Catholics/Tsunami

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Expert: - 3/30/2006


Question
Why are so many people allowed to die purely through geographical location?

Answer
It seems that you're asking about the problem of THEODICY as it relates to NATURAL EVIL. Theodicy asks "how can an all-powerful, all-good God permit evil?" NATURAL evil refers to events like the Tsunami, as opposed to MORAL evils where human beings make a free choice to sin.

There are several different answers to this problem. The most prevalent Catholic answer is that some kind of Good ultimately results from evil. But the Good is too mysterious or removed to be appreciated immediately. Take a look at these links. You can find more at google using keywords

>> natural evil theodicy

And

>> natural evil Catholic theodicy

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14569a.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05649a.htm

http://www.crivoice.org/evil.html

http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/naturalevil.html

and a discussion:

http://turnabout.ath.cx:8000/node/758

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Michael Clark, Ph.D.

Expertise

I'm a progressive Catholic--not a liberal, conservative nor a single-minded critic of Catholicism. I simply believe that adults in the 21C should use the mind God gave them and not just repeat ancient and medieval modes of thinking.

I can probably help with questions that intelligently and respectfully question those aspects of Catholicism that are not infallible. But if you're looking for someone to vigorously defend or perhaps refute Catholicism as a whole, that's not me. So please ask another expert.

Experience

I run an educational website earthpages.org and know what the web has to offer. I might suggest hyperlinks and/or book titles as I have a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and a considerable personal library.

Publications
Print Media:
My table from "Religions and Cults" at earthpages.org is reproduced with permission in L. Lindsey, S. Beach and B. Ravelli, Core Concepts in Sociology, 2nd ed., p. 157

World Wide Web:
My online article "Letter to God" coauthored with Buddhist monk, E. Raymond Rock, appears on several different spirituality-based websites, including http://tinyurl.com/db7a5o

I've interviewed, as a Christian, a self-proclaimed mystic: http://tinyurl.com/cawykr

My articles appeared at the former New View magazine nuvunow.ca and are published at earthpages.org.

Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Religious Studies
M.A. in Comparative Religion
B.A. Hon. in Psychology/Sociology
For more info, please see my CV and letters of recommendation and my blog at michaelwclark.com.

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