Transcript SINCE EVIL AND SUFFERING EXIST A LOVING GOD CANNOT”

“SINCE EVIL AND
SUFFERING EXIST
A LOVING GOD
CANNOT”
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’s in the world?
Epicurus, philosopher
The fact of suffering undoubtedly
constitutes the single greatest
challenge to the Christian faith,
and has been in every
generation. Its distribution and
degree appear to be entirety
random, and therefore unfair.
Sensitive spirits ask if it can
possibly be reconciled with
God’s justice and love.
John Stott, theologian
“If only villains got broken backs
or cancers, if only cheaters and
crooks got Parkinson’s disease,
we should see a sort of celestial
justice in the universe,” wrote
agnostic turned Christian
Sheldon Vanauken.
Christian author Philip Yancey
begins his celebrated book on
suffering with a chapter
appropriately titled, “A Problem
That Won’t Go Away”.
The question of suffering and the
presence of evil are two issues
that can be discussed together.
Ravi Zacharias said…If the question
of evil and suffering is raised against
the very existence of God, then there
is a philosophical problem to be
faced! You see to assume there is
evil, is to assume there is good; to
assume there is evil and good is to
assume there is a moral law to tell
the difference; to allow that there is a
moral law, we must find out whose
law is it? There must be a moral law
giver! Who is that? To accept that
there is evil does not dispense with
God!
1. THAT THERE IS NO WORLD
AT ALL, RATHER THAN THIS
WORLD!
2. THAT GOD CREATE A NONMORAL WORLD LIKE THAT OF
THE REST OF THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM.
3. THAT GOD CREATE A WORLD
OF LIMITED FREEDOM
4. THAT THIS IS THE BEST OF
ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS
Romans 5:12 (NIV)
“Therefore, just as sin
entered the world through
one man, and death through
sin, in this way death came to
all men, because all sinned.”
Lamentations 3:22, 23
“Because of the LORD'S
great love we are not
consumed, for his
compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
Remember the
CAUSE AND EFFECT
PRINCIPLE!
GOD HAS DONE SOMETHING!
Romans 8:32 “He who did not
spare his own Son, but gave
him up for us all.”
Romans 8:28 "Knows that in
all things God works for the
good of those who love him,
who have been called
according to his purpose.
IN MY PERSONAL SEARCH FOR
AN ANSWER TO YOUR
QUESTION IT HAS LED ME TO
SEVERAL CONCLUSIONS
– Evil and suffering is a fact
– We have played a part in it
– The only practical solution to the
problem of evil is God's solution His Son the Lord Jesus Christ
Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel
tells of the time in a
concentration camp he
witnessed a hanging. Somebody
muttered while witnessing this
atrocity, “Where is God? Where
is He?” Wiesel said a voice
within him answered, “Right on
the gallows, where else”?
EVIL AND SUFFERING ARE
NOT IDENTICAL TERMS
WHY 9/11?
An answer lies in both our greatest
blessing and our worst curse: our
capacity to make choices. God has
given us a free will. Made in God's
image, he has given us the freedom to
decide how we will act and the ability to
make moral choices. This is one asset
that sets us apart from animals, but it
also is the source of so much pain in
our world. People, and that includes all
of us, often make selfish, self-centred
and evil choices. Whenever that
happens, people get hurt.
Sin is ultimately selfishness. I
want to do what I want, not
what God tells me to do.
Unfortunately, sin always hurts
others, not just ourselves.
God could have eliminated all
evil from our world by simply
removing our ability to choose it.
He could have made us puppets
or marionettes on strings that he
pulls. By taking away our ability
to choose it, evil would vanish.
But God doesn't want us to be
puppets. He wants to be loved
and obeyed by creatures who
voluntarily choose to do so. Love
is not genuine if there is no other
option.
Yes, God could have kept the
terrorists from completing their
suicidal missions by removing
their ability to choose their own
will instead of his. But to be
fair, God also would have to do
that to all of us. You and I are
not terrorists, but we do harm
and hurt others with our own
selfish decisions and actions.
You may hear misguided minds
say, "This must have been God's
will."
Nonsense!
In a world of free choices, God's
will is rarely done! Doing our own
will is much more common. Don't
blame God for this tragedy. Blame
people who ignored what God has
told us to do: "Love your neighbour
as yourself."
In heaven, God's will is done
perfectly. That's why there is
no sorrow, pain or evil there.
But this is earth, a fallen,
imperfect place. We must
choose to do God's will
everyday. It isn't automatic.
This is why Jesus told us to pray,
"Thy will be done on earth, as it is
in heaven."
The Bible explains the root of evil:
"This is the crisis we're in: God's
light streamed into the world, but
men and women everywhere ran
for the darkness ... because they
were not really interested in
pleasing God" (John 3:19,
Message).
We're far more interested in
pleasing ourselves.
There are many other questions
that race through our minds
during dark days. But the
answers will not come from
pollsters, pundits or politicians.
We must look to God and his
Word. We must humble
ourselves and admit that each
of us often chooses to ignore
what God wants us to do.
We were made for a
relationship with God, but he
waits for us to choose him. He
is ready to comfort, guide and
direct us through our grief.
But it's your choice.
Peter Kreeft. Making Sense Out of
Suffering. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant,
1986.
Philip Yancey. Where is God When It Hurts?
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1990.
Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes,
When God Weeps. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan, 1997.
Luis Palau. Where Is God When Bad
Things Happen? New York: Doubleday,
1999.