Присутність зла у світі, або чи винен Бог у тому, що йде війна?

Анотація

У статті розглянуто основні православні позиції, що стосуються питань виникнення зла у світі та його крайнього прояву – війни. Зіставляється питання Промислу Божого та мети страждань у різних формах. Подаються богословські аргументи для формування світогляду християнина щодо ставлення до участі Бога в історії людства.

The article examines the main Orthodox positions concerning the emergence of evil in the world and its extreme manifestation – war. The issue of God’s Providence and the purpose of suffering in various forms are compared. Theological arguments are presented for the formation of the worldview of a Christian regarding the attitude towards God’s participation in the history of mankind. It is quite easy to believe in a God who helps us and, most importantly, hears our requests. Then everything goes in its own way and God harmoniously fits into our life. And when life’s difficulties, trials, and especially war come, a person is forced to stop and reevaluate his attitude to faith. It is at such moments, when all life orientations are out of control, that a serious rethinking of the question of God and his role in the world takes place. This determines the relevance of the study of the main principles of God’s participation in suffering and world history. The purpose of the article is to analyze the main content of the teaching of the Orthodox Church about the emergence of evil in the world and its extreme manifestation – war and also to reveal theological arguments for the formation of the worldview of a Christian regarding the attitude to God’s participation in the history of mankind. Achieving the research goal actualizes the solution of the following tasks:
• consideration of the main Orthodox positions concerning the problem of evil in the world and its extreme manifestation – war;
• comparison of the issues of God’s Providence and the purpose of suffering in various forms;
• identification of theological arguments for the formation of a Christian’s worldview regarding the attitude to God’s participation in the history of mankind.
Conclusions. Since we are created by God, we must understand that everything that happens to us is not free from God’s will. If we suffer something, then it has a purpose, and even if it seems evil, from God’s point of view, it is not always so. Suffering is not God’s choice, but man’s choice, and through this choice He tries to help us. The more a person understands that he is dead even when he exists, and nothing hurts, the more he longs for life, which is only in God. We fear any form of suffering because our focus is on ourselves and not on God. When a person begins to trust God, he understands that “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4, 16–18). God is love, but not sentimental. He seeks good for us, not a sweet death. But, as we can see, the Lord comes to the very heart of the storm of suffering, he is with everyone who is in danger and most importantly – we cannot reproach Him, because Christ still bears wounds from human evil. God did not aloofly f orce man to seek Him through suffering, no, with the coming of Christ, he is full of suff ering that man has created for himself. God’s providence, no matter how incomprehensible it may seem, has one goal – to raise a real person in us, his children. And that is why everything that happens to a person in life has the cause not of God himself and not of man himself, but of man and God in cooperation.