We all struggle to understand why God allows horrible things to happen to people who do not deserve it. This afternoon, my desire is to ponder this issue together. I will argue that we can come to a better understanding of why bad things happen to good people by identifying the who, the why, the what, and the how of evil and suffering. Who causes evil? Why does Almighty God allow evil? What does God do about evil? And How are we to respond to evil? As we search out an understanding of the who, why, what, and how of evil, I pray that God will illuminate our hearts and minds.
Before we delve into the who, why, what, and how of evil, we need to establish two preliminary facts. First, if Christianity is true, then there are no truly ‘good’ people. Second, if there is no God, then there are no truly ‘bad’ things to happen to people. We could spend an entire week talking about both of these fundamental truths, but we simply do not have the time. Thus, I am going to just touch on them briefly and then move on.
You have to read the rest to get the full effect, but there is a lot of wisdom even in the excerpt.
about Clay Jones’ area of interest and publications
how did Clay become a Christian?
how did Clay get interested in the problem of evil?
what is the deductive (logical) problem of evil?
the popular version of it: why do bad things happen to good people?
what are some good books on the intellectual problem of evil?
what’s a good book for people who are struggling with suffering?
how can Christians defend against the problems of evil and suffering?
can God perform logical contradictions?
is God’s top priority for the world to make us have happy feelings?
what good reason is there for God to permit evil and suffering?
can God prohibit evil and still let us have free will?
can God prohibit evil and still prepare us for Heaven?
why do people even raise the objection from evil and suffering?
why do people find the slaughter of the Canaanites so troubling?
what kinds of sins were the Canaanites committing?
do people really understand how much God hates sin?
how much does suffering really matter on an eternal scale?
how can Christian apologists convince themselves that people really sin?
what is the “the banality of evil”? Are normal people capable of evil?
Two things that I got out of this lecture: 1) When people ask “why do bad things happen to good people?” you can ask them who is a good person? And ask them why they think that God would want “good people” to be happy in their own way instead of having a relationship with him. And 2) his advice that Christians should read about real evils like genocide and mass murder, to understand that ordinary people are capable of incredible cruelty, and capable of rationalizing it, too. It is very rare that anyone really stands up to their culture, like pro-lifers and pro-marriage people do today. It’s really hard to do! Especially when the bad guys make it harder to do the right thing.
It’s been said that the most frequently quoted Bible verse is no longer John 3:16 but Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” We cannot glibly quote this, though, without understanding what Jesus meant. When Jesus condemned judging, he wasn’t at all implying we should never make judgments about anyone. After all, a few verses later, Jesus himself calls certain people “pigs” and “dogs” (Matt. 7:6) and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (7:15)! Any act of church discipline (1 Cor. 5:5) and rebuking false prophets (1 John 4:1) requires judgment. What Jesus condemns is a critical and judgmental spirit, an unholy sense of moral superiority. Jesus commanded us to examine ourselves first for the problems we so easily see in others. Only then can we help remove the speck in another’s eye—which, incidentally, assumes that a problem exists and must be confronted.1 But let’s take a closer look at this charge that Christians are judgmental when we speak out on moral issues.
He then goes on to make some points:
If judging is wrong, then no one can judge you for being judgmental
In other places, Jesus urges people to make a right judgment
Is it possible to have convictions yet still treat people with respect?
Are inclusivists and pluralists (e.g. – Hindus) tolerant of exclusivists?
What is tolerance, and how does it relate to truth?
Comparison of “equality of persons” with “equality of viewpoints”
Are moral standards variable by time and place, or fixed?
Are moral standards merely descriptive, or also prescriptive?
Should atheists be moral? What reason do they have to be moral?
Can non-illusory morality exist in an atheistic universe?
Can there be real morality if there is no design in the universe?
And he also talks about what else the Bible says about judging.
It’s a good article. Moral judgments are necessary for us to warn ourselves and others about the harm that may occur if we cross boundaries.
WINTERY KNIGHT 