Suffering and the Reason Behind Evil

Rob Groeschell

Professor Langer and Professor Spears

Created Order and Glory of Christ

1/15/14

The Cost of True Righteousness

When the word “suffering” comes to mind, one may think of historic tragedies such as September 11, slavery in America, or the Holocaust. That fragile word may also ignite thoughts of personal loss, pain, or anguish. Whatever the case may be, suffering and evil tend to go hand in hand. The problem of evil is probably one of the most difficult issues in all of theology, especially for nonbelievers. As believers, we tend to focus primarily on the why and how, but it is just as important to understand the who. Because God is holy and sovereign He allows tragedies to occur, but is in no way responsible or blameworthy.

Before digging up Biblical evidence to support this claim, it is important to have a firm grasp of who God really is. God is transcendent and immanent at the same time (Is. 57:15, Jer. 13:24). God’s transcendence is an important factor to look at when attempting to resolve such an issue. We need to do our best to understand that God is the Lord of Lord and the King of Kings. He is so magnificent that we will never fully understand Him, but immanent enough so we can know Him. Because of this, He is not required to defend Himself in any way, shape, or form. He is the judge, not us (Job 38:3). He is not of this world and is beyond our own comprehension, but He is also personally involved in our lives and cares deeply for His creation. God is good and His ways are righteous (Ex. 34:6-7, Deut. 32:4). Because of that, he does not take pleasure in evil and suffering (Hab. 1:13, Ps. 5:4). God is sovereign, even over evil, yet never morally blameworthy for it (Amos 3:6, Ex. 4:11). Since God is sovereign, He is in control, but not responsible for sinful actions. God is also holy (Lev. 11:44-47, 1 Peter 1:15-16). Since He is holy, He cannot be morally blameworthy for the sinfulness of those sinful actions.

J. O. Buswell once said, “Sin is anything in the creature which does not express or which is contrary to the holy character of the creator.” To put is simply, suffering and evil are both a result of sin. There are obviously many different perspectives on this touchy subject. One of the main overarching problems Atheists and many nonbelievers have is the fact that a good, omnipotent God lets evil in the world we live in. “The logical problem of evil” can be described in the following points:

1. If God is omnipotent, He is able to prevent evil.

2. If God is good, He wants to prevent evil.

3. Evil still exists.

Conclusion: either