I am in the local college library studying for my Hebrew final and reading and playing online when I need a break. I need many breaks.
From Zorba the Greek, found in Love is Stronger than Death by Peter Kreeft:
Zorba: Why do the young die? Why does anybody die, tell me?
Scholar: I don't know.
Zorba: What's the use of all your damn books? If they don't tell you that, what the hell do they tell you?
Scholar: They tell me about the agony of [those] who can't answer questions like yours.
5 comments:
Yes.
I was in a situation yesterday, hearing a pastor (a lovely person) say that there are only two reasons why God calls a young person "home," and then she proceeded to say what those reasons were, as if she KNEW. I had a strong feeling of disagreement. Who can know the mind of God? Why attribute human thoughts to Him? Why try to say "I know," when one can't possibly know, and such words add to the hurt, instead of bringing healing balm?
We don't know. I doubt we are going to get to know, at least, not here & now.
What matters to me is to find God in the midst of the hell, and to try to remember to keep coming back to His/Her arms. Keep coming back, to lay my head on Her breast. It's so hard to do, when I'm angry about all of the losses. But where else can we go?
Peter Kreeft was one of my undergraduate teachers. I think he "gets" stuff, in the wisest of senses.
Karen - yes, I have found those who are willing to say "We don't know" a great deal more tolerable to be around than those who pretend that they do.
BTW, what were the reasons that pastor gave? Just curious.
GG - I will get back to you on that.
I hope someday we know. Probably it won't matter then, but the pain of not understanding, I think makes it doubly hard. But people telling you why it happened-- that makes it worse. All of us just have to learn to live with "I don't know".
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