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TruthNotes
Why Does God Allow Suffering?

The problem of evil has been called the “rock of atheism” because it presents an apparent contradiction in the nature of God. If God is all-loving and all-powerful, then why does He allow suffering and evil in the world? Why are children born with serious and painful defects? Why does tragedy seem to strike so random and to those who don’t deserve it? It often appears that God is not around at all, leading many to argue that this supports atheism. One philosopher even put it this way – “If there is a God, he is the Devil.” And in his book Why I Am Not A Christian, philosopher Bertrand Russell summed it up by saying: “The world in which we live can be understood as a result of muddle and accident; but if it is the outcome of a deliberate purpose, the purpose must have been that of a fiend. For my part, I find accident a less painful and more plausible hypothesis.”

STATING THE OBJECTION
This apparently leaves us with only three possible conclusions:
1. Finitism – “God is all-loving but not all-powerful, and therefore incapable of destroying evil.“ This view affirms that God’s power is limited and so He simply lacks the ability to deal adequately with evil . . . He is unlimited in love, but limited in power!
2. Sadism – “God is all-powerful but not all-loving, and is thus generally unconcerned about destroying evil.” This view holds that God delights in, or at least is relatively unconcerned with, evil that is inflicted upon His creation. . . He is unlimited in power but limited or lacking in love.

3. Atheism – “God does not exist.”

SIGNIFICANCE
There are three reasons why every Christian must view this is as a serious objection that needs to be answered.
1. The character of God is in question. Is He really the loving and powerful God we believe Him to be?
2. 1 Peter 3:15 says we are to have a ready answer for everyone who asks.


THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

1. An all-powerful God could destroy evil.

2. An all-loving God would destroy evil.

3. Evil is not destroyed.

4. Therefore, there is not an all-powerful, all- loving God.

SCRIPTURE IS NOT SILENT
1. The entire book of Job is dedicated to dealing with this subject in the life of a righteous man. So great was his anguish that at times he even wished to never have been born (chapter 3). He actually acknowledges that the Lord is the source of his suffering and asks God why He is afflicting him (10:3; 16:7-14).
2. Many of the Psalms question God’s whereabouts or concern when innocent suffering occurs (Ps 10:1; 13:1,2), though the psalmist always concludes his songs with praise.

GOD IS NOT APATHETIC
1. God is close to the brokenhearted and has understanding without limit (Ps 34:18; 147:5).
2. Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses and has experienced life as a man (Heb 4:15).
3. God paid the ultimate price to solve our problem of sin, pain and death (1 Cor 15:54-57).

SKEPTIC ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

A. “Please define evil, giving examples if necessary, so I know specifically what you mean” Listen carefully because he will most likely use words like “wrong,” “good,” “not right,” etc. Every one of these are value judgments that assume some sort of “Good” out there that we all know and recognize. As stated in point II, there can be no universal standard without God. Point this out to him.
B. “Would you say that it is a good thing that we have the freedom to make our own choices?” This point begins to address the real issue of free will and morality. The skeptic would never say it is bad that he has the freedom to make his own moral decisions.
C. “Do you ever do anything that God, if He does exist, might consider evil or wrong?” If he has trouble with this, you can suggest some options such as lying, saying hurtful things, or having lustful thoughts. If he is honest he will admit that, if there is a God, he has probably violated a command or two.
D. “If you were about to do something that God thought was evil, should He to stop you?” You could even give him a specific example, such as – “If a girl were on her way to have an abortion and God thought that was wrong, should He stop her?” What the skeptic will hopefully see is that he is actually being selective about the evil he wants God to deal with (i.e. “stop innocent suffering or world hunger but don’t judge my personal sin”). But he can’t have it both ways. Either God stops all evil (including the skeptic’s), or God allows it to continue – for now.

II. “Evil” implies God’s existence
A. Calling something “evil” implies there is a “good,” which implies there is a moral law (or else good & evil are mere preference), which implies there is a moral Law-giver.
B. Without God there’s no basis for measuring right or wrong, good or evil. The question is meaningless is there is no God – we are just part of the “furniture of the universe.”

So if there is no God, then there really is no objective “evil.” Rather, everyone just has preferences and tastes about what they feel is bad. But we DO think some things really are wrong, so there must be an objective standard

A. In other words, “can’t he stop a murder, a bomb from going off, or a fatal car accident from occurring?”
B. The answer is, of course, yes, but most people don’t realize what they’re asking! This is because when God destroys evil He will do a thorough job, meaning that all evil would be judged, and, because we are sinners by nature, we would be judged and wiped out.
C. How grateful we should be that “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Ps 103:10).

IV. What is “evil”?
A. Evil is not a “thing” or a “substance.” If it were, we couldn’t solve the problem of evil, because then either God made it (and thus is not all-good or else God did not make it (and thus did not create all things).
B. Evil could simply be seen as “a lack of conformity between our will and God’s will.” For example, a weapon is not evil in itself. It is the act of the will or the soul, which chooses to use the weapon for evil.
C. Evil is actually the lack or absence of good (i.e. blindness is not a “thing” but rather a lack of sight), and thus was not created.

V. What is the origin of evil?
A. The origin of evil (on earth) is human free will. According to Genesis 3, Adam and Eve misused the gift of free will by choosing to disobey God’s command not to eat from the forbidden tree. This disobedience is called “sin,” and is what brought evil, suffering, and death to the whole world.
B. See Genesis 3:8-19; Romans 5:12; Romans 8:19-22

VI. Couldn’t God have made a world without sin or its possibility?
A. First of all, He did make a world without sin (see Genesis 1 & 2).
B. The real problem arises when we ask for a world without the human freedom to choose evil, for that would be a world without humans since free will is part of what makes us “human.” In other words, it would be a world without hate, but also a world without love because love is voluntary. It is therefore impossible to create a world that has, at the same time, real free choice (i.e. humans with the potential to choose good or evil) and no possibility of choosing evil. As J. P. Moreland puts it: “God could not make free creatures who could not sin, for that would be to make free creatures who were not free.”

VII. Is there a purpose to suffering?
A. Since God is sovereign, there is nothing that occurs that takes Him by surprise or that He does not allow. It IS true, therefore, that any suffering we experience is from God. For example, even though it was Satan who had afflicted him, Job demonstrated his understanding that God was allowing his trials when he said to his wife, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10). The question is, then, is there a reason for our suffering?
B. Some suffering is a natural consequence of sin (AIDS from promiscuity; car accident from alcohol) – Galatians 6:7 C. For unbelievers, some suffering may be God’s judgment for their own evil. Biblical history is full of these kinds of examples. God may also be trying to get their attention before it is too late.
D. For believers, God uses tough circumstances to discipline us or to challenge our faith to grow. In other words, a “bad” situation is actually a “good bad” since the end result is our sanctification (being made holy). We are just limited right now as to the final outcome. This is why James 1:2-4 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (see also Heb 12:5-11 and 1 Pe 1:6,7) E. We are therefore able to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Th 5:18) because we know that God is working on us through our trials.
F. We must remember that His purpose is to make us holy not necessarily happy. Instead of always asking “Why?” when we face trials, we should be asking “What are you teaching me, Lord?” As He develops character and wisdom in our lives through suffering we must choose to be better rather than bitter so that we can say with Job, “Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty” (Job 5:17).

Summing Up The Answer . . .
1. The potential for evil is always present in true free will (human freedom = possibility of evil)
2. Most of the world’s suffering can be directly traced to human freedom
3. “Natural evil” (i.e. sickness, pain, death) is a direct consequence of “The Fall of Man”
4. Scripture tells us of the reality of Satan who is free to do evil until God’s final judgment
5. Some – but not all – suffering is punishment from God
6. God uses our trials to test us and sanctify us, though we may not immediately see the reason why.
7. God Himself entered our pain and was the ultimate sufferer for our sin on the cross (He is not apathetic)
8. Just because evil is not yet destroyed does not mean that it will never be destroyed (see Revelation 21:3,4)

In concluding this discussion, it is important to keep in mind that many non-believers struggle with this issue a bit more because they have no relationship with God and therefore do not know Him enough to trust Him and His final purposes for their lives. One who has been a Christian for many years has had to opportunity to see God’s gracious hand in their lives time and time again. This person will (hopefully) find it easier to rest in the confidence that God is in control. Non-Christians (and new Believers) have not had this same experience and will protest much louder against God’s goodness because they either don’t know Him personally or just not well enough to be able to accept tough times. Life IS very often painful and suffering does seem to be pointless at times. This is why we stress the personal relationship with God so much – it is what helps us see His heart, trust His purposes and allow Him to mold us into His image.