The Aesthetic Theodicy
by: The Entertainer
“So, we rightfully fear the devil as the author of evil, but we would be wise to also give credit to his ghostwriter. As evidenced by the creation, God has concluded that the good in this world is worth the concomitant suffering; that a world of both good and evil is better than a world without either.”
recommended background music: Justice - Patrick Doyle
Knowing of all the suffering and tragedy that stain this world’s history and that are guaranteed to continue in the future, can we really call the story of creation a perfect one? Can we really consider God a perfect author? I would argue, yes. Any story worth experiencing is a story with struggle and conflict. In engaging as the world and in the world, nothing is more captivating to the Absolute than the struggle between good and evil, and perhaps this is the justification for the latter.
Let’s remind ourselves of the Epicurean question that has employed theologians for ages and has caused so many falls from faith: Who created the Serpent, if not God? More importantly, how did it manage to sneak past an omniscient security into the garden of paradise? Is it not plausible to believe that the Fall of Man was deliberate? If this is true, then it will be the greatest conspiracy ever uncovered: that the Serpent is an earnest employee of God rather than an eternal enemy. To my knowledge, this line of thinking is suggested only once in the Bible: the book of Job which begins with a heavenly meeting where God, the sons of God, and Satan himself are in attendance to discuss the life of a particular righteous man named Job. What do we make of this fact that the devil has the freedom to not only approach and converse with God, but also to whisper sly slanders and suggestions which end up being heeded? If the devil were truly an enemy, then surely, he would have already been destroyed by the omnipotent ruler. We must conclude then that the devil is not despised by the Creator but commissioned by Him. Without the Serpent, there is an eternal paradise where all is absorbed in God - a static union that induces a boredom so unbearable that God Himself feels the need for novelty and surprise. This prompts Him to collaborate with the Serpent – the trickster principle that He Himself created and employed to wreak havoc, to weaken souls, and to harden the hearts of our great villains, all for the sake of a good story. From the tree in Eden to the curse of Job, from Job to the heart of Pharaoh, and from Pharaoh to the shoulders of the prominent Iscariot – it has been this same Serpent setting the stage for us and for the greatest story ever told.
Through the Serpent, God’s Will to Life is carried out – the will that sustains “this world” as opposed to the eternal noumena. This phenomenal domain is the world in which Satan has been crowned prince. Only in this domain does suffering take place, but with it comes all the fun. In paradise, there can be no adventure because there are no quests to embark on, no causes to fight for, no existential threats to defend against. In paradise, there can be no romance because there is only a drowning love of the divine. There can be no comedy because nothing is unexpected. There can be no tragedy because nothing is lost. In paradise, there is only the simple and perfect silence of the divine.
Although we come from and will end in the paradise of silence, the world we find ourselves in is a temporary journey away from it. In the theatre that is our world in space and time, God entertains Himself by allowing the Serpent to play, to create suffering so that goodness may overcome it in the greatest story ever told. Indeed, Shakespeare was on to something in saying that all the world’s a stage, and all its people are actors. It’s only when these actors attempt to find their “true self” that they come to realize that their identity has been a series of masks this entire time: one mask when speaking to their parents, another with their friends, and another with their colleagues. Different masks for different stages and aspects of life. Those who have taken this task of introspection far enough would find themselves with nothing underneath all the masks, no “true self” to cling to. That is when they realize that even their most authentic personality traits and their deepest motivations have been contingent. Then they look at those around them and find that this is the case for everyone.
It is at this moment that the show ends, and it is understood that this entire time, all the people of the world have not been actors, but characters. This is not an existential crisis, but an enlightenment. It is the realization that behind all the masks of this world, there has been only one actor whom we call Nature, and He is His own audience. In those final moments, Brahman sighs in relief and satisfaction.
Why does God allow evil? It is because for good to exist, evil must exist necessarily, and the dramatic battle between the two is the most riveting form of entertainment. From Nietzsche, we read that a moral theodicy is never acceptable on rational grounds; only as an aesthetic phenomenon is the world eternally justified. So, we rightfully fear the devil as the author of evil, but we would be wise to also give credit to his ghostwriter. As evidenced by the creation, God has concluded that the good in this world is worth the concomitant suffering; that a world of both good and evil is better than a world without either. Do we dare to agree with our creator? Do we dare to bring a child into this world knowing of all the suffering she will undoubtedly experience? Dare. And pray that with the love and joy she experiences, she will be able to justify all of the guaranteed suffering.
