the educational value of suffering, the realization of such second-order goods as compassion from the existence of first-order suffering, the promised compensations for earthly suffering in another existence, and so forth. Even the best of these solutions leave great dark areas. Suffering, in fact, is not always ennobling. Must God have created so much and such devastating first-order evils to produce compassion? Can we possibly comprehend what could count as a “compensation” for the brutal, pointless agonies to which human beings are subject? We seem constantly faced with the necessity of saying in extremis that it is, after all, “a mystery.” I happen to agree that it is a mystery, but in Christianity “mystery” means not merely a problem that we cannot see through but something that is revealed. The problem is of such importance that we simply cannot be satisfied with a few rhetorically convincing forays signed off with the reminder that God's will is inscrutable. I agree with Fr. Daniélou, “The question is fraught with anguish for too many sorrowful hearts to be lightly put off: we must get to the bottom of it.”</div>
</front>
</TEI>
<affiliations><list><country><li>États-Unis</li>
</country>
<region><li>New Jersey</li>
</region>
<settlement><li>Princeton (New Jersey)</li>
</settlement>
<orgName><li>Université de Princeton</li>
</orgName>
</list>
<tree><country name="États-Unis"><region name="New Jersey"><name sortKey="O Brien, George Dennis" sort="O Brien, George Dennis" uniqKey="O Brien G" first="George Dennis" last="O'Brien">George Dennis O'Brien</name>
</region>
</country>
</tree>
</affiliations>
</record>
Pour manipuler ce document sous Unix (Dilib)
EXPLOR_STEP=$WICRI_ROOT/ChansonRoland/explor/ChansonRolandV7/Data/Main/Exploration
HfdSelect -h $EXPLOR_STEP/biblio.hfd -nk 001949 | SxmlIndent | more
Ou
HfdSelect -h $EXPLOR_AREA/Data/Main/Exploration/biblio.hfd -nk 001949 | SxmlIndent | more
Pour mettre un lien sur cette page dans le réseau Wicri
{{Explor lien |wiki= ChansonRoland |area= ChansonRolandV7 |flux= Main |étape= Exploration |type= RBID |clé= ISTEX:08ECB491E56D50482D3C1484AA032B7817E7A4B5 |texte= Prolegomena to a Dissolution to the Problem of Suffering }}
This area was generated with Dilib version V0.6.39. |