Focal Point:

In the minds of many people great and small, brilliant or simple, the Problem of Evil and Suffering stands as the Mount Everest that blocks the way to God. I’ve heard a lot of really dumb and objectively bad objections to the Christian faith. Everything to the question of who created God to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but the Problem of Evil and Suffering is starkly different then those preschool retorts. The problem of evil poses a significant challenge for Christianity, as it questions how an all-loving, all-powerful God can coexist with the pervasive presence of suffering and evil in the world. Christianity teaches that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good, suggesting that He has both the power and desire to eliminate all forms of suffering. However, when confronted with natural disasters, acts of human cruelty, and seemingly random tragedies, believers are forced to grapple with why God would allow such painful experiences. For many, this tension creates a profound sense of doubt and unease, as it raises questions about the nature of God, the purpose of human suffering, and the fairness of the world.

This problem of evil becomes even more complex within Christianity, as the faith emphasizes God’s intimate relationship with humanity and His role as a loving Father. While some Christian teachings suggest that suffering may have a purpose—such as building character, testing faith, or allowing for free will—these explanations often fall short for those facing intense personal hardship. Moreover, the seemingly arbitrary nature of who suffers and who is spared can make God's goodness appear selective or inscrutable. For theologians and believers alike, reconciling the concept of a loving God with the reality of human suffering remains one of the greatest challenges, prompting ongoing exploration and diverse interpretations within Christian thought.

Introduction

If ever there was a wrecking ball to belief in God, I’m convinced that the Problem of Evil is it. Not because it cannot be answered or that it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that God does not exist, but because of the emotional weight upon which it bears on all of our hearts. We have all been touched by suffering and evil. We have all had to navigate those treacherous waters of overwhelming pain – both emotional and physical, arbitrary suffering, gratuitous violence, and seeming injustice done against us. It has been said that if ever you want your faith in God to be rattled then take a walk through the terminal cancer ward of a children’s hospital. The thought of which seems almost too much to bear. Without question, the Problem of Evil is the other side’s most powerful argument against belief in the kind of God we worship. So, in that sense, the problem of evil simply is one of the greatest hurdles people have when it comes to believing in God, and trust me you can mark my words, whenever you witness to any unbeliever about Jesus, this problem will be raised. It is an inevitability and is as guaranteed as objects falling when you drop them, paying taxes, or me going over time on my sermons. To many this problem is an insurmountable reality in their life, and they cannot reconcile the fact that a supposed all-loving, all-good God would allow the kind and amount of evil that exists in our world to persist. The amount of people who live through the horrors of this life, the gratuitous and incomprehensible evil and pain seems incalculable. The human experience of pain and suffering transcends sociological divisions in the human species and many times that pain, and suffering seems to have no good reason and appears to be completely unnecessary. Undoubtedly, the problem of evil has caused many to walk away from belief in God because it seems, on a visceral and emotional level, completely contradictory to the existence of a God who is supposed to be the way that Christians describe God. The problem of evil is, the greatest objection to the existence of God. The problem of evil has been a center of contention for millennia and many of the wisest philosophers and sages throughout history have struggled with the problem. David Hume, the eighteenth century polymath and empiricist revived the old Epicurean Paradox and made it one of the foundations of his refutation of God. Hume propounded the Paradox when he wrote the following in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, “Epicurus’s old questions are yet unanswered. 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?” The weight of the paradox, that Hume highlights, is that the moral attributes of God, namely his omnipotence, omniscience and benevolence are in question, in light of the fact that evil does exist and is experienced by every person on earth. If these moral attributes, that God is purported to possess, cannot be reconciled with the existence of evil then theism, as realized by orthodox Christianity fails.

To tackle the problem fundamental questions must be answered. Is it reasonable to believe that a good God governs the universe? Is the existence of God, as defined by the doctrines of classical Christianity and the existence of evil and suffering contradictory and irrational to believe? Those are the questions we must answer in order to sufficiently deal with this objection. There are varying degrees of power in the formal answers this objection and I want to provide you with the tools to do it. With that in mind, let’s roll up our sleeves, grab our shovels and stark cleaning out the muck.