Good God, Bad World
Good God, Evil World
Jonathan L. McCarthy
If God is good, why on earth does He allow evil to exist in His world? If He is indeed the Supreme Authority, the creator God, why, oh why, do men cry today? Why are whole people groups subjected to horrible plaugues, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes and a multitude of other sorrows?
This question has haunted the minds of believers and fed the skepticism of atheists for too long. It’s time for us to resort to Scripture and see what the Bible says about all of this.
Perhaps it is impossible to fully understand how God operates, but there are several insights that we can glance at.
One day in Jesus ministry, He came across a man who was born in blindness. His disciples strived to assess the situation. Why was this man blind? Logically, they assumed, someone must have sinned. “Rabbi,” they asked, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” [1] Jesus replied, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”[2] So the first possibility with pain is that it may be allowed so that God’s works might be allowed display. What greater thing than to be able to glorify God in your weakness!
James commends us to, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”[3] So trials can be a way of training Christians. Just like the soldier who has to undergo rigorous discipline to attain to a fighting stance, the Christian soldier is allowed to be subjected to trials and sorrows to create endurance.
In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus talks about how blessed we are when people persecute us because we’ll gain great rewards in heaven.
So far we’ve looked largely at why God may allow suffering for believers, but why would he allow it for nonbelievers?
The first thing that we have to remember is that evil originates from Satan and man. So in all justice, God shouldn’t have to do anything about evil and its byproduct- pain, but we do wonder why, if He is love, he doesn’t put a halt to it.
I think one reason is obviously that He is punishing unrepentant mankind for their iniquities and allowing them to reap what they sow. However, I think that there is a love aspect to it as well. You see, if there was no pain in the world, people would aimlessly wander into Hell, but as long as there is pain, they are confronted with the desperateness of their situation and seek out a Savior before it is too late. If God removed the symptoms (pain) without removing the disease (sin), He would be a poor doctor. But instead, He allows pain so that people will come to Him to have their sin forgiven and blotted out. Sin drives people to a greater comfort (Matt 11:28-30) than simple removal of pain could ever give.
In the end though, we need to rest in the fact that God’s code of justice is so much better than ours. His mercy is much more grand and far-seeing. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.[4]
[1] John 9:2 (NASB)
[2] John 9:3 (NASB)
[3] James 1: 2-3
[4] Isaiah 55:8 (NASB)
Sources: Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan, 2000
Jonathan L. McCarthy
If God is good, why on earth does He allow evil to exist in His world? If He is indeed the Supreme Authority, the creator God, why, oh why, do men cry today? Why are whole people groups subjected to horrible plaugues, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes and a multitude of other sorrows?
This question has haunted the minds of believers and fed the skepticism of atheists for too long. It’s time for us to resort to Scripture and see what the Bible says about all of this.
Perhaps it is impossible to fully understand how God operates, but there are several insights that we can glance at.
One day in Jesus ministry, He came across a man who was born in blindness. His disciples strived to assess the situation. Why was this man blind? Logically, they assumed, someone must have sinned. “Rabbi,” they asked, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” [1] Jesus replied, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”[2] So the first possibility with pain is that it may be allowed so that God’s works might be allowed display. What greater thing than to be able to glorify God in your weakness!
James commends us to, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”[3] So trials can be a way of training Christians. Just like the soldier who has to undergo rigorous discipline to attain to a fighting stance, the Christian soldier is allowed to be subjected to trials and sorrows to create endurance.
In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus talks about how blessed we are when people persecute us because we’ll gain great rewards in heaven.
So far we’ve looked largely at why God may allow suffering for believers, but why would he allow it for nonbelievers?
The first thing that we have to remember is that evil originates from Satan and man. So in all justice, God shouldn’t have to do anything about evil and its byproduct- pain, but we do wonder why, if He is love, he doesn’t put a halt to it.
I think one reason is obviously that He is punishing unrepentant mankind for their iniquities and allowing them to reap what they sow. However, I think that there is a love aspect to it as well. You see, if there was no pain in the world, people would aimlessly wander into Hell, but as long as there is pain, they are confronted with the desperateness of their situation and seek out a Savior before it is too late. If God removed the symptoms (pain) without removing the disease (sin), He would be a poor doctor. But instead, He allows pain so that people will come to Him to have their sin forgiven and blotted out. Sin drives people to a greater comfort (Matt 11:28-30) than simple removal of pain could ever give.
In the end though, we need to rest in the fact that God’s code of justice is so much better than ours. His mercy is much more grand and far-seeing. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.[4]
[1] John 9:2 (NASB)
[2] John 9:3 (NASB)
[3] James 1: 2-3
[4] Isaiah 55:8 (NASB)
Sources: Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan, 2000
posted by Jonathan M @ 1:45 PM
10 Comments:
At 4:35 PM, December 07, 2005,
Lindsey said…
Very true... Great post! :) I'm already looking forward to more! This looks like it will be an awesome blog. Keep up the great work everybody!
At 10:09 PM, December 08, 2005,
Jonathan M said…
Thank you...been a little hectic, but plan on posting more. Thanks!
At 12:17 AM, December 09, 2005,
Lindsey said…
Looking forward to it!
At 2:14 PM, December 29, 2005,
SimonTemplar said…
Part of the problem with this question is that it is based on a false perspective. Man sees physical sufferings as the worst of evils. This is simply not so.
In fact, physical sufferings, though painful, unpleasent, and very often tragic, are the only way that good can be accomplished in us.
It is so common a theme in scripture that I could almost call it "central" that only through suffering comes complete salvation.
Paul says as much in Romans 8:20. He says that God subjected the entirity of creation to vanity (meaning emptiness or depravity or frailness) because through that came the hope of glory.
He goes on to talk about the entire world groaning and travailing in pain, both believers and un-believers in order that the Hope of Glory might come.
It is in the light of this understanding that Paul says in Rom 8:28 "all things work together for the good of those who love God..." Even the sufferings and disasters of this world work to our good.
At 4:13 PM, December 29, 2005,
David Ketter said…
Simon...you make a valid point but not one that is incompatible with what Jonathan said. Through sin, pain entered the world. Suffering came as a result of sin, which is why Jesus had to suffer. Thank you, though, for mentioning it!
PS: Might I ask of what denomination or creed you are?
At 12:32 AM, December 30, 2005,
SimonTemplar said…
David,
I didn't mean to imply that I was making a contrary point at all. I would view my comments as merely another facet of what Jonathan said in his blog. I don't think my comments and his were in disagreement at all. I think what he said is entirely valid and true.
I just wanted to elaborate on specific aspect that has recently stood out to me in my discussions and contemplations on the topic of suffering.
I'm afraid its one of my more annoying qualities that I can't resist offering my opinions and "insights" on any topic I find to be of interest. ;)
What denomination/creed I am is something of a long story :). I'll give the short version. I was raised charismatic evangelical non-denominational. I always had more of an intellectual bent though that lead me into alot of contact and debate with members of the reformed camp. For quite a while I leaned towards a calvinist reformed position, in part because I valued the life of the mind more than most of my fellow church members, and partly because I saw alot of abuses and dangers in the arminian/charismatic branch of the church.
For the last several years I was lead on a quest of sorts to rediscover the historical roots of the Faith, and particularly to study the early church. I was involved in several on going debates/discussions on the Eastern Orthodox church and doctrines of "traditional churches". In the light of all that I began to read again the new testament. I found two things.
First, when I first began to investigate the traditional churches I found that I had much more in common with some of them than I did with my own church on a number of theological issues.
Secondly I came to understand some of the traditional doctrines that I had never really understood before. I always had a view on them, but I found my view was based largely on misunderstanding the doctrines. Along with that I found there was much more biblical support, and historical support for many of them than I had expected to find.
As a result I have begun a journey back to the traditional church. There are a number of things I still disagree with in both Orthodox and Catholic churches that have prevented me from joining either one of them. In general I have found that the Anglican tradition bears the closest resemblance to what I believe the original church was. Thus I am currently attending an anglican church. The problem with the anglican tradition is that a large section of the anglican church has been severely comprimised by humanism and relativism and thus has lapsed into near apostasy. There are still large sections of the Anglican churches that are very faithful as well.
In addition to that, there are many anglican churches, or churches branched off of the anglican church that are evangelical and charismatic, both of which I still am.
In my quest I discovered that I was not alone, there is actually a large and growing movement of evangelical charismatic protestants going back to the traditional church because they have found the evangelical protestant churches to be lacking in a number of areas. Among this group there has grown up a movement called "convergence worship". The idea is that there are three great streams of christian worship that all belong rightly in the church.. evangelical, charismatic, and liturgical worship. Convergence is the idea that the three together constituted what the church originally practiced. The Original church was undoubtedly evangelical, and it was charismatic, and it was also liturgical.
Sadly in my local area there are very few people who have this vision thus I have very limited options for finding a local church.
I was very interested to see in your bio the comments about christian unity because that is something God has been speaking to me as well. The church was never meant to be divided. When the church is divided as it is now, I believe it deprives us of much of what God has for us because we will not come together in unity.
See how faction and disunity affected the Corinthian church when Paul speaks to them about taking communion in disunity.
I was also homeschooled, from fourth grade on through highscool till college.
For the last couple of years, up until this year I offered classes and tutoring locally to homeschool students in History, Beginning latin, Literature, writing, and public speaking/debate
PS. believe it or not, that was the short version :) Since you mentioned creed, I wanted to add that I believe that the basic, minimum requirement for orthodox christian belief and thus for christian unity is contained in the Nicean creed, and that the apostles creed and the athanasian creed are also foundational to my view of what it means to be christian.
At 11:41 AM, December 30, 2005,
David Ketter said…
It's amazing to me to see the similarities in our background. While I was never what you'd call actively charismatic - that is, Pentecostal - I do believe in the Gifts of the Spirit and that all are active today. Even our interests...err...intellecual standpoint is similar. That's almost scary, really.
I have noticed a dramatic return to Traditional churches from the Evangelical community. The problem, mainly, is that Evangelicals, for the most part, are all emotion and all feeling with very little activity in the mind. But that's what Kingdom Knights is all about: creating an intellectual tradition in the Evangelical community.
I certainly understand what you mean about further understanding some misunderstood doctrines in the Traditional churches. For awhile, Western Protestants and Evangelicals have possessed an inherited traditional-phobia that has been hard to remove from the Church.
Ditto on the creeds. :D
If I may ask, how did you find KK?
At 2:14 PM, December 30, 2005,
SimonTemplar said…
I stumbled across KK when I was googling "evangelical knights". I am interested in the concept of knightly and religious orders and think that they have something to offer that is lacking in much of the christian world today. I was looking to see if there were other people around with the same idea.
I know what you mean about the emotionalism of the evangelical protestant church. It is particularly bad in those branches which consider themselves "charismatic". My particular group would not have called themselves "pentecostal" because the name conotates a specific denomination, but the label is accurate enough.
What I have seen thus far on my journey is that there doesn't seem to be much of the church that is complete.. in that it addresses the complete human. We are mind, spirit, and emotions, we must seek God in all three areas and must experience God in all three areas or we are lacking something necessary to our being. That is, I believe, why so many christians are unfulfilled in all branches of the church.
The Orthodox have great emphasis on the spiritual and mystical, but either lack or outright shun the emotional and to some degree the intellectual
The Catholics are probably the most varied and diverse, so within them you will find elements of every other group. However, in general they tend to favor the intellectual and lack the emotional (though there are very mystical and very emotional groups within catholicism).
The evangelical protestants are all about emotion and they think they are about spiritual, but that is mainly because they confuse emotion with spirituality.
We need to have all three.
The anglican tradition drew me in because it is free. It has the historical truths and doctrines as well as the historical practice, but it allows freedom within that structure.. which I believe is right.
The problem is that in the western countries that freedom has been grossly abused and taken as a liscense to sin (within the anglican communion churches).
I would like to note that, although I call myself charismatic, I'm not one of the insane holy vomiting/barking/shaking types of charismatics. I believe in good order in a church service. I don't believe tongues is supposed to be used aloud in church except maybe one or two people and then it must be interpeted, or the person must keep silence.
I just believe that the gifts are still active, and necessary to the life of the church.
At 3:37 PM, December 31, 2005,
David Ketter said…
Ditto to everything you said...although I think it would be fair to say that the Reformed churches lack, for the most part, the emotional aspects - especially with some of the Gifts...they're different than most Protestants in that they have an intellectual tradition and few could argue that they don't have learned scholars in their history.
(I'm with you completely on the charismatic thing to...could never understand the hype but maybe that's just me.)
At 6:10 PM, December 31, 2005,
SimonTemplar said…
David,
On the hype of charismatics. A lesson I learned from Tolkien, one among many, is that although power is necessary to fight evil, to serve good, etc... to begin to seek power for power's sake leads to error and fall.
In some ways Boromir is the charismatic of the LOTR :) He desperately sees the need for the power to defend his city... but he falls prey to the lure of power itself and finally desires the power for its own sake.. this leads to his death and the breaking of the fellowship.
The gifts of the Spirit (it can also be translated as "the manifestations of the Spirit") are given for a purpose.. to build and edify the body of Christ. If they do not serve that purpose they are useless. Many Charismatics, even most, seek the gifts of the Spirit for their own sake.. for the sake of the power and the glory.. not because the gifts are necessary to build the body and edify the body.
As a result they are lead into error and the result is confusion and division.
This message is also present in scripture.. Jesus said to his disciples when they were jubilant over the power and authority they had experienced "do not rejoice because demons are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in the book of life". The power and authority of God is necessary.. but it should never be our goal to seek power and authority for their own sake or we will be lead astray.
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