ka=Gan? **Spoilers, entire series**
I'd like to have a thread for discussion of the nature of ka, and how Gan might be related to it. For example, are those actually two names for the same thing, or not? Does Gan control everything, or what?
When unexpected things occur, why does Roland attribute them to ka instead of simply saying Gan?
IMO, if he did say that, some cases would surely raise the thorny subject in religious philosophy which is often called "The Problem of Evil."
It's a well-known challenge to theologians, thus stated, formally--
Quote:
If God is unable to prevent evil, then He is not omnipotent.
If God is able, but not willing, then He is malevolent.
If God is both able and willing, then whence cometh evil?
If God is neither able nor willing, then why call Him God?
On tdt.net, I proposed that "ka" could be defined as "the limit of the possible," meaning that it is a general term applied to whatever force is prevalent in a given event, and at the same time to the higher force which ensures that it is possible for there to always be some instant, tangible prevalence. As a corollary to that, I later advanced the thought that it could also be described as "the nature of the supernatural world." It now occurs to me that all of that could be simplified into a one word translation-- ka might best be defined by the English word "war."
There is war on Earth because there was first war in heaven. Some believe that God could overcome His opponents at any time, if not that it is not enough for goodness to win quickly; winning in the right way is more important. And so the war goes on, the great war between good and evil. The faith that God will indeed be victorious, or that all is for the best, is just what gives ka its main meaning, of "destiny," IMHO.
The lines in DT7 about opposing kinds of ka in conflict over the life of King provide some illustration of this outlook.
Your thoughts, folken?
