God and Suffering (General)

by dhw, Thursday, December 11, 2008, 16:07 (5622 days ago) @ David Turell

I wrote that David "consistently advises us not to attribute any qualities to such a designer." - David has stepped in to defend his position: "No human has absolutely true knowledge of God. We do not know what that truth is! Pascal's 'leap of faith' covers a chasm of unknown territory." - You don't need to defend your position against me! For an agnostic, not having knowledge comes quite naturally! But I want to know how other people can take the leap, and how they cope with the chasm. Mark has given us the chance to question him about his faith, and just as I can learn from you and George about the latest scientific discoveries, I can also learn from Mark's understanding of a world beyond science. - Let me go one step further, though. If there is/was a designer or designers, his existence will be meaningless for me unless there is an afterlife, and I would not want an afterlife unless he was beneficent. I know I have no choice in the matter, but that does not prevent me from inquiring and speculating. If this life is all we have, then so be it, though I feel sad for those who have not been as lucky as I have (up to now). But if there is a designer and an afterlife, I would like to know how a dedicated believer visualizes him and it. I think I've understood the reasoning behind George's faith in chance and the laws of nature (though he wouldn't call it faith) and also behind your own panentheist faith, but I have not understood Mark's reasoning. Yet!