Pain And The Providence Of God (Paperback)

PAIN AND THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD Til - - - - - - 1 ram and the Providence of God By M. C. DARCY, S. J. Campion Hall, Oxford THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY MILWAUKEE London, 17 Red Lion Passage, W. C. 1 ImprMi JOSEPHUS BORLAND, S. J., Praep. Prov. An afe Nihil obstat H. B. RIES, Censor librorum Imprimatur SAMUEL A. STRITCH, Archiepiscopus Milwaukiensis August 12, 1935 COPYRIGHT, 1935 REV. M. c. DARCY, s. j. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR If there has ever existed a Riddle of the Universe for the mind of man, left to its own resources, it is the problem discussed in this book. It has led men in the past to devise a dual divinity, one evil and the other good. This was a childs solution, too easy to be true. The same problem has led men today to make of it a plea for atheism or agnosticism. Yet these solu tions, in turn, are merely a surrender of the entire issue. They leave unsolved the more serious prob lems which must thereafter arise. Evidently there is still another answer we can find to the question Why does suffering exist in the world, if a God of infinite love created it In approaching this subject the author assumes no dictatorial mood. He fairly submits, under the form of a friendly discussion, all the difficulties that pre sent themselves to the modern mind. An open forum is thus created wherein each significant opinion is championed by its own chosen sponsor, expressing his thoughts unhindered the Scientist, the Atheist, the Artist, the Psychologist, the Mystic, the Agnostic, vii the Priest, and whoever else participates in the gen eral argument. And so, after the whirlwind and the storm, is ultimately heard the still, small voice that speaksthe truth to reason. JOSEPH HUSSLEIN, S. J., PH. D., General Editor Science and Culture Series viii PERSONS IN THE OPEN FORUM The Reader of the Paper - The Ecclesiastic The Atheist - The Author - His Friend The Psychologist The Scientist An Agnostic An Unknown The Mystic The Artist The Last Doubter - The Priest - I ix i PAIN AND THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD By luck I attended a discussion a few days ago, which, despite anticipations, interested me so much that I have decided to record as much of it as I can remember. I was on my way home when I met a friend of mine who loves an argument and is of a very different type of mind from mine. He likes to think of himself as representing the man of com mon sense, of being clear-minded and fair, and this I always maintain means that he questions what ever he dislikes and is ready to box the compass in his beliefs. On this occasion he told me he was going to a meeting of a society to which he belonged mostly highbrows and he said that the subject promised to be a very interesting one. I pretended at first to be indifferent and forced him to tell me that the subject was Providence. I need not delay on our conversation it ended, as I soon saw that it would, in my promising to come with him after dinner as his guest. We dined at his club and strolled off to the room where we were to meet. To my surprise the number attending was very small, and I am glad as it makes, it much easier for me to record the discussion. Indeed I shall record it without mentioning names, and as the points can be written down much more easily if I condense remarks often repeated in different ways and the truth does not suffer, I think it will be best to include only what wascharacteristic of the different speakers. The reader of the paper was a slim, dark man, advanced in years. He had, I was told, the reputa tion of being a philosopher, and he was a Catholic to boot. His argument was roughly as follows So sensitive are we now that to write a paper on Providence must mean, in fact, a paper on the problem of evil. Peoples minds are beset by this thought of evil they resent it bitterly and they resent the idea of a God who can permit such evil...