theodicy
Human activity in society is continually bombarded by anomic phenomena such as suffering, death, and evil actions. These events must be accounted for and explained within the context of the nomos of the given society. The explanation of these phenomena in terms of religious ideals is a theodicy. Berger points out that the explanation does not need to be a "sophisticated theoretical system" but could be crafted by an illiterate peasant. Theodicies are able to be differentiated into rational, less rational and irrational groupings. Rationality is defined as the "degree to which a theodicy entails a theory that coherently and consistently explains the phenomena in terms of an overall view of the universe." First we will discuss an irrational theodicy. The transcendence of self is considered to be one of the more irrational theodicies available. This view shows th
In this theodicy there does not need to be rewards in the afterlife, or a meaning behind death, the person's life has aided in the continuation of the collective and thus has inherent meaning. In Berger's words, "every conceivable anomy is integrated within a thoroughly rational, all-embracing interpretation of the universe. Thus the actions of the individual are not tied directly to the universe of which they are a part, but instead are viewed as part of the continuing history of their collective. It runs into difficulty with questions about when this glorious event will occur. Berger states, "As long as men die, we have to make sense of it. This theodicy is able to eliminate any and all intermediaries between man and the rational order of the universe. " (70) The most important role of theodicy is to provide explanations for death. This theodicy is considered to be rational insofar as it includes a coherent theory of history. A frequently asked question in the face of tragedy is "Why would God do this?" Thus a theodicy connecting the actions of an individual in his own nomos and the reaction of the cosmos must be posited. " (65) A less rational theodicy is that of suffering and injustice found in messianic/millenarian theologies. Another important social aspect of theodicies is to explain the inequality of power and privilege; this allows for a social order to be imposed. Namely, the person is responsible for their actions and thus has no one to blame but themselves for their position in life. at an individual cannot form an identity for themselves that is separate from the collective of which they are a part (e.
Common topics in this essay:
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glorious event,
suffering injustice,
phenomena terms,
actions individual,
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