Re: virus: Re: Social Metaphysics

David McFadzean (david@lucifer.com)
Sat, 20 Sep 1997 11:19:03 -0600


At 06:28 PM 9/19/97 -0700, Tadeusz Niwinski wrote:
>David (who to my delight appears to be an Objectivist) wrote:
>
>>Because to have faith[1] is to be knowingly inconsistent
>
>My father in law survived Oswiecim (Auschwitz). He made a promise to God
>that if he survives he will never doubt Him, and will name his future
>daughter Teresa (and it is my wife's name). He was extremely consistent in
>everything he did.

Earlier this summer a family was driving to their church in a small town
outside of Calgary. When they got to the highway their minivan was t-boned
by a car traveling to the same church. The only survivor, a woman who was
9 months pregnant, lost her husband and five children.

A consistent theist observer has two choices[1]: either God lets devoted believers
die in horrible accidents or this particular family were not actually good
Christians like they appeared to be. Sadly, they often choose to believe
the latter. How does your father-in-law reconcile the horrible deaths of
everyone who didn't survive Auschwitz?

[1] Actually most theists would say that God "works in mysterious ways" or
that He is not limited by our petty logic or not think about it. All copouts
in my view.

--
David McFadzean                 david@lucifer.com
Memetic Engineer                http://www.lucifer.com/~david/
Church of Virus                 http://www.lucifer.com/virus/