Subject: Re: Ioudaios: Baba Batra 16a
inmanvk@sas.upenn.edu
Date: Fri Aug 10 2007 - 00:56:09 EDT
>Quoting Cindy Smith" <cms@dragon.com> > > This may sound simplistic, but I was always taught that God allows evil > > to happen in order to bring about a greater good. When it says God > > hardened Pharaoh's heart, I think it really means that God allowed > > Pharaoh to experience what he wanted in terms of hardening his heart in > > order to bring about a greater good -- the Exodus of the Israelites in a > > demonstration of the power of God. Quoting Yuval Warshai <warshy@sbcglobal.net>: > But what a strange, unintelligible way for a supreme being to behave: why > would such an intelligent, all powerful being need evil in order to bring > greater good? Again, why this random, meaningless, cruel evil we see? If it > is so good, so powerful, so intelligent, why couldn't it devise a better way > of having greater good in this world other than through cruel, random, > meaningless evil? V. K. Inman: I believe the real question is not what God does or does not do, but how God is portrayed in this passage of the Talmud. As you probably know, Baba Bathra deals with claims of right. The discussion so far has been about how things may be rightly divided. The Mishna states that sacred writings are not to be divided. This brings a long digression about who wrote various scriptures such as Job. It then digresses into a discussion of Job and even whether or not Job was a real person or a fictitious one. Next the text is cited: "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? And Satan answered etc [In those days they couldn't cite chapter and verse to identify a passage so that had to give a quote from it." What follows is then a commentary on this passage from Job and our unknown Tanna is quoted as also having commented on it. Just previous to this, Rabbi Johanan is quoted as saying "Were it not so stated in the Scripture, we would not dare to say it. [God is] like a man who allows himself to be persuaded against his better judgment." Then comes the unknown Tanna's comment--or "boraitha." What this shows is an acknowledgement of how God and Satan are portrayed in Job--like men. There is nothing in here about God allowing it for the greater good.
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