Lesson Two Why Does God Allow Suffering & Evil?
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I. Question #1: “Where Did Evil Come From?”
1) A Skeptic’s Response -- “Evil is part of human nature, it just happened, and is not a historical event.”
“Sin is just an aspect of who we are. It is inevitable.” – Karl Barth
The evolutionary theory of natural selection depends on death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak.
2) Questions to Ask Skeptic
How can we be guilty for sin if sin is just who we are? How can we be responsible for being what we are, for being what we can’t help being? How can God eliminate sin without eliminating human beings?
3) A Christian’s Response – “Sin came from a historical event, through human choices to disobey God.”
God made everything good (Genesis 1:31).
Satan and his angels fell (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Isaiah 14:12-15 & Ezekiel 28 may allude to the fall of Satan, but the context is comparing it with the attitudes and destruction of ungodly human kings).
The source of evil is not in God’s power but in man’s freedom as he was able to sin.
“If the fall was a historical event, we may hope it can be undone through historical events. If we deny that sin can enter the world by a historical person, we must deny that righteousness came into the world by a historical person. If we deny the historical Adam, we must deny the historical Jesus.” – John Frame 1
1 Frame, John. Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. P & R Publishing: Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 2006, p. 107. 2 “The providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created, was the placing him in paradise, appointing him to dress it, giving him liberty to eat of the fruit of the earth; putting the creatures under his dominion, and ordaining marriage for his help; affording him communion with Himself; instituting the Sabbath; entering into a covenant of life with Him, upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death.” - The Westminster Larger Catechism, #20
II. Question #2: “How Could God Create a World & Allow Suffering?”
1) A Skeptic’s Response – “There must not be a God because of suffering.”
“If a good and powerful God exists, He would not allow pointless evil, but because there is much unjustifiable, pointless evil in the world, the traditional good and powerful God could not exist. Some other god or no god may exist, but not the traditional God.” — J. L. Mackie 2
“Either God wants to abolish evil and cannot; or He can, but does not want to; or He cannot and does not want to. If He wants to, but cannot, He is impotent. IF He can, and does not want to, He is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how come evil is in the world?” – Epicurus
2 Howard-Snyder, Daniel, “God, Evil, and Suffering”, a summary of J.L. Mackie’s argument, Eerdmans, 1999, p. 84.
3 2) Questions to Ask Skeptic
If you abandon belief in God, does it make the problem of evil easier to solve? Without God, what basis do you have for distinguishing good from evil? What do these terms mean if there is no personal God? Does the presence of suffering necessarily mean the absence of God?
“The problem of tragedy, suffering, and injustice is a problem for everyone. It’s as big a problem for nonbelief in God than for belief in Him. It’s a mistake, though an understandable one, to think that if you abandon belief in God it somehow makes the problem of evil easier to handle.” – Tim Keller 3
3) A Christian’s Response – “God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all- good. Our suffering can build character and lead to repentance.”4
God is all-powerful – He can do everything that is meaningful, possible, and that makes any sense at all.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” — Isaiah 55:9
God is all-knowing – God knows what will result from suffering.
God is all-good – God can work things out for the good, even when we do not see it.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” — Genesis 50:20
3 Keller, Timothy J. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Dutton: New York, 2008, p. 27. 4 Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2000, pp. 48-56. 4 Our suffering can build our character.
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.” — Romans 5:3-5
Our suffering can lead us to repentance.
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” – CS Lewis 5
God will judge those who mistreat others.
“Justice delayed is not necessarily justice denied.” – Peter Kreeft 6
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Do not take revenge, my friends, by leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” — Romans 12:17, 19, 21
III. Question #3 – “Does God Care That I’m Hurting?”
1) A Skeptic’s Response: “Even though God is all-powerful, all- knowing, and all-good, it’s still hard to accept that He allows suffering. I’m hurting.”
2) A Christian’s Response: “The Christian God came to earth to put Himself on the hook of human suffering.”
5 Lewis, CS. The Problem of Pain. MacMillan: New York, 1962, p. 93. 6 Kreeft, Peter. Making Sense out of Suffering. Servant: Ann Arbor, MICH, 1986, p. viii.
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God experienced in His Son, firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, and torture. Jesus suffered a 3 hour death by slow suffocation and blood loss. Jesus was in agony and tried to avoid death. The worst tragedy in human history brought about the most glorious event in human history.
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5
“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross…in the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from all the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of His. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering. The cross of Christ…is God’s only self-justification in such a world as ours.” – John Stott 7
7 Stott, John R.W. The Cross of Christ. Duckworth: London, 1916, pp. 335-336
6 *An Important Note to the Christian*
When people wrestle with this question, they are usually deeply hurting. The first thing we need to do is listen to them. Be aware of their pain and empathize with them as they hurt. Address the pain and don’t go quickly into an answer. This will turn them away and not address their heart.
“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” - Proverbs 25:20
Group Discussion Questions
1) Without God, how could someone describe where evil came from?
2) What would you say to someone who asked, “How could a loving God allow suffering & evil to exist?”
3) Why is the suffering of Jesus so helpful to people in time of pain? How can you communicate this effectively?
4) Why is it important to address the hurt of those asking this question first before jumping into a logical discussion?
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