This is perhaps the most “unusual” message I have received in the 23 years I have been writing for Power Line:
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I have an article on American Thinker today [i.e., August 21], an article which I wrote in response to your July 15 post “Thinking About Natural Disasters.”
Plato solved the Problem of Evil 2,300 years ago. Plato was a much, much deeper thinker than any of the guys you cite.
Also, the Problem of Evil is ultimately a physics problem. You can’t solve any problem by assuming the laws of physics are other than what they actually are, as do the people you cite.
The link to American Thinker is “Plato solved the problem of evil 2300 years ago.”
Best,
Frank J. Tipler
Professor of Mathematical Physics
Tulane University
I wouldn’t call the subject of my post “The Problem of Evil,” but if that’s what Professor Tipler calls it, so be it. And I am familiar with the works of Plato. In those works Plato never speaks in his own name, but rather in dialogues that require interpretation. His views cannot be attributed to any one character in the dialogues (even the famously ironic Socrates) any more than Shakespeare’s views can be attributed to a character in one of his plays. He did not write treatises. Dear readers, I leave you to sort out the “The Problem of Evil” with or without the assistance of Professor Tipler and without further comment from me.
