14 May How Can You Believe God Is Good In Spite Of All The Evil In The World?
If there is a silver bullet against God, it is the problem of pain, suffering and evil in the world.
As Peter Kreeft has so powerfully written about on this issue, the problem of evil is the most serious problem in the world. It is also the one serious objection to the existence of God. Perhaps more people have abandoned their faith because of the problem of evil than for any other reason, and it is certainly the greatest test of the Christian faith.
Atheists Point to Evil as Justification for Rejecting the Idea of God
In a YouTube video that has gone viral, the British comedian Stephen Fry delivered a vicious, scathing attack on the Judeo-Christian God when asked what he would say if it turned out, after he died, that God did in fact exist. He called this God a “maniac”, pointing to the large amount of unnecessary suffering in the world which He, by definition, created and allows.
What kind of God, atheists ask, has created a world in which innocent children die in floods, starve to death, die in agony from malaria? What kind of God allows His own children who worship Him to be murdered, raped, tortured, beheaded, and come to countless other shocking ends?
Atheists argue that the existence of suffering is an impossible problem for believers in an all-good, caring God to solve. Even if they try to argue that without some suffering there can be no love and compassion, or that people who do wrong are eventually punished, they cannot justify the suffering of innocent children or atrocities against sincere believers.
Atheists contend that a God who is benevolent and loving, as they are told the Christian God is, would never create the world we live in. Believing in Him requires either ignoring or excusing an ominous dark side.
The Bible says that God is good
Against all this atheistic reasoning, Psalm 119:68 says, speaking of God, “you are good and do good.” So how can God be good in spite of the presence of rampant evil?
Well, while God does allow evil, for reasons that (frankly) we either have not been told or cannot comprehend, He nevertheless stepped into it and allowed the consequences of evil to touch Him. He did not, and does not, leave us here to suffer alone (Hebrews 4:15-16).
First, Jesus, God’s Son, died to deliver us from evil (John 6:40).
And He didn’t have to die! He could have avoided it. So why in the world did He? Because He loved us and was willing to pay whatever price was necessary to deliver us from evil.
That is not the act of Stephen Fry’s maniac. That is the act of a man of towering moral courage and character. That supreme act of love demonstrates that, while we may not be able to explain why God allowed evil in the first place, if Jesus did not exempt Himself from it, there must be a reason that we do not currently know or understand.
Second, the Father also stepped into the evil for our sake.
The Father made the decision to send Jesus to die for us (“I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me.” John 6:38). Jesus willingly came down from heaven, but it must have been a terribly painful decision for the Father to make to ask Him to do so.
Then, He witnessed the suffering and death of His son… something any loving parent would recognize as an agonizing thing to do. Even more, the Father loves all of us… all the people who have ever lived. And, He has had to witness all the pain and suffering of all people in all places for all time.
It is an agonizing experience for anyone to witness the suffering of someone they love, let alone all people of all places for all time. Why does God endure that? Love seems the only conceivable answer (John 3:16).
Is God a Maniac?
So, God allows evil, but does not exempt Himself from it. Therefore, either God is a maniac (creating a system of senseless suffering that even He has to endure), or there is a rationale that is beyond our knowledge or comprehension.
I do not believe God is a maniac. I look at the evidence that points to just the opposite:
- Love can explain His actions rather than insanity (John 3:16)
- His teachings are of the highest order
- Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39)
- Do unto others as you would have others do unto you (Luke 6:31)
- Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore, love is a fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10)
- Everywhere God is followed authentically, goodness, peace, love, and joy break out, overflow, bubble up, and wash over.
This “Christ-effect”, in point three above, is true whether on a personal level, or an historical level.
On an historic level, D. James Kennedy wrote (What if Jesus had Never Been Born) of the things that were brought to the world as a result of following Jesus’ life and teachings: literacy, health care, legal justice, protection for the disabled, equality of personhood, compassionate government, etc. These things were unknown for common people until Christianity started affecting the world.
Moreover, the dramatic rise of the United States to be the dominant superpower of the modern world is directly tied to its foundation on Christian principles.
And on a personal level, millions testify to the profound positive change God has made in their lives when they gave themselves to Jesus… even those in terribly trying circumstances. Corrie ten Boom testified to God’s goodness in the darkness of a concentration camp. Joni Erickson Tada testifies to God’s goodness in the pain and restriction of physical paralysis and chronic pain. Countless believers in areas of persecution today testify to the sufficient, sustaining grace of God, even in the face of terrible tragedy.
Conclusion
So, why did God create a world, in the first place, in which evil would be present and innocent people would suffer terribly?
The fact is, we don’t know. The answer is either something we have not been told, or having been told, we do not yet comprehend.
However, we can believe that God is good, in spite of the pain suffering and evil in the world because:
- God did not exempt Himself from suffering the consequences of evil.
- Christ loved us enough to willingly suffer and die to deliver us from evil.
- The Father sent His Son to die for our sin to make it possible for us to escape the ravages of sin, something that must have been terribly difficult for a loving Father to do. Imagine.
- God had to witness the suffering of His only Son, and has to witness the suffering of all the people of His creation in all places and for all time… something that must create great angst because He loves everyone He has created.
- Everywhere God, Jesus, the Word are taken seriously and followed authentically, goodness, peace, love and joy overflow. And, this is as the Scriptures predict it will be. This could not be the impact of a maniac.
So, we see that there is no silver bullet against God. While worldview issues will always create a need for clear and deep thinking… when we do think clearly and deeply, God is revealed to be just who He says He is… one who is good and who does good (Psalm 119:68).
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