4. Either way, a Christian can respond to the problem of gratuitous evil by arguing that we can’t know that there really are any cases of truly gratuitous, purposeless evil. Evil is thus the result of free-will, but a world with free-will is still a better world than a world without it. If none, then perhaps this problem of gratuitous evil is evidence against the existence of God, which would be classified as an evidential problem of evil. Lastly, there are religious problems of evil, which ask questions like “how could God allow this to happen to me?” These are more personal and existential problems that arise specifically when an individual’s circumstances clash with their theology. Isn’t it time for the pain and suffering to stop? "There are Eastern religions that deny the reality of pain and suffering. God’s chosen people (the Hebrews) suffered when they disobeyed the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 28). "But if God is not the author of pain and suffering where did it come from? "I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write.” -Augustine via John Calvin. "When God reached a decision He wanted to create humankind He wanted humankind to experience this greatest value in the universe, which is the value of love. When we expect God to deal with pain and suffering by taking it away every time, we set ourselves up for anxiety and resentment and disappointment and unhappiness, and even depression and despair. The other type of evil is natural evil such as disasters, he said. With these definitions in hand, let’s analyze the problem of evil. Physical, emotional and spiritual pain has been and will be an intrinsic part of the human experience. Pain and suffering is the process through which God transformed Jesus and his followers, and pain and suffering is the process through which God transforms you and me. Love always involves a choice, Strobel explained. The answer to our fear, stress, pain, and trials is not to merely stand tall and wait for the storm to pass, but to remember that God is in control and he is good. If we turn toward God in our pain, He can use our suffering to mature our faith. That very well may have happened at least once in the history of the world. Lee Strobel: Why Does God Allow Pain, Suffering? I don’t know why the world is in such a state. Satan abused his free-will and fell into sin, and in turn, he coerced humans into doing the same. Join over 250,000 others to get the top stories curated daily, plus special offers! But evil does exist. Many Christians argue that gratuitous evil isn’t a special problem for their defense against evil, but others do. Tim Keller has written one of the years most important books (a line I seem to recite annually). The Privation Defense: a subset of the free-will defense, this defense says that evil is a corruption of the good. For theists, moral evil is called “sin” and natural evil is still within the purview of God’s “providence” (guiding control). God is responsible for the good that happens in the world, but not the lack of good that happens in the world. For instance, when someone finds out that their nephew has Leukemia they might think something like: “my brother is a pastor and yet his son was diagnosed with Leukemia right before his first birthday, how could the God I serve allow that?” Among these religious problems we could also include the problem of hell, which asks: if God is so good, how could He punish His image bearers for an eternity in hell? Take my opinion for what it is and ask God about it one day when you see Him face-to-face. Because we live in a sin scarred cosmos.". We see this biblical truth illustrated through the persecuted church. DeWine signs law requiring burial, cremation of aborted babies, 'We are going to survive': 5 ways the Church is innovating amid COVID-19, Mental illness and helping the Church not to overspiritualize it. Lewis states in The Problem of Pain, “We can ignore even pleasure. We all go through challenges, and you are not alone. The problem of evil actually turns out to be a family of problems and can more accurately be described as the problems of evil. God is omniscient (all-knowing) Ironically, we would have to be God in order for us to know that there is no purpose God could have for allowing an instance of apparently purposeless evil. This problem is posed in the form of a deductive argument like the following one: I. "• "Why trust the Bible; isn't it full of mistakes? VII. Greater-Goods Vs. Gratuitous Evil God doesn’t remove us from pain and suffering, but ultimately, the Bible promises that God has and will finally defeat evil. Evil itself is literally a necessary evil if God wants to obtain the greater-good of having morally, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually mature human persons. "• "Jesus was a good man – but the Son of God? The Christocentric Greater-Good Defense: similar to the felix culpa above, the Christocentric Greater-Good Defense puts Christ at the center. Each of these problems pop up differently in different theological systems. III. ( Psalm 11:4; 56:8 ) For example, when his worshippers in ancient times were being oppressed, God said: … Not prompted by moral agents. There are also evidential or inductive problems of evil which seek to demonstrate that the vast weight of the evidence of evil in the world leads to the conclusion that there probably is no God. God is aware of our suffering. But what most Christian responses to the problems of evil have in common is an appeal to some greater-good defense, that is, that God has some morally sufficient reason for allowing evil to exist. In order to wrestle with and do justice to this problem, we need to do the initial groundwork of defining our terms. Through His sacrifice on the cross, we have been offered peace and salvation. Perhaps God had to allow certain evils in order to achieve said evils’ antecedent goods or subsequent goods. At the Cross of Christ, we see that God used the greatest evil in cosmic history, the wrongful conviction and crucifixion of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, in order to bring about the greatest good in all of human history, Salvation for anyone who repents and trusts in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. Therefore, the omnicompetent God does not exist. Well, Jesus didn't call it an illusion. Sure, it might seem to us that there is no purpose or even possible purpose for God to allow a given instance of apparently gratuitous evil, but in order for us to know for sure that He, an all-powerfully good God, truly has no morally sufficient purpose, we Parker’s Pensées Podcast| ep. 5. Moral evil: significant pain and suffering intentionally prompted by a moral agent. According to the felix culpa theodicy, the morally sufficient reasons for which God allows evil are the infinite goods of Incarnation and Atonement. Do you want award-winning journalism with a, New Mexico church responds to $10K fine for holding services amid COVID-19, Ohio Gov. The archetypal example of our suffering was Jesus Christ, who was persecuted and crucified by the Roman officials. Evil and suffering can refer to not only physical pain, but emotional pain, too. Or perhaps God is using such evils to bring about an even greater good. God is in control over every swell of the waves. God has existed from eternity past as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect harmony in relationship, the relationship of love that has gone on for eternity. Certainly, God allows pain and suffering because He loves us. “If God were small enough to be understood, he wouldn’t be big enough to be worshipped.” —Evelyn Underhill357” ― Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering It's our choice whether to accept God's free ticket to eternal life in paradise (Acts 4:12). Perhaps there is a morally sufficient reason for God to allow certain evils in order for His good purposes to be achieved. ( Log Out / They just try to wipe it away by saying it's all an illusion. In the beginning, all of creation reflected God’s glory. There are also various other types of problems of evil which can be posed in either deductive or evidential arguments against the existence of God. "Why? God used the worst evil ever in order to bring about the greatest good ever, reconciliation between God and man, the redemption of God’s very own image bearers. Pain and suffering can only be questioned in the light of the existence of GOD. https://parkersettecase.com/2020/04/17/why-does-god-allow-pain-and-suffering Free creatures have the ability to corrupt the good into evil, and while evil is parasitic on the good, a world with the possibility of the corruption of good plus free will is still a better world than a world without free-will. Since they don’t believe in a transcendent, all-powerful, all-good, all-knowing Law-Giver like God, it’s hard for them to make sense of a transcendent, objective, and binding moral law. Paul said: “God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle.” Therefore, be immovable and trust in God. No pain, no gain! This answers the question, 'Why didn't God create a world where people don't suffer?' What’s God up to? God has a plan to bring about a greater good and God’s plan cannot be thwarted. If God’s so good, then why do bad things happen? God doesn’t promise us an easy life but he does promise to be with us through it all! Yes, there are numerous bible verses about pain and suffering in the scriptures. The best world, is a world where sinful creatures are offered redemption and salvation from their sins. But pain and suffering does serve a purpose. The problem goes like this: If God is all knowing, if He is all powerful, and if He is all good, then He’d have to stop any and all instances of evil before they happen, wouldn’t He? But there are other reasons as well. God promises a time when there will be no more crying, no more tears, no more pain and suffering, when we will be reunited with God in perfect harmony, forever. This is a weaker conclusion than the deductive problem. A defense might argue that there’s a morally sufficient reason for God to permit evil, a theodicy seeks to give that morally sufficient reason. It’s hard to see how an atheist view of the world allows room for objective morality and intrinsic human dignity. He was one of four speakers at the event called, "The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask.". A few years ago, Christian apologist and author Lee Strobel said that in doing research for his book, The Case for Faith, he asked the Barna Group research organization to conduct a national survey among people across a spectrum of beliefs that asked that hypothetical question. Meanwhile, believers who suffer can emerge from their valleys with purified character, deeper faith and a greater awareness of how truly faithful God is. Problems of evil arise in various forms. "The answer is He did. The Free-Will Defense: God made created-persons in order to have a loving relationship with Him. The Stable-Environment Defense: God designed us to function in the reality He created. After hearing their testimonies, few would deny that suffering produces beauty and maturity of spirit. Suffering and death in this corrupted world are guaranteed for each of us. There are logical or deductive problems of evil which seek to demonstrate an internal contradiction in the theist’s worldview, and therefore prove that there is no God. Please click here to learn how. One of the most common spiritual questions in the world, this is also one of the most complex and challenging to tackle. God never allows pain without a purpose. God is not the creator of evil, pain, and suffering. God is in control, and he is good. But why does God allow suffering? Yes, the innocent suffer (see Job 1–2), but God can redeem that suffering. "It's important for us to understand that when people raise this issue it's not always because of an intellectual curiosity," Strobel explained. II. V. If the omnicompetent God exists, then there would be no evil in the world. Or if every time someone wanted to cause harm they were prevented from doing so. And there are problems of natural evil which ask: why would God allow natural disasters or diseases to cause so much pain, suffering, destruction, and loss of both human and animal life, if He really existed? Strobel and Mittelberg plan to lead another conference called "Unpacking Atheism" in October that will also be available to churches interested in hosting a simulcast. This point can be, has been, and should be pressed by theists. Without an objective and binding moral law, who’s to say what’s evil or good? Strobel said the question is raised by two different types of people. Pain and suffering was not present. There will come a time when God will punish evil and injustice. Another point made by Strobel on the topic is that although suffering is not good, "God can use it to accomplish good. We are not God," Strobel continued. ", "The first thing is this. But pain insists upon being attended to. 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