CANONIS THEODICEA: the Problem of Evil

[MCVDK 2830]

It is noted that the present discussion draws heavily upon the early disputations of Father Bertrand de Rouen and his Acolyte’s Thesis, The Problem of Evil, wherein the enduring tension between Providentia Dei and the existence of evil is first systematically explored and set within the framework of our sacred doctrine. We extend our sincere gratitude to Father de Rouen for his inspiration in this endeavor, and for the conversations shared in his early years as an Acolyte, which, by divine providence, have contributed to the formation of the present dissertation in the sacred science of theology.

 

CANONIS THEODICEA:

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL IN CANONIST THOUGHT

 

EDENTE FRATERNITATE SACERDOTALI PHILOLEXIANA SANCTI THADDAEI

ANNO DOMINI MMXXVI

 

I. INTRODUCTION: THE CANONIST FOUNDATION OF THEODICY

i. From the sacred Scrolls (Sepharim Qedoshim) and the testimony of the Doctors of the Church, we derive the foundational affirmation that suffering (dolor) and evil (malum) cannot be rightly conceived apart from Providentia Dei, whose will is singular (voluntas simplicissima), omnibenevolent (summe bonus), and omnipotent (cf. Spiritus 5:6–7; Virtus 1:9; Canonis Apologetica I.I). Indeed, the Scroll of Virtue teaches that the Lord "created the struggles of the world, and the struggles of the spirit" (cf. Virtus 5:5), not as arbitrary or gratuitous afflictions, but as the theatrum virtutis within which virtue is refined, tested, and magnified.

 

ii. Thus, the existence of suffering and evil must be interpreted not as ruptures in divine governance, but as elements enfolded within the supreme wisdom of the divine plan (sacramentum providentiae). This introduces the profound inquiry: if God is truly good and almighty, unde malum? If His will is immutable and His goodness unassailable, how can realities arise that seem to oppose Him? And if suffering is not willed as an end in itself, why is it permitted to stain the world He called "good" (cf. Gospel 1:5)?

 

iii. These questions have occupied the traditio canonistica from its earliest moments, particularly through the exposition of the Catechism of the Canonist Church (cf. Catechismus, "On the Problem of Evil") and the disputations preserved in the Canonis Apologetica (cf. Mtr. Adolpha Yohānāh, Disputatio I). Following this venerable path, we shall now examine with pious attention (attentio pia) the mysteries of divine providence, the dignity of human freedom, the necessity of original sin, and the transfiguring promise of redemption.

 

II. DIVINE PROVIDENCE AND THE GOVERNANCE OF ALL THINGS

i. The first principle of sacred theology (theologia sacra) proclaims that God, the Creator (Borei), is the First Cause (causa prima) and Final End (finis ultimus) of all that exists (cf. Spiritus 5:6–7; Canonis Apologetica I.I). His will is not divided nor partial, but whole, entire, and unfailing (voluntas integra et infallibilis). All that occurs in the created order is either directly willed by Him as a positive good (bonum positivum), or permitted (permissio divina) for the sake of a higher good yet to be revealed (cf. Canonis Apologetica I.II).

 

ii. Thus, suffering is not an anomaly within creation, nor an unforeseen blemish, but is enfolded within the ordo sapientiae divinae that governs all things toward their proper ends. As Bl. Pius of Sutica instructs, God permits certain evils precisely that greater goods might arise: "Courage cannot be perfected except through peril; patience cannot be exercised except through tribulation" (cf. Dialogues p. 1, s. 5).

 

iii. Mala poenae, such as disease, famine, and disaster, are permitted not as goods in themselves but as privations (privatio boni) that call the soul (neshama) to a higher and more enduring participation in virtue (cf. Catechismus, "The Problem of Evil").

 

iv. Malum metaphysicum, the inherent imperfection of finite existence,is similarly necessary. Because the created world is distant from the infinite perfection of its Boreh Olam, it necessarily bears the marks of limitation, decay, and contingency (cf. Dogma and Principles of the Church, "The Creator"). Thus the Scrolls affirm that creation, though good, is not itself God (non Deus); it is good insofar as it reflects His being, but always less than His fullness (pleroma).

 

v. Thus, Providentia Dei governs all things: the good directly (immediate), and evil permissively (mediate), ordering all according to the supreme wisdom of God (cf. On Free Will: How We Exist in God's Breath I).

 

III. THE CLASSIFICATION OF EVIL

i. Drawing more deeply from the Catechismus and Canonis Apologetica (cf. Catechismus, "The Problem of Evil"; cf. Canonis Apologetica I.II), we discern that evils fall into three principal categories, each with distinct theological significance (differentia theologica).

 

i.i. Malum culpae: The willful disobedience (praevaricatio) of rational creatures, whereby they choose contrary to the Divine Will (voluntas divina). Moral evil is sin (peccatum) properly so-called, acts of murder, theft, blasphemy, and all transgressions of Virtue. It is this evil alone which merits damnation (condemnatio aeterna) (cf. Virtus 7:6–8).

 

i.ii. Malum poenae: The privations suffered by creatures in the world, such as disease, hunger, and death. These are not sins, but the temporal consequences (poena temporalis) of creation’s corruption through original sin (cf. Catechismus, "The Problem of Evil").

 

i.iii. Malum metaphysicum: The imperfection inherent to all created being, by reason of its finitude and its necessary distance (distantia metaphysica) from the infinite Creator. This evil is neither culpable nor punishable, but a feature of the created condition (cf. Dogma and Principles of the Church, "The Creator").

 

ii. In the eschatological consummation (consummatio saeculi), all three forms of evil shall be abolished, and creation shall be restored (tikkun olam) in the plenitude of God (cf. Auspice Vision of Paradise 5–16).

 

IV. HUMAN FREEDOM: THE THEATER OF VIRTUE

i. In His infinite wisdom, God did not create automata (machinae spirituales) but free beings (creatura rationalis), endowed with liberum arbitrium, the capacity for authentic love and authentic virtue (cf. Virtus 7:6; cf. Canonis Apologetica I.I; cf. On Free Will I).

 

ii. Here unfolds the drama of moral evil: the Scroll of Gospel reveals that rebellion (mered), first by Iblees, then by Man, was not positively willed by God, but permitted (permissio) that love might be freely given and not mechanically compelled (cf. Gospel 1:14–26).

 

iii. Predestination (praedestinatio), rightly understood, is not a fatalistic decree (necessitas absoluta), but a sovereign foreknowledge (scientia divina): God foreknows every choice without compelling it (cf. On Free Will III). Man remains genuinely responsible; "all fall short" (omnes peccaverunt) not by necessity, but by voluntary error (cf. Virtus 7:8).

 

iv. Thus, the dignity of liberum arbitrium requires a world where evil is possible, that merit (meritum) and true virtue might exist.

 

V. ORIGINAL SIN: THE INHERITED WOUND

i. Original sin (peccatum originale) offers the key (clavis intelligendi) to understanding the universal condition of suffering. The Scroll of Gospel recounts how, through the fall (lapsus) of the first created beings, led astray by the temptation (nisayon) of Iblees, the human race (genus humanum) was made subject to mortality (mortalitas), disorder (inordinatio), and the privation of original justice (privatio iustitiae originalis) (cf. Gospel 1:14–49; cf. Catechismus, "The World and the Descendants").

 

ii. Original sin is not merely an individual fault (culpa personalis), but a condition inherited corporately (status naturae lapsae): humanity is one in origin (communis radix), and thus shares the wound inflicted at the dawn of existence (cf. Dogma and Principles of the Church, "The Creator and Humanity").

 

iii. This inheritance is not unjust (iniustitia); for in the solidarity (solidarietas naturae) of human nature, we suffer together the consequences of our common origins. As Rev. Sem. Adolpha Yohānāh eloquently explains, guilt arises not merely from personal wrongdoing, but from the recognition of this inherited state of deprivation, and the consequent necessity for divine reconciliation (reconciliatio divina) (cf. On Innocence: The Necessity of Guilt I).

 

iv. Thus, suffering under peccatum originale is both a consequence (poena lapsus) and a providential summons (vocatio provida): calling the soul to humility (humilitas), dependence upon God (fides implicita), and ultimately to the hope of redemption (spes salutis).

 

VI. REDEMPTION: SUFFERING TRANSFIGURED

i. The problem of suffering finds its ultimate resolution (solutio ultima) not in speculative reason alone (ratio speculativa), but in the mystery of redemption (mysterium redemptionis). Suffering (dolor) is not endured passively, but is actively transfigured (transfiguratio doloris) within the economy of salvation (oeconomia salutis).

 

ii. The Scroll of Auspice prophesies that in the end (in novissimo), all who persevere in virtue (perseverantia in virtute) shall be made perfect (consummatio sanctorum), and evil shall be no more (cf. Auspice Vision of Paradise 5–16). Even now, amid the vallis lacrimarum (vale of tears), suffering serves as the crucible (crisolus) by which souls are purified (purificatio animarum), disciplined (disciplina spiritualis), and sanctified (sanctificatio; cf. Virtus 5:7–8).

 

iii. Thus, every affliction borne with patient faith (fides patientissima) becomes a means of ascent (scala paradisi). Every sorrow offered in union (unio mystica) with God’s will becomes a participation (participatio passionis) in the redeeming work of Providence (opus redemptionis).

 

iv. Even in the judgment (iudicium) of the reprobate (reprobi), the mercy of God (misericordia Dei) is revealed: for He punishes (punitio) not with pure vengeance (ultio), but in a manner tempered by mercy (misericordia temperata) (cf. Canonis Apologetica I.III).

 

v. Thus, rightly understood, the problem of evil is transformed from an accusation (accusatio) against the Creator into a testimony (testimonium) to His greater glory (gloria maior), wherein "the darkness shall be as midday" (cf. On Innocence, conclusion).

 

VII. THE ROLE OF SUFFERING IN MERITORIOUS SANCTIFICATION

i. Building upon the mystery of redemption, the Canonist tradition teaches that suffering (passio), when consciously united to the will of God (conformitas voluntatis divinae), becomes a source of merit (fons meritorii) and sanctification (fons sanctificationis). It is not merely passive endurance (passiva tolerantia), but an active ascent toward holiness (ascensus ad sanctitatem).

 

ii. The Scroll of Virtue teaches that "the struggles of the world, and the struggles of the spirit" are designed not for destruction (destructio), but for the purification (purgatio) and exaltation (exaltatio) of the soul (cf. Virtus 5:5–8). When endured with patience (patientia), charity (caritas), faith (fides), and humility (humilitas), each trial becomes an opportunity for the soul to grow in likeness (similitudo Dei) to the Creator and ascend (ascendere) nearer to Him.

 

iii. The Catechismus expounds that the blessed (beati) who dwell in the higher Skies (caeli superiores) are those who, while in the world (in saeculo), bore their sufferings in faithful conformity to the divine will (fidelis conformitas voluntatis divinae), and thereby attained a superior crown of glory (corona gloriae eminentioris) (cf. Catechismus, "The Seven Skies and the Virtuous Dead").

 

iv. Thus, it is not only great deeds of strength (magnalia virtutis) or public virtue (virtus publica) that merit exaltation, but the quiet and hidden endurance (silentium passionis) of affliction, the patient acceptance of sorrow (patientia doloris), and the humble offering (oblatio humilis) of one’s own suffering to God.

 

v. Each pain borne in love (amor dolorum) draws the soul closer to the Cor Altissimi. Each sorrow endured in faith becomes a gem (gemma caelestis) in the heavenly crown. Thus, the faithful are not merely called to suffer (vocati ad patiendum), but to sanctify their suffering, rendering it a precious oblation (oblatio pretiosa) and a participation in the redemptive mystery by which the world itself shall be made new (renovatio mundi).

 

VIII. CONCLUSION

i. Thus it is that Canonist thought beholds suffering and evil (dolor et malum) not as contradictions to the infinite goodness of God (infinitum bonum Dei), but as realities encompassed within His Providentia aeterna.

 

ii. Creaturae rationales, endowed with the dignity of choice (dignitas electionis), misuse their freedom (abusus libertatis) and thereby introduce evil into the world; yet this is permitted (permissio sapientissima) for the sake of a greater redemption (redemptio amplior). Original sin (culpa originalis) explains the universality of suffering; redemption (redemptio) transfigures it into a means of sanctification (via sanctitatis).

 

iii. Moreover, when the faithful unite (coniunctio fidelium) their trials consciously to God's will, they ascend by degrees of merit (gradus meritorum), preparing themselves for the beatitude (beatitudo) of the Septem Caeli.

 

iv. For the faithful, evil is not a cause for despair (causa desperationis), but a summons to hope (vocatio spei): for "all shall be restored in and through Him" (cf. On Innocence, conclusion). Indeed, as it is taught, "the fruit of virtue shall not rot" (cf. Virtus 1:2), and "the promise of God to the world" shall be fulfilled in Paradise (cf. Auspice Vision of Paradise).

 

v. Thus do the faithful live (vivere), suffer (pati), and die (mori) in the sure expectation (certa expectatio) of that day when "the world shall be made whole, and the wicked shall be no more," and the children of God shall rejoice forever in lumine vultus Eius.

[Yeetboy0206 1574]

The Devil in Black collects another thesis for his collection, nodding approvingly at its thoroughness. He wishes that the current leaders of the Church took these as seriously as he did, for it seemed they were so content to justify destruction of evils they do not understand and that are not evils in the eyes of GOD.