This little outline/essay hits on the vast majority of the things that interested me most ten years ago (and still do). We hit the Problem of Evil, some epistemology, some theology that reconciles the problem of Evil in a Christian context, what it means to be a philosopher and how one should use their philosophical 'powers', the dichotomy (which I believe to be false) between faith and knowledge and the intersection of all of these topics, my own little theory of everything. While some of the word choices are that of a young, but enthusiastic kid aren't perfect I still think I agree with much of it. Although, upon reading it a little closer I feel I might have strayed a bit into a dualism that I didn't mean to. But, I think that is more of the clunky usage of Evil/evil and Good/good. (2/10/16)
(Originally written July 20, 2006 in Book 3)
This is an outline for what I believe about man.
I. The Beginnings of Man
A. God is completely perfect
B. God creates man perfect, but not completely perfect
-mirror analogy
C. God and man exist in a perfect harmony. Man is dependent on God for existence and God explicitly provides it.
II. The Fall of Man
A. Man perceives his perfection as completely perfect. Thus, having no need of God.
B. Man wittingly rebels against God, breaking God's commandment.
C. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil provides man with truth he is incapable of understanding.
Knowledge is the comprehension of truth.
Sin occurs as the breaking of the commandments of God. In the beginning there is only one explicit commandment - do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil.
Once man had eaten of Tree two things happened:
1) Man sinned against God
2) Man was endowed with more truth of good and evil than he was capable of understanding.
As man was now overwhelmed with more knowledge of Good and Evil than he was capable of processing sin was inevitable.
Sin is the Original Sin, the direct breaking of God's commandment to Adam. Now, sin is the inevitable consequence of men with all the knowledge of the truth of good and evil and none of the faculty to process it all into knowledge.
The Original Sin caused man to demand autonomy, an existence not dependent on God. Man demanded to be God. Rather than exacting vengeance, God in his mercy, acquiesced. But, man did not (nor could he have) understood the ramifications of his demand.
Man deprived himself of God, thus depriving himself of Good. The deprivation of Good is Evil.
A good is derivative of the Good. An evil is a derivative of the Evil. Thus in reality: an evil is an action done in the deprivation oft he Good.
God is Good. Only God is Good. Man, pre-Fall, was good and was in the presence of the Good. Thus, there was no deprivation and therefore no Evil or any possibility for evil.
When man committed the Original Sin, he deprived himself (and the physical world) of the Good. The deprivation caused a void which was filled by Evil.
But God created man in His own image. Man was created good. Even after man was deprived of the Good and subjected to Evil, he was still good.
The Good sustained the good of man. But without the Good of God, man's good was insufficient to stop the corruptive power of the Evil.
Since Evil is merely the deprivation of Good, ti cannot have any power over the Good. It can only exist where the Good has abdicated the throne?
Why then would God (the Good) abdicate the throne of earth?
God, justly could have retained the earth, but would have to purge it of anything impure. Man's Original Sin made him impure. Justice demanded man be purged from earth (as Satan was purged from Heaven). God instead chose mercy and removed Himself from the earth. Thus, Evil filled the void left on earth by the deprivation of the Good.
Man did not become Evil, because just as the Good can only exist as a single entity, Evil can only exist as a single entity. If man were ever Good, he would be God. If man were to become Evil, then he would become anti-God, equal in power, but with malicious intent and essence. For something to be equal in power with God is logically absurd.
What then is Evil?
Evil is the deprivation of Good. It is not embodied in any individual being. Evil is a formless vacuum.
So then, who is Evil?
Nothing is Evil. No one is Evil.
What of Satan?
Satan is evil.
What of man?
Man, in the presence of God (the Good) is good. Man in the presence of Evil (not in the presence of the Good) is evil.
So if man is evil and the devil is evil, what is the difference between the two?
Satan and all fallen angels are evil, with no hope of redemption. They have no chance for becoming good again. Man, all fallen men are evil with the hope for redemption. Through Christ, the human embodiment of the Good, man can once again become good, but only through the Good.
Good cannot become good because more cannot be less. A good cannot become Good because less cannot become more.
Good cannot become Evil, because God (the only Good) cannot be Evil. Likewise Good cannot become evil because no trace of Evil or evil is in God.
But, good becoming evil in the presence of Evil and evil becomes good in the presence of Good.
The scope of philosophy is to attempt to comprehend as much of Good and Evil as is possible without forgetting that total knowledge is impossible. The process of evil becoming good is not in the realm of philosophy, only God can accomplish this. Therefore both faith (the bridge between the end of knowledge and the beginning of God) and knowledge are needed in salvation.
Faith is all that man truly needs in redemption. But the corruption of Evil has made man so evil that knowledge usually precedes faith.
Unfortunately, knowledge sometimes undercuts a possibility for faith to exist. It is the responsibility of every philosopher to use knowledge (the comprehension of truth) to lead to faith. Thus, precaution is needed in the acquisition of knowledge. Any philosopher who is using knowledge to undermine faith does himself and the world a disservice. Whoa to the fate of those false prophets.
Since knowledge is not truth, it can never be complete in incomplete beings. Truth is complete and complete comprehension of it would be complete knowledge.
An incomplete being can never acquire anything complete. Complete knowledge is reserved for God.
One must never forget this or the purpose for which knowledge serves. Knowledge is to precede faith, never to substitute for it. This has been the error in many philosophers and philosophies. It's substitution has been the root of many consequences. This error has been much of the pains in sin.
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