As Mormons, I think that we have a very unique view of the nature of God. It is different. It is unlike any other that I know of. It is a uniqueness that answers otherwise difficult questions. And I'm not talking about "who am I," "why am I here," and "where am I going." These have answers. Most people understand these answers no matter what religion or personal belief system they have. They may not have it exactly right, but I think they can grasp it easily enough. But what about harder questions?
One of the hardest, I feel, is the question of Evil. Why is there evil in the world. I think, at times, even Mormons have a hard time with this one. Because there is no reason, (when it comes to Gods relationship to it) to have evil. It is not the only way in which we learn or grow, and often times people don't get the message or lesson. So why do we have it?
I never really though about it until a few years ago, after hearing a talk by Tom Honey. Because his ultimate answer followed what we believe, (or what we should be believing, I think) as Mormons:
“When I stood up to speak to my people about God and the tsunami, I had no answers to offer them. No neat packages of faith with Bible references to prove them. Only doubts and questions and uncertainty. I had some suggestions to make – possible new ways of thinking about God. Ways that might allow us to go on, down a new and uncharted road. But in the end the only thing I could say for sure was I don’t know, and that might just be the most profoundly religious statement of all.”
“But what if God doesn’t act? What if God doesn’t do things at all? What if God is in things? The loving soul of the universe. An indwelling, compassionate presence, underpinning and sustaining all things. …In the infinitely complex network of relationships and connections that make up life. In the natural cycle of life and death, the creation and destruction that happen continuously. In the process of evolution. In the incredible intricacy and magnificence of the natural world In the collective unconscious, the soul of the human race. In you and me, mind and body and spirit, in the tsunami, in the victims. In the depth of things. In presence and in absence. In simplicity and complexity, in change and development and growth.
This is a key idea. While we don't believe in God being an entity, or the representation of empathy, nature and everything, there is room in our gospel for the idea that God does not act. But there are obvious reasons for this that maybe get passed by in our general thinking or view of our religion. So lets think about it.
Why would God not act? First, there are a few key beliefs that need to be understood. All of these beliefs can be housed under the term "complexities". What if, God worked through complexities? What would this bring about? It would give creation. A creation that is ongoing and old. It would give room for scientific theories. The age of the universe, evolution, these things can be explained as part of this question of evil.
So why is there evil? Because if God stopped one act of evil; if he intervened on the behalf of one innocent child trapped in a trunk, one father stuck in a car during a hurricane, he would be accountable for saving everyone. God cannot show favoritism. God cannot say to one person you deserve life and you do not. We are all his children with an equal amount of love. And so he does not do anything. He lets things take their course and guides and persuades us to a better life style. And if anyone is willing to listen than anyone can hear what he has to say. He has methods of sharing this. Methods we know.
We have freewill. We have our agency. And, for me, that means that there cannot be any direct interference with my choices by God. They are mine. But he can help me to understand choice and consequence in which my decisions can be affected.
There is another reason why he wouldn't step in. One that is at the root of our doctrine. It is what we have faith in. It gives us hope and purpose. It is the condescension of God, "the one," Eugene England says eloquently, "who does not look down in judgment upon us from a physical and moral distance but who literally descends with us into moral pain and suffering and sickness." Because of the atonement, there is no need for a God who intervenes. Only one who understands what we are going through and provides perfect empathy for our benefit and the chance to learn, grow and progress through this life and anything after.
