Presence

LAMED scores a hat trick, linking to two things I meant to link to, and one I hadn't known about, but would have linked had I been aware:

• EDGE question for 2005: "What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?". I was somewhat surprised by most of the answers, perhaps because my perspective is somewhat different than the majority of people on this list. Most are scientists, and answered with things that , while they cannot prove them today, they hope to be able to prove in the future through scientific investigation. I would have listed things which I think will never be proved.
• R. Lichtenstein on theodicy - this article was recently misapproriated to the other side in a recent discussion. Glad to see R. Lichtenstein is on our side.
• Finally, William Safire's op-ed piece on the tsunami, and the lessons learned from Job. Some of his conjectures as to the message from the whirlwind are questionable, but overall, it's a good piece. He concludes:

  Job's lessons for today:
  (1) Victims of this cataclysm in no way "deserved" a fate inflicted by the Leviathanic force of nature.
  (2) Questioning God's inscrutable ways has its exemplar in the Bible and need not undermine faith.
  (3) Humanity's obligation to ameliorate injustice on earth is being expressed in a surge of generosity that refutes Voltaire's cynicism.

Thanks LAMED, whoever you are.