All Rabbis hear variations on the following questions: "How can anyone believe in God after the Holocaust? How can a supposedly loving God stand back and let such a horrible thing happen? How can you reconcile the death of even one innocent child with the existence of a just God?" For many, these questions are proof that a personal God does not exist.
The question of why good people suffer and wicked people prosper is not new or rare, and is certainly not limited to Judaism. It is pondered by most intelligent children, and was noticed by philosophers thousands of years before the Holocaust. There is, in fact, a theological field of inquiry called "theodicy", which investigates the basic question: If God is all powerful (omnipotent), all knowing (omniscient), and all-good, (omnibenevolent) how can evil and injustice exist?
It seems that one of these variables must not be correct, and various solutions have been proposed: Perhaps God is not all-powerful, and is bound by the rules of physics and nature; Perhaps God is not all-knowing, and can not see what we will do and the consequences; Perhaps God is not all-good, and simply created the Universe but is not involved in what happens; Perhaps there is a force that opposes God that is responsible for the evil that occurs; Perhaps it only seems that the good suffer and the wicked prosper, but if we could know the whole picture we would see that there is justice in the long term.
While many of the solutions form the basis for different theologies, none get to the heart of the matter. In fact, the very question of "How could God have allowed the Holocaust?" represents a profound misunderstanding of the nature of God, creation, and the spiritual dimension, because it is based on very faulty assumptions. It posits God as a being who is totally separate from us, who observes our behavior, preventing harm from coming to those who follow certain rules (usually written in books), and punishing those who do not. And it sees humans as helpless children.
But God is much more than that, and we are much more than that. This image of God and humans, frankly, is childish and primitive, and from this perspective there is no God, just as electrons are not tiny balls orbiting bigger balls. In order to reframe the conversation we must understand the nature of creation, and address the most essential question of our lives; Why are we here?
The Universe, it seems, had a starting point, when space, time, and matter began; when physicality exploded in to being from nothingness. This, though, is an impossibility. How can some thing come from no thing? And yet here we are, so there was a mechanism of some kind that allowed this to happen. Most religions postulate that the beginning was caused by a non-physical Creator (who I will call "God", but you can use the words "Universe", "Ground of Being", or "Pure Love", if it feels better) who deliberately created physicality for a purpose.
Of course one can ask the question, "who created God?" but this too is a misunderstanding of the nature of God. God, by definition as that which nothing greater than is possible, is uncreated - that has no previous state or cause. Even if one does not accept the existence of God, one must grapple with the question of something that is uncreated. This is either the material that came through in the Big Bang, or an eternal Universe that has no beginning. Either way, there is an uncreated element
From a theological perspective, prior to creation there was only God; undifferentiated, timeless, pure consciousness, irrevocably alone. And yet God's greatest yearning is for connection - for something in which to be in relationship and to experience love. But there was no possibility of anything to connect to because no thing could exist, as the only existence was the completely indivisible God. This yearning, though, led to the paradox of creation, as God removed "His" presence from a point, making physicality possible. This was the Big Bang, and long before it was discovered by Edwin Hubble in 1929 it was seen by mystics from many traditions, especially by those in northern Israel in the 16th century.
The Universe was therefore set in motion with the purpose of developing creatures who would arrive at self-consciousness - the awareness of being aware -, see the obvious design in creation, feel the presence of a loving Designer, and reach out in gratitude. This connection in love is both ours and God's greatest pleasure and delight (and, I believe, also for countless beings on planets scattered throughout the Universe).
The purpose of creation, then, is to be in a loving relationship with its Creator.
In order to have a true relationship, though, there must be absolute free will, because a programmed or coerced being cannot experience true love. Free will, then, is a universal constant, built in to the fabric of creation like gravity and the speed of light. Free will to choose love means that there must be the possibility to choose not-love - to choose indifference and hatred. So while the world may seem unfair, it must be exactly as it is in order for consciousness to emerge, and I am in complete agreement with the 17th century German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who wrote that this is the best of all possible worlds. (The very sound theological move "Bruce Almighty", in which a man who is angry at the unfairness of life is given god-like powers only to make things worse, presents this point.)
This does not mean that God is not omniscient. God does know the choices that we will make because our consciousness is in constant connection to God, and for God time is not a limitation, so our future choices are not hidden. Yet God deliberately does not interfere - not out of indifference, but out of great love. God must "watch" in pain as we commit atrocities, because to interfere would negate free will, terminating the relationship and hence the very purpose of creation. This is the reconciliation of Rabbi Akiva's famous paradox, "All is foreseen, yet free will is given".
This is the great gift and responsibility of creation: We can do something God cannot; we can elevate physicality by our choice to act in love. The end of time will occur when physicality is so elevated by consciousness that it returns to God as pure Love. Then, just as physicality was born in a male orgasmic explosion of outward giving, physicality will return to its Source and reunite in a female orgasmic spread of inward receiving. Presumably, the cycle will then begin again.
Where was God in the Holocaust? As God knew the terrible choices made by too many, and wept at the horrific consequences, those who chose love and service in the face of this horror were strengthened and consoled. Good eventually did win over evil, by our own hands.
We can be mad at God for the Holocaust or for other human tragedies, but this is like a teenager who begs you to let him drive a car - promising to be responsible -, gets drunk, crashes in to a telephone pole, and then blames you for giving him the keys. If we agree that humanity must have free will, we must accept the consequences of its decisions. As Elie Wiesel wrote, "After the Holocaust I did not loose faith in God. I lost faith in mankind."
The idea of free will is tainted as well. It would seem the most vile and murderous humans would have access to their ultimate free will while their victims are robbed of such luxuries. Every murdered child, every raped woman, every slaughtered village, had their free will taken from them. The choice to do good, to live life for their family or god. Who could set up such a backwards system. Why can the creations see the problems of the creator. Are humans as a society more just. We have millions of laws defining right from wrong that far out weigh a measly 10 commandments. The advancements of modern science have eliminated diseases, prolonged life and granted fertility to those who could not conceive naturally (another free will). The universe is hostile to life, the majority of the earth is hostile to humans. People kill for food and water. Not a well thought out plan if the goal was to satisfy gods loneliness. Does he enjoy the company of the suffering he's created? The question of gods existence isn't a possibility issue for me, anything is possible, it's a probability issue.
All the best!
Alan
"The Being responsible for creating the universe was transformed and destroyed at the moment we call the Big Bang. And It is in the process of recreating Itself."
Presumably, this is what an omnipotent being does to alleviate the crushing monotony that goes with being a singularity.
Our "understanding" creates nothing but hubris.
If you want your life to have purpose - you must make that purpose. Appealing to a non-existent "higher power" for your purpose in the Universe is circular, and not productive.
What could possibly be the use of a "higher power" that knows all, sees all, and controls all - only to let it all happen in the horrendous way we see it happen every day - that "high power" is useless, and whether it exists or not is immaterial - to contemplate it, or worship it, is a waste of time and effort, better used to making your own purpose, and trying to make things around you a little better.
That God was created by men to justify politicizing "Divine Law" for the sake of controlling the lives, and livelihood, of others. The Judeo- Christian God of the Bible is no more "real" than Peter Rabbit. But that doesn't mean there is no God. There is...But....Comprehending "him" is a goal many people say is impossible. It isn't. The thing is, once you have done so, nothing changes for you.
You don't become a super-wiseman, you don't win the lottery, you just...know. That's it. You know and you go about with the rest of your life
Now that science is finding multitudes of planets that could be suitable for life, religionists are scrambling to get ahead of the curve by intimating that they knew (and the Bible knew) this all along.
I hope I live long enough to witness science finding evidence of life on another planet and then see religion give all of the credit to God. It should be as entertaining as this years GOP primary. (Oops, mixing politics and religion, sorry).
Why, then, is such a tiny proportion of the (known) universe hospitable to life? Why, on those few planets where there is the potential for life, are only a small minority of creatures capable of any developed sense of self-awareness or consciousness? Why is this 'obvious' design so obviously flawed?
We have arrived at self-consciousness because our intelligence has been our primary evolutionary advantage in the face of predators, disease, natural and man-made disasters. Survival is our only inate purpose, anything else we make for ourselves.
"Why, on those few planets where there is the potential for life, are only a small minority of creatures capable of any developed sense of self-awareness or consciousness?" How do you know?
Also, I find it interesting that god—of which there is no proof—“knowing everything” and then doing nothing looks suspiciously similar to nobody there doing nothing.
Yet the Bible itself points to God as a principal source of evil, since he doesn't spare even those he judges to be perfect and upright: e.g. the case of Job. He also has the habit of punishing his creatures for stuff they didn't do, e.g. "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation".