While taking the exposure module of philosophy four years ago, I learned that one of the most enduring debates in the philosophy of religion is the problem of evil. The problem states that if there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God, why is it that God still allows evil and suffering to prevail. The problem questions the nature of evil and why people suffer despite their goodwill. The most poetic and affecting response I gathered in the past few years comes from the film The Tree of Life (2011). Watching the film again amid the recent COVID-19 outbreak, I realise that the film communicates two contrasting worldviews to cope with suffering. In this essay, I reflect on how the film gives me liberating perspectives and strength to confront the current pandemic and an unpredictable future. Instead of solving the problem of evil as a logical puzzle, the film commemorates the possibility of grace beyond good and evil.
In a module titled Life, Universe and Everything, the lecturer Prof. Loy Hui Chieh introduced some basic debates in different branches of philosophy. The problem of evil stood out as a fundamental problem in theology. Analytic philosophers often treat the problem of evil as a logical fallacy that classical theists commit to. Using precise, succinct language, they rewrite the problem in terms of its premises and conclusion while checking whether premises necessarily lead to the conclusion and whether all premises are indeed true. If the argument is sound, it demonstrates the logical impossibility in the coexistence of God and evil. My first intellectual encounter with the problem of evil was therefore an exercise in logic.
Fig.1 Lecture Slides From GET1029 Life, Universe and Everything, on the (Logical) Problem of Evil
Two years after taking Life, Universe and Everything, I took a summer course about Søren Kierkegaard at University of Copenhagen. The instructor of the course, Prof. Brian Söderquist, recommended the film The Tree of Life (2011) during a session on Kierkegaard’s take on the problem of evil. The film recounts how a modern American couple (the O’Briens) deal with the sudden death of their son R.L., and how their eldest son, Jack, deals with the death of his brother and, as a middle-aged man, reconciles his relationship with his parents. The film also integrates a cosmic documentary narrating the beginning of the universe to the birth of life and morality on earth.
Stylistically challenging, the film is not like anything I have watched. The quivering camera follows the O’Briens as the two faithful Christians struggle to accept the death of their son. I did not really understand the film when I watched it for the first time, but its opening voice-over has stayed with me:
A man’s heart has heard two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace. You’ll have to choose which one you’ll follow. Grace doesn’t try to please itself. It accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. It accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. It likes to lord it over them, to have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it, and love is smiling through all things.
In the film, the way of nature is embodied by Mr O’Brien who finds the world unsympathetic and competitive, and, if necessary, one has to act against Christian morality to get to the top. A tough father, he teaches his sons to fight and to be among the fittest to survive those competitions. The way of grace is embodied by Mrs O’Brien who raises her sons with warmth and unwavering love. She keeps her faith in God’s benevolence despite her suffering and treats others with quiet compassion and elegance. Although the film leans towards the way of grace, it does not force a correct way through life, and audiences have to choose between the two.
Fig.2 A Screenshot of The Tree of Life showing the O’Briens
I find that the film provides a more satisfying visual experience and intellectual stimulation than the lecture on the problem of evil. The film teaches me that the problem is more than a logical fallacy; it is an aching experience and existential puzzle that everyone encounters. With the analytic method, I position myself as a distant, indifferent observer separated from the problem of evil. I reduce the complexity of evil to its logical essence. But that reduction does not help me appreciate the relevance of the problem in my life. As the world suffers from the COVID-19 pandemic, I find myself drawing strength from the film but not the reductionist, logical exercise. Perhaps suffering demands to be felt. People seek hope beyond evil instead of a logical rejection of faith that leads to nihilist despair. Although the film does not suggest a solution to evil, it embodies a therapeutic message that empowers me with hope beyond good and evil.
Following the latest development of the pandemic, I realise that people are acquainted with the way of nature. Resources are limited, and survival is one’s first instinct. Panic shoppers around the world rush to supermarkets, and the New York elite have a higher chance to be tested and treated than residents in an Indian slum. Political alliances turn against one another, and world leaders take the opportunity to strengthen their political narratives. Some see the recent stock market crash as a prelude to an unprecedented recession, others view it as an exceptional investment opportunity. The way of nature is the way of opportunism, anxiety and despair. Large-scale sufferings like the recent pandemic have convinced some to give up their faith in not just God, but also secular benevolence and goodwill. People have been harshly reminded of the competitive nature of survival, and they have had no choice but to prioritise their own interests. Rejecting the meaning of suffering, they have chosen a life of fear and constant struggle to avoid evil.
But there is also the way of grace that accepts suffering as an inevitable part of life and withstands evil as a test of one’s benevolence. Those who follow the way of grace embrace life in its totality, including its absurdity and constant test of faith. Despite their suffering, those who choose the way of grace find happiness, love, and ultimate reconciliation with evil because they are no longer lost in a harsh, mindless process of natural selection. They celebrate the miracle of life and honour the divinity of morality. Still, the challenge associated with the way of grace is its difficulty. The way of grace, if anything, is against human nature. One has to teleologically suspend human calculation and rational doubt to seek solace beyond their imminent suffering. When the extent of suffering is beyond measure, like the death of one’s child or the massive disruption of life due to a coronavirus, grace becomes nonsensical if not impossible.
As I enter the next phase of life, I also ask myself which way I shall choose, not just to face the recent pandemic, but also to prepare for more inevitable sufferings in the future. I realise that I cannot make the choice. If I choose the way of nature, I will maximise my chance of survival but live with constant anxiety and nihilist despair. I wish I could say that I choose the way of grace, but my graceful actions may appear naive and not make logical sense to many. Perhaps the way of nature and the way of grace are by no means settled choices in life; people oscillate between the two options. The anxiety of nature propels them to look for grace that transcends their suffering, but the difficulty of grace pushes them to return to the convenience of nature.
Fig.3 The final scene from The Tree of Life, as Jack finds his parents, brothers and childhood friends on an imaginary coast
I find strength in the last scene from The Tree of Life. Jack, then a middle-aged businessman, journeys to an imaginary coast only to find his younger parents, dead brother and childhood friends. In an impossible family reunion, everyone looks happy and peaceful. In an evocative scene, Jack kneels down and whispers his prayer. He reconciles his guilt for his brother and his strained relationship with a grumpy father. It takes Jack decades to find his peace, but even so, I doubt that he transcends evil once for all. The strength I draw from the film is not a solution to evil or suffering, but some hope for the possibility of grace and a cinematic experience of grace. Although it takes time, hard work and determination, I am happy about the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
The spiritual transformation of the O’Briens gives me liberating perspectives on evil and suffering beyond the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Although I live in a world that often appears to follow the way of nature, I realise that nature is not the only choice, and one day I may find my own resolution to suffering and make peace with the world. The Tree of Life reaffirms my faith in benevolence and goodwill. Although this post ends without me making a settled choice in life, I find some peace with evil and some perseverance to carry on. The problem of evil is not solved, or perhaps it is not meant to be solved. That existential struggle has been the world’s source of strength and hope. Love, generosity, grace. These words must mean something, and they are worth fighting for.
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