On Finitude and the Problem of Evil: Part 5, To Exist is Good

In the last post we reflected upon David Kelsey's work in his book Eccentric Existence. Following Kelsey, if we take our creation theology from the Wisdom tradition, rather than Genesis, the limitations of creaturely existence, our finitude and contingency, are not assumed to be "fallen" but are, rather, ontological givens. If so, there is no "problem of evil" per se, just the experiences of finite creatures in their finitude.

In the ancient mindset this was "the problem of evil." The instability of creaturely existence. Our change, fading, and decay. Finitude haunted the Greeks, and they developed a variety of philosophical responses to it, from Stoicism to Epicureanism. In the East, the Buddha argued that creaturely existence is characterized by impermanence, and that suffering (Duhhka) is caused by our grasping and clinging to that impermanence. Notice how the "problem of evil" here is less about personal experiences of horrendous or gratuitous suffering than with the nature of finite existence itself. 

Consequently, many of the ancients attempted to adopt a moral and existential posture toward finitude. Stoicism and Buddhism recommended a stance of non-attachment to impermanent existence. The Epicureans promoted a more relaxed “enjoy life while we may” attitude, not in hedonistic excess but through the simple and temperate enjoyment of life’s pleasures. 

The point is that finitude posed a challenge. How are we to live with it? Non-attachment was one response. Enjoying the pleasures of life was another. And, yes, there was the desire to escape finitude entirely through ascent to or union with the divine. Regardless, in the ancient world the “problem of evil” was really the "challenge of finitude." Living in relation to finitude demanded the right mindset. That was the Buddha’s point: if your attitude toward finitude is wishing it were otherwise, well, you're going to suffer. For the Stoics, living well in relation to finitude demanded virtue. 

What I'm trying to draw out here is how "the challenge of finitude" is universal. This isn't a uniquely Christian problem. Even if you reject Christianity because of "the problem of evil" you're still stuck with the problem. You still have to adopt a healthy posture, morally and existentially, to finitude. And maybe you turn toward Stoicism, Epicureanism, or Buddhism. Regardless, you're coming to grips with finitude on its own terms. Which means you're embracing creaturely existence as good in itself, for exactly what it is, ambiguities and all.   

Biblically, we see this working out in the Wisdom literature. Ecclesiastes is, if nothing else, expressing a moral and existential posture that relates to finitude on its own terms. Life is hebel, mist and vapor, the fleeting impermanence the Buddha described. This, of course, creates desolations. But also gratitude for and the enjoyment of life:

Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun. Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

What we find in these reflections from Qoheleth is a stance toward life that has been properly sized in relation to finitude. We find related reflections in the Psalms where there are humble recognitions of finitude. From Psalm 39:

“Lord, make me aware of my end
and the number of my days
so that I will know how short-lived I am.
In fact, you have made my days just inches long,
and my life span is as nothing to you.
Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor."

Biblically, we meet the challenge of finitude, which is essentially "the problem of evil," with humility and gratitude. Morally and existentially, that is how we live as creatures in relation to our creaturehood. As I've described it in this series, created existence, as existence, is a positive good. Simply, to exist is good. That this existence fades into non-existence isn't good, but that doesn't completely overshadow the gift of existence itself. Existence, as existence, isn't accursed. Consequently, we must adopt postures toward existence, in its finitude, that resist viewing existence as accursed. And this imperative isn't a Christian cop out, a way to let God off the hook. For even Albert Camus argued, as an atheist, that we must imagine Sisyphus happy. Human life can only be tolerated if we experience it as a positive good. The alternative is viewing existence itself as evil, that life is a curse. To be sure, some people, in facing the challenge of finitude, reach that nihilistic, life-hating conclusion. And the outcomes of that worldview, morally and existentially, speak for themselves. The only human and humane way of inhabiting creaturely existence is to meet finitude on its own terms. From Ecclesiastes to Greek philosophy to Buddhism, finitude meets us not as an ontological problem but as a moral and existential challenge. To live successfully as a creature requires adjusting our expectations to fit the ontological realities of finite existence in all its ambiguities. 

To exist is good. Which is a sermon even atheists will preach. They feel the imperative: We must imagine that Sisyphus is happy.