Theodicy of Love by John C. Peckham

Author:John C. Peckham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Theology;Theodicy;Good and evil—Religious aspects—Christianity;God (Christianity)—Love;REL067000
ISBN: 9781493415762
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

The Rules of Engagement

We’ve seen so far that the cosmic conflict is primarily a dispute over God’s character, prompted by demonic allegations against God’s justice and rule. Insofar as God maintains his commitment to epistemic freedom, the use of force can do nothing to counter such allegations, so another strategy is required to meet the allegations. Thus in the case of Job, God allows such allegations to have a hearing before the heavenly council and to be put on display so that creatures can make their own decisions. Toward answering such cosmic allegations, God allows Satan parameters within which he might make his case.

In order for a finite being to be able to make such a case against the omnipotent God, there must be consistent parameters within which that finite being is allowed to operate. The finite being must be granted some jurisdiction that the omnipotent being covenants not to override. This is just what we see in Job 1–2. Satan is initially restricted and later brings requests to the heavenly council to have more license to demonstrate his charges. This evinces not only that Satan works within limits that are known to him and to God but that these “rules of engagement” can be modified by agreement before the heavenly council. Insofar as God covenants to act or refrain from acting in a certain way, he is morally bound to do so. Given such covenantal “rules of engagement,” then, God’s action is (morally) restricted.74

To understand this line of thought further, suppose that love requires free will of the kind suggested in chapter 2 of this book, which includes epistemic freedom to trust or distrust God. In his response to demonic allegations against his character, then, God could not immediately bring about a state of affairs wherein everyone freely recognizes his perfect goodness and love. Demonic allegations call for rules of engagement that provide the parameters in which the allegations could be proven true or false via demonstration. Accordingly, God covenants to allow the devil a specified jurisdiction, including agreed on parameters within which to work, which I am calling covenantal rules of engagement. The description of these rules of engagement as covenantal means they are part of a bilateral agreement between parties that effectively limits the action of both and that neither party can unilaterally change.

This framework allows us to make sense of the many passages in Scripture where God’s action appears to be restricted and, conversely, where the power and authority or jurisdiction of the kingdom of darkness appears to be quite robust. Alongside the case of Job, Daniel 10 presents a striking instance of such rules of engagement. Therein an angel of God is delayed for three weeks because the prince of Persia—apparently a celestial ruler behind the earthly ruler of Persia—withstood him (vv. 12–13; cf. 10:20–21).75 As Longman puts it, “Though the divine realm heard and began responding immediately to Daniel’s prayers three weeks earlier, there was a delay because of a conflict, an obstacle in the form of the ‘prince of the Persian kingdom’ (v.

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