the Question of the Week posed by @ecoalex on the @ecotrain network is; "If There is a God, Why Do Bad Things Happen?"
My answer involves first asking the reverse question: "Why do good things happen?"
In the course of human history there have been times and places that seem almost entirely devoid of Love, Life, or Goodness. Humans are capable of very heartbreaking, horrific deeds against each other and themselves. The current reports from Congo and Somalia send the head reeling and the stomach churning. For those of us who live in relative comfort, safety, balance, health, and loving community, who like to think positively and imagine the universe as a beautiful place, there is a cognitive dissonance when we encounter genocide and systematic rape, etc. How could this be possible?
In Somalia, there is a bitter saying;
"I and Somalia against the world
I and my Tribe against Somalia
I and my family against my Tribe
I and my brother against my family
and I against my brother"
This seems to sum up the source of the problem. Self-centered pride and self-preservation ironically lead to self-destruction. If I fill in your well and slaughter your family, and you do the same to me, we have created hell on earth for each other, but really for ourselves. This reminds me of the man who went to Hell and saw the residents of that realm sitting around a big pot of stew, holding spoons with handles too long to reach their mouths.Everyone was trying to get stew to their own mouth and found it impossible, and so they were miserable. Then the visitor went on a tour of heaven, where everyone was sitting around a big pot of stew with spoons too long to reach their mouths. The visitor asked his guide, "Why are these people happy although they are in the same situation as the people in Hell?" His guide replied, "Here they feed each other".
So my question is this: Why do people overcome their selfishness and look to the needs of others before their own? I do not believe it is possible without God. God is Love, Life, and Goodness, and where there is Love, there is God. where there is no Love, there is no God, and where there is no God, there is no Love.
In the beginning, Life was. This is the beginning of the story for me. All things that live emanate from this primal originator of Life. People ask "Why do things die?" well that's a little later on. let's stick to the question "Why Life?" Why do sperm and egg become zygote and replicate and divide and take form and grow? why do seeds sprout and reach for the sun? why do queen bees lay eggs and how do they know to do it? I get goosebumps as I write these questions!
"In Him we live, and move, and have our Being" Act 17:28
Every life-form in the Universe is part of this One Life, and that is how we can move, how we can sense, how we can decide, how we can act. Without Life, there is no us.
Almost immediately, many peoples' minds leap to deterministic conclusions. How could we live and move in something and also apart from it? we must be ruled by it in every detail, right? and therefore whatever is, is meant to be?
The way I see it is that when we live and think and act as if we are one with the Source of Life and Love, the power of God works in harmony with us, accomplishing more than we thought possible, for the good of all. The Power of the Spirit works best when groups of people work together intentionally, surrendering to God and to each other, becoming part of a whole, recognizing that there are much more important things than I, than my desires, than my survival.
It should be readily evident that this is not often the case. It seems more natural to look out for the interests of myself against my brother, against the world, at the expense of all. At this point some people begin thinking in terms of punishment- i.e. "when we are bad, God sends bad things our way". Others do not want anything to do with a punitive God. To me it is as simple as this Law of the Universe: "you reap what you sow". You can't plant tomatoes and go out later and harvest oranges. that's not how it works! If you plant hatred and violence, that is what grows and that is what you harvest. If you plant grace, peace, and generosity, that is what grows and that is what you harvest. It is only natural that actions taken without a connection to the Source of Life, Love, and Goodness will end up very badly, every time. It is not rocket science.
That is why every religion/spiritual path teaches the loss of self and surrender to God. It is the wisest way to live- in humble and grateful recognition that I am not separate from my Creator, nor from the rest of creation. That my will is most useful and least dangerous when it is in unification with the will of God. This has been said in many ways, but I love the way Jesus said it: "the one who seeks to keep their life will lose it, and the one who loses their life for my sake will keep it to life eternal". He taught his disciples to pray "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This recognizes two things: that it is possible to act outside of the will of God, and that it is possible to align oneself with the will of God.
The unfortunate thing about living here is that we suffer because of others' choices, we are subjected to violence and coercion and manipulation without our permission, and I would say without God's permission. It is important to maintain this distinction and continue to view God as the Source of all Goodness, and not as a whimsical mad dictator. When we experience trauma, that is when it is hardest to recognize that we are all part of Love, that we are all loved unconditionally, and that I can continue to trust Life and surrender myself to the One. It is so easy to identify an enemy and lash out in fear and anger to protect myself. That is why returning good to those who hurt us is a miracle! It takes the power of God to reverse the natural instinct of self-preservation and continue to trust. it takes a whoooooole lot of meditating on the Truth of this Reality for it to become more deeply ingrained than my instincts.
Someday I will pass from this form and be changed into another. My body will return to humus from whence it came. It may come about through violence, impact, water, fire, explosives, poison, or organ failure.... I have no idea. I do know that this will occur, however, and I am not perplexed or vexed about it- it's just like being born- it happens to everybody. The other day I heard that stupid song that goes; "where oh where can my baby be / the Lord took her away from me..." I don't know which is stupider, this assertion, or the next line: "she's gone to heaven so i've got to be good / so I can see my baby when Ieave this world". It's a pile of bad theology there. like heresy squared. I am sure that I am not ready to say goodbye to my wife and son, but one thing I have worked out with God- blaming him is ridiculous. When I am hurting and overwhelmed, I find comfort in prayer- communing with one who cares and is with me. It does not make sense to ask the author of Life why he brings about death. The Essence of all Good does not bring about evil. Love is not responsible for hatred. We are not on our own when coping with pain. I am not talking about the old man in the sky, an alien who cannot communicate with earthlings, a hyper-rational idea- this is the Life Force within me and within all!
No matter how hard we try to attain perfection, we fall short. trapped in space-time as we are, and limited by language and perception, we fumble around for Truth and clumsily attempt to Love. Success is only possible through communion and collaboration with the Perfect One. Any disconnection will bring about pain and suffering to ourselves and to others. It cannot be otherwise