Why did God create man knowing what was going to happen? Human history is filled with large scale atrocities like Rwanda and the Holocaust. And many of you have stories of personal suffering due to abuse and neglect. The presence of evil and suffering is the biggest obstacle to faith for many people.
The reasoning for rejecting God often goes something like this. God has allowed evil and suffering to exist. So he might be all-powerful and able to eliminate evil, but he chooses not to, so he can’t be all-good. Or he’s all-good and wants to eliminate evil, but he can’t so he must not be all-powerful. Therefore the supremely good and supremely powerful God of the Bible does not exist.
I’m ready to admit that the existence of evil and suffering is difficult to address. But it may prove even more difficult for people who don’t believe the Bible. Outrage at suffering, destruction, and oppression assumes that there is a different way that we are supposed to live. Where did that standard come from? It didn’t come from evolution or natural selection. That process depends on the destruction of the weak by the strong.
Philosopher Alvin Plantinga put it this way:
A [secular] way of looking at the world has no place for genuine moral obligation of any sort… and thus no way to say there is such a thing as genuine and appalling wickedness. Accordingly, if you think there really is such a thing as horrifying wickedness (… and not just an illusion of some sort), then you have a powerful… argument [for the reality of God]. (quoted in The Reason for God 27)
Even more compelling is how God personally responds to suffering. The Christian story pivots on the entry of God into the very depths of human misery. He has not kept himself immune. Jesus not only suffered unspeakable violence, he also suffered the excruciating pain of abandonment. In the process of carrying the sin and rebellion of humanity, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46). Christ, our Lord, can be with us in our suffering as someone who understands.
Out of this most tragic death of an innocent man, God accomplishes the most wonderful good. The death penalty for sin is paid by Jesus. And the way back to God’s original design for love and peace within his creation is provided. This illustrates that God is able to bring good out of bad even when we can’t see how from our perspective.
We must also keep in mind the future hope of a renewed heaven and earth. Wrongs will be righted. Death will be no more. And as Pastor Tim Keller writes, “Everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for having been broken and lost” (The Reason for God 33).
I’m sure I’ve left many questions unanswered about the presence of evil and suffering in the world. But I hope I’ve helped you doubt your doubts. Unbelief provides little to no resources for dealing with evil. It is in the message of the Bible that we find tremendous resources to deal with suffering.
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