Divine Benevolence
I was, this morning, introduced to Thomas Bayes by Christof Koch, but Koch was discussing probability and citing “Bayes’ Theorem.” I do not know why, but I found myself stuck on the name, Bayes. I wanted to know why his theorem was worth the attention given by Koch. I knew it was somehow related to Koch’s recent “Awakening.” So I dove in. Oddly enough, there is not much published about Thomas Bayes. There is supposedly a small paper known as “Divine Benevolence.” But so far, I have not found a printed copy. I can find a company that will print it for me, but I think I should be able to discover it online. I feel the argument Bayes may be making in his paper is the same as the argument I keep trying to flesh out: that the real reason for creation is Joy. Bayes calls it “Happiness,” but I think the words are fiercely related. While my faith ebbs and flows, I am confident that my Dad was literally trying to convey the most important lesson on his deathbed when he said to me, “Ma...
