How Could God Allow Suffering and Evil? (Paperback)

Introduction

Adolph Hitler. Tornadoes. Inoperable cancer. Car accidents. Terrorist bombings. AIDS. Drive-by shootings. Child abuse. September 11, 2001.

With just a few words, chills run down our spines and we feel sick to our stomachs. Images flash before us that generate deep emotional reactions. What stirs up all our fear, outrage, and anger? It can be summed up in one word: evil.

When something terrible happens to us, we grope for explanations. Why does evil torment our lives? Where does it come from? How will we ever get past it?

Some people blame nature and its randomness. Some blame a few sinister but powerful people. Some blame themselves. Some believe there is a malicious force at work, a devil or evil spirits. And each of us-at one time or another-has probably blamed God.

Where does evil come from? Isn't it reasonable-maybe even logically necessary-to ascribe it to God? He made everything; he must have also made evil. And what exactly is evil? Is it a living entity, maliciously aiming its terrifying arrows at hapless humans? Is it mere randomness-chaos masquerading as unkindness? Or maybe evil is part of God-the "Dark Side of the Force" that's as necessary as his good side.

Maybe God's testing us-he's watching to see how we'll handle all this pain and suffering. Maybe it's punishment-he's telling us, "This is what you deserve for the life you've lived!" Or maybe the universe just got away from God, like a science experiment gone awry. He'd like to fix it, but it's just too out of control.

All these thoughts about evil can lead us to one nagging question: "Why does God allow it?" Maybe right now this is your big question. If it is, you're in the right place. Fully explore this issue in all its rawness, being honest with yourself and with others about the pain and confusion you feel.

Six sessions devoted to this subject will probably not answer every question and certainly won't heal every ache in your heart. But Christianity does purport to deal with this issue, and the Bible speaks to the reasons behind evil and to the way for us to cope with it. Tread carefully, but deliberately, and see for yourself if there are not answers-and encouragement-awaiting.

Chapter One

What's Wrong with This Picture?

Look around us. We live in a messed-up world. Disease, death, and misery envelop the planet. Strife exists between people and nations. This is a dark place to live, and while at times a ray of beauty or hope shines through, it is clouded over by the next senseless murder or "natural" disaster. Is this the world God created? Surely the perfect-world story of the Garden of Eden was a myth. This planet could never have existed in that condition. Suffering and evil are the unvarnished facts of "creation"-not that fairy tale of a paradise.

In his novel Catch-22, one of Joseph Heller's characters, Yossarian, holds the following conversation with Lt. Scheisskopf's wife:

"Don't tell me God works in mysterious ways. There's nothing so mysterious about it. He's not working at all. He's playing. Or else he's forgotten all about us.... How much reverence can you have for a Supreme being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in his divine system of creation? What in the world was going through that warped, evil, scatological mind of his when he robbed old people of the ability to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did he ever create pain? ... Why couldn't he have used a doorbell instead to notify us, or one of his celestial choirs? Or a system of red-and-blue neon tubes right in the middle of each person's forehead? ... What a colossal, immortal blunderer! When you consider the opportunity and power he had to really do a job, and then look at the stupid, ugly little mess he made of it instead, his sheer incompetence is almost staggering.... Why, no self-respecting businessman would hire a bungler like him as even a shipping clerk!"

"Stop it! Stop it!" Lieutenant Scheisskopf's wife screamed suddenly.... "Stop it!"

"I thought you didn't believe in God," he asked bewilderedly.

"I don't," she sobbed.... "But the God I don't believe in is a good God, a just God, a merciful God. He's not the mean and stupid God you make him out to be."

In the face of the undeniable existence of pain and evil, who can believe in a good God behind this mess? We must conclude he's either a poor creator or a poor redeemer. He either intended this mess-a shudder goes through us at that thought-or once he made the mistake, he was too inept to make it right.

Is there any possible excuse for the way things are? If this is all from God, what explains the origin-and persistence-of that which is supposed to be antithetical to his nature?

OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

1. Describe a recent encounter you've had with some form of evil, which prompted you to wonder why this kind of thing ever happens.

2. Who or what did you blame for the wrong that occurred in the situation you described above? Give reasons for your response. How did those around you see the situation?

STRAIGHT TALK

Moral and Natural Evil

Philosophers have categorized two kinds of evil:

moral evil - man's own inhumanity to man, based on hate, greed, or overindulgence

natural evil - evils brought on by natural causes in the world, such as floods, earthquakes, or tornadoes and different sorts of diseases, accidents, and injuries

3. Using your previous example, would you categorize that evil you experienced as moral evil, natural evil, or a combination of the two? Why? Does the category or type of evil influence how you determine where to place the blame for evil?

4. Take your best shot at briefly explaining why we live in a world filled with so much evil and suffering.

STRAIGHT TALK

Unable or Unwilling?

Doesn't it make sense that God, by default, is the author of evil if he created everything else? This progression of thought usually brings people full circle, back to wondering what kind of God exists - or even if he does exist.

Echoing Epicurus, David Hume, the eighteenth-century Scottish skeptic, put it this way: "Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?"

5. Summarized below are two conclusions based on the above observations. Defend or refute the logic behind each.

Because we live in a world where evil does exist,

God must not really exist after all; otherwise he would not have created such a place filled with evil.

God might still exist, but not in the way the Bible depicts him (as all-powerful and loving); otherwise he would have had both the ability and the desire to create a world without so much evil.

STRAIGHT TALK

The Free-Choice Risk

Here is a very different argument addressing the problem of evil.

1. God created the universe without evil and suffering.

2. God created perfect human beings.

3. God created humans with a complete ability to freely choose between staying in harmony with God or rejecting him.

4. Humankind freely chose to turn away from God.

5. Evil and suffering entered the world as a result of that separation from God.

Norman Geisler describes the above reasoning this way: "We have a real choice about what we do. God made us that way so we could be like him and could love freely (forced love is not love at all, is it?). But in making us that way, he also allowed for the possibility of evil. To be free we had to have not only the opportunity to choose good, but also the ability to choose evil. That was the risk God knowingly took. That doesn't make him responsible for evil. He created the fact of freedom; we perform the acts of freedom. He [God] made evil possible; men made evil actual."

And Cliffe Knechtle states in his book Give Me an Answer, "Genesis 1 clearly communicates that when God created, all his creation was very good. God did not create evil, suffering or death. He created us to enjoy himself, each other and to celebrate his gift of life. Genesis 3 is the tragic record of how man and woman chose to reject God. The Bible, history books and the morning newspaper record how an immeasurable amount of evil has followed in the wake of human rebellion against God. The vast majority of this carnage is a direct result of human choice."

6. The above explanation introduces the element of a free choice by humankind to reject or accept God-with resulting consequences. Given the magnitude of the risk, what value do you suppose God placed on granting people freedom of choice (according to this perspective)?

7. How would you explain the correlation between separation from God and the entrance of evil and suffering into the world?

8. Share your opinion of the following statement: "God cannot both create human beings with a total ability to freely make meaningful choices and at the same time control them so they always choose good."

HEART OF THE MATTER

9. Do you consider your freedom of choice to be a gift from God? Why or why not? What would human relationships be like without free will?

10. If you could eliminate all evil, suffering, and sin (wrongdoing) in your life by giving up your free will, would you do it? Explain.

11. Do you ever become angry at God for the things that go wrong in your life? Why or why not?

CHARTING YOUR JOURNEY

With this session you're beginning a journey. Keep in mind that you do not need to feel pressured to "say the right thing" at any point during these discussions. You're taking the time to do this work because you're looking for answers and because you're willing to be honest about your doubts and uncertainties. Others in your group would also benefit from hearing about what you'll be learning. So use these sessions profitably-ask the tough questions, think "outside the box," and learn from what others in your group have to say. But stay authentic about where you are in your journey.

To help you identify your progress more clearly, throughout this guide you will have opportunities to indicate where you are in your spiritual journey. As you gain more spiritual insights, you may find yourself reconsidering your opinions from session to session. The important thing is for you to be completely truthful about what you believe-or don't believe-right now.

12. Check the statement(s) below that best describes your position at this point. Share your selection with the rest of the group and give reasons for your response.

____ I believe that the origin of evil is ultimately God's responsibility.

____ I'm convinced that evil is the result of humankind's rejection of God.

____ Evil is a misnomer; the universe operates without a moral component.

____ I'm fairly certain that our freedom to choose is a gift from God.

____ I'm convinced that our freedom to choose has nothing to do with God.

____ I find myself blaming God for things that go wrong in my life.

____ I find myself blaming myself for things that go wrong in my life.

____ Write your own brief phrase here: ______ _______________________________________ _______________________________________

Scripture for Further Study

* Genesis 1-3

* Job 1:6-11

* Job 5:7

* Isaiah 30:18

* Luke 22:28-34

* John 9:1-3

* John 16:33

* Romans 5:3, 12-21

* Romans 12:12

* 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

* Ephesians 2:1-2

* Ephesians 6:10-19

* James 1:2-4

(Continues...)