The Problem of Evil

Hello friends! The excerpt below is a bonus reference from Flocknote Founder & CEO Matthew Warner’s latest book, Why They Follow: Lessons in Church Communication from That One Lost Sheep. Get a copy for your whole team, and take our free church communication bonus courses at WhyTheyFollow.com!

–

One of the most common reasons people leave their faith is they can’t believe a loving God would allow innocent people to suffer. Peter Kreeft gives four answers to this problem of evil in the world that every church leader should know. Here is a short summary:

1) God didn’t create evil, because evil is not a thing. It’s a no-thing. It is a privation of some good.

2) God gave us the power to make free choices, that is, he gave us the power to love (which requires a free choice). But that means we must also have the option to choose not-love (which is evil). Thus, God allows evil so that good (free will and true love) might be possible.

3) God didn’t leave us on our own with evil (even though humanity brought it upon itself). He sent Jesus on a rescue mission to save us. And in the process he turned the greatest evil (the crucifixion of his son) into the greatest good (salvation of the world). He can do the same with anyone’s suffering.

4) We simply don’t have the capacity to fully understand why. God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). If you want the longer answer, read Job 38 and onward. Job, after enduring great suffering, is wondering why…why is this happening to me, it doesn’t make sense. And God answers, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?…who shut in the sea with doors? … Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?…Can you send forth lightnings?” In other words, why would you, a creature, expect to understand my infinitely complex plan for all of creation?

What we do know, however, is that, despite the existence of evil, “all things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). So we know that our suffering is somehow meaningful and that there is, indeed, a happily ever after.

Unfortunately, as Kreeft also points out, “the unbeliever’s problem is not just a soft head but a hard heart.” In its wake, the suffering and evil of the world leaves a lot of hard hearts (i.e. bad soil, evangelistically speaking). So, even though our evangelistic efforts and this battle against evil require far more than rational answers, it is indeed still helpful and powerful to understand 1) that clear, rational answers to the problem of evil exist and 2) how to articulate them, for yourself and others, as we all struggle with the inevitable suffering of this life.

[Read the full, fantastic article from Peter Kreeft here.]