God permits evil

A Quiner’s Diner reader wondered, then, what the prophet Isaiah meant when he said:

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)

To get the answer, let’s turn to another church doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, perhaps the greatest Christian philosopher ever (and my patron saint). He suggests that we need to distinguish between evils of fault and evils of penalty…

Read More

May the Prince of Peace dry our tears

If God is real, if God is Love, how can He allow so many innocent people to be butchered like this?

That doesn’t seem very loving, does it?

St. Augustine formulated the dilemma this way:

If God is all-good, he would will all good and no evil.

And if God were all-powerful, he would accomplish everything he wills.

But evil exists as well as good.

Therefore, either God is not all-powerful, or not all-good, or both…

Read More

Obama’s gun control proposal

The president refuses to use the term “Muslim” and “terrorism” in the same sentence. And yet terrorism has a purpose, an intent that directs these acts of violence. Acknowledging the purpose, which is ‘death to infidels’ in the case of radicalized Muslims, helps us understand motives and develop a strategy to counter future terrorist attacks…

Read More