\u201cEverything happens for a reason\u201d is a common saying I find particularly irritating.\u00a0 I admit, my annoyance with this particular axiom is, in part, due to it\u2019s rampant popularity and general overuse.\u00a0 Putting aside my personal bias against philosophical cliches, this point-of-view is still troubling.\u00a0 The problem is, this fatalistic maxim deflects responsibility away from the individual, and into some nebulous abyss of \u201cdestiny\u201d.<\/p>\n
I understand this phrase is a knee-jerk response to personal difficulties.\u00a0 It is not intended to be employed as a dogmatic life credo, nor is it a consummate theological concept, subject to deconstructionist dismantling.\u00a0 One could even say it is a harmless aphorism people use for their own comfort.\u00a0 But I would venture to say this cute little adage is both theologically inaccurate and ethically corrosive.<\/p>\n
The concept seems perfectly at home nestled into the theological framework of Calvinism.\u00a0 If you ascribe to such Calvinist doctrines as predestination, or irresistible grace, perhaps you can accept this saying without being inconsistent in your logic.\u00a0 My problem is, I believe these ideas are out of line with a profoundly gracious deity.\u00a0 If God is simply a giant micromanager in the sky, or some tragedian playwright using us as his thespians, then perhaps it is reasonable to say \u201ceverything happens for a reason\u201d but for our sake, I hope that\u2019s not the true nature of God.<\/p>\n
The most pressing problem with this viewpoint is obvious.\u00a0 Would a loving God facilitate the murder of a child?\u00a0 The loss of limbs to meningitis?\u00a0 Torture in a POW camp?\u00a0 If God is perfect, and more-over perfectly good, which most major religions espouse, how could He make something atrocious happen?\u00a0 If you follow this concept to its logical conclusion, it would mean A) individuals who perpetuate terrible ethical infractions can\u2019t be held responsible for their actions, and B) it\u2019s \u201cplanned\u201d for victims of such infractions to endure terrible pain and sorrow.\u00a0 While you could make a plausible argument the suffering party is predetermined to be positively shaped by this event (which is another debate altogether) I can see no reasonable way a loving, supremely benevolent being could write into his plan for one of His children to commit a mortifying act.\u00a0 This would make Him, at the very least, an accomplice to the evil act and therefore would render his \u201cperfect goodness\u201d null and void.<\/p>\n
The typical response to this theological paradox is God allows<\/em> bad things to happen but does not make<\/em> them happen.\u00a0 If this is the case then we at least have some modicum of free will, because God is not guiding our actions toward one another, but simply allowing them to take place.\u00a0 Therefore, when a person commits a terrible act they are doing so by their own volition, and consequently are responsible for their actions.\u00a0 If you accept this premise, it inevitably debunks the idea that everything happens for a reason.<\/p>\n This brings me to another aspect I find troubling about this saying.\u00a0 It excuses people from laboring to improve their world.\u00a0 If everything, including violence, pain, illness, and misery is part of a grand plan, what is the motivation for a human being to intervene?\u00a0 The sociological implications are harrowing.\u00a0 Fatalism naturally decreases altruism, and altruism is the central message of Christianity.<\/p>\n Ultimately, my biggest criticism of the belief that everything happens for a reason, is it passes off our responsibility to be the living Body of Christ.\u00a0 It allows us to shift our duties back onto God, which is nothing short of a tragedy.\u00a0 I believe we have been empowered to be living vessels of radical compassion.\u00a0 We are called to use every ounce of our talent, creativity, and free-will to improve and enrich the lives of those around us.\u00a0 This is our greatest burden, and our greatest joy.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think everything happens for a reason. We are the masters of our own destiny, and consciousness is our most precious rift.\u00a0 We are responsible for the suffering and misery in this world, but more importantly, we are responsible for it\u2019s healing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cEverything happens for a reason\u201d is a common saying I find particularly irritating.\u00a0 I admit, my annoyance with this particular axiom is, in part, due to it\u2019s rampant popularity and general overuse.\u00a0 Putting aside my personal bias against philosophical cliches, … Continue reading