Why would a loving God allow pain and suffering?

Problem of evil and suffering ：

Intellectual aspect （ needs apologetics ） Emotional aspect （ needs counselling ）

Problem of evil and suffering: A problem for Christians and non-Christians

The view of atheist Richard Dawkins:

“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.”

This lends support to the view that, in an atheistic universe, all the supposed moral values and meaningfulness of life are without ultimate foundations but merely superficial illusions

For a materialist who does not believe in God and the afterlife, what can he look forward to on his deathbed? What can he say to a dying patient?

If there is no God and no eternal life,

‘all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction,’

--Bertrand Russell

Putting the problem of evil in perspective Problem: focus on part of the

process and ignore the big picture

Need to answer these deeper questions first:

What is the greatest good? What is the meaning of life? Where do I come from? Where am I going?

Atheism has no good answers..

The Christian Answer

What is the greatest good? To have a personal relationship with God.

What is the meaning of life? To live our lives for God.

Where do we come from? Ultimately from God.

Where am I going? Ultimately to God (for those who are willing), or away from God.

Logical problem of evil

If God is all knowing, He knows that sufferings will occur.

If God is all powerful, He can prevent these sufferings from occurring.

If God is omnibenevolent (i.e. all good), He would prevent these sufferings from occurring.

If that is so, why is there suffering?

‘But could it be that God allow suffering for good purposes?’

Throughout history, many thinkers from east and west have realized that suffering can bring benefits.

“ 天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行指乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。” -- Mencius

“No pain, no gain”

“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.—James 1:2-4

Many times, we cannot see how suffering can lead to good, but an omniscient God can see what finite humans cannot see.

The good which God intends may emerge many years later at another location to another person (Craig)

Child going through vaccination…it would be fallacious for him to conclude: ‘I can’t see why I have to suffer, therefore my parents don’t exist’??

What is the greatest good?

To have a personal relationship with God. If God—because of His goodness— gives

humans free will such that humans could have a personal relationship with God i.e. to choose to draw near or away from God, then evil and suffering is possible.

Freedom and love

-The nature of love relationship entails the making of a real choice in the process, to draw near or away from Another.

-Since God is perfectly good and the Source of all good, drawing away from God is evil, and evil would necessarily lead to suffering.

The Christian Doctrine of the Fall

Genesis 1-3 We now live in a condition which is no

longer the original one which God created for humans.

The original condition was ideal for humans Sadly, humans chose to draw away from

God; they did not want Him to govern their lives and their world.

Thus the original blessed state of their world was lost

The Fallen World Van Inwagen (2006, 84-90).

This is a world in which God seems far off, in which humans have to face the forces of nature, and the moral evil among themselves

The Fallen World Van Inwagen (2006, 84-90).

A world which humans do not want God to rule and which has lost its original blessed state under God is an imperfect world, one of the imperfections being the occurrence of apparently purposeless accidents, pitiless natural disasters, the occurrence of events which “shouldn’t” happen. and many instances of unjust suffering.

When humans have this realization, those who would be willing to turn to God would eventually look to God, they would pray from the depths of their souls,

‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10),

The Fallen World Many people need to experience such

imperfections and sufferings before they would truly desire to draw near to God and truly desire a world that is completely governed by God.

This fallen world also provide many opportunities for moral testing, the exercise of moral responsibilities, and spiritual training.

There will be compensation in the afterlife

Divine hiddenness

The lack of more obvious evidence does not mean that there is no evidence.

Partial hiddenness is necessary for bringing about a genuine relationship

God has left behind sufficient evidence for those who are willing to enter into this relationship

-The purpose for which God created humans is to have a love relationship with Him, not merely to believe in Him.

The ‘believe’ that the Bible talks about is a trust that leads into a love relationship, not just an intellectual recognition of the existence of God.

Such a recognition alone does not necessarily lead to a love relationship, just like someone who admitted that his parents exist would not necessarily love his parents.

Some benefits of suffering A greater dependance on God (2 Cor. 1:9; 12:7-

10) Joy (Matt. 5:10-12; Luke 6:22-23; Acts 5:41; Rom.

5:3-4; 2 Cor. 12:10; Col. 1:24; 1 Thess. 1:6; 1 Peter 4:13; Heb. 10:34; James 1:2-4)

Patience (2 Cor. 1:6; James 5:10; Rev. 1:9) Courage (Matt. 10:28; Phil. 1:28; 1 Thess. 2:2;

Rev. 2:10) Perseverance/Endurance (Rom. 5:3; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1

Thess. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:3; 2 Tim. 4:5; Heb. 10:32,36; 12:7; James 1:2-4,12; 1 Peter 4:19; Rev. 1:9, 2:3,10,13)

Some benefits of suffering Character (Rom. 5:3-4) Hope (Rom. 5:3-4) A harvest of righteousness and peace (Heb. 12:7,11) Closeness to Jesus and a longing for heaven (Rom.

8:17; Phil. 3:10; Heb. 11:26, 35; 12:2-3; 13:13; 1 Peter 4:1; Rev. 21:4)

Thankfulness (1 Thess. 5:18) Blessing and Kindness (1 Cor. 4:12-13) Gentleness and Respect (1 Peter 3:14-17) Opportunities to show forgiveness to others (Matt. 5:39-

45; 2 Tim. 4:16) For the benefit of others (1 Cor. 12:25-26; 2 Cor. 1:3-7;

8:2-4; Eph. 3:13; Phil. 1:14; Col. 1:24; 1 Thess. 3:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:8-10; Heb. 13:3)

THE ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor 4:16-18).

But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;  yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again (Philippians 1： 23-26)

Has there been too much suffering? The lessons of Job

God did not tell Job the specific reason why he suffered, but simply asked him a series of questions that pointed him to the wonders of creation (Job 38-42)

Job was thus able to realize his limited understanding and to rest assured in the knowledge that there is a God who is in control and He knows what He is doing.

Then Job answered the LORD and said

…

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You” (Job 42:1-5)

The nearness of God is my good (Psalms 73:28)

God turns darkness into light, suffering into blessing, death into life.

Conclusion

While the problem of evil and suffering might seem at first to be a problem for believing in God, in the end God is the only answer for the problem of evil and suffering.

For if God does not exist, we would be locked in this world full of meaningless suffering, without purpose and hope.

But there are good evidences to think that God does exist, and He has revealed Himself in human history through Jesus Christ.

The death of Jesus has borne our sins, and His resurrection has overcome death.

He will come again to take those who are willing into eternal joy and to be with Him forever.

He is the ultimate solution to our problem of evil and suffering.

The chief purpose of life is not happiness in this world, but the knowledge of God… which in the end will bring true and everlasting human fulfillment.

Many evils occur in life which may be utterly pointless with respect to the goal of producing human happiness; but they may not be pointless with respect to producing a deeper knowledge of God..

Of course, whether God’s purpose is achieved through our suffering will

depend on our response Do we respond with anger and bitterness toward God, or do we turn to Him in faith for strength to endure?’

—Philosopher William Lane Craig

Further reading Craig, William Lane and J.P. Moreland. Philosophical

Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003, chapters 7, 27, 31.

Murray, Michael. Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: Theism and the Problem of Animal Suffering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Van Inwagen, Peter. The Problem of Evil: The Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of St. Andrews in 2003. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006.

Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. London: SPCK, 2003.

http://www.reasonablefaith.org http://independent.academia.edu/AndrewTerErnLoke