Topic:
This question is often posed in light of God’s love. “Why does evil exist if God is good and loving?” This question comes out of the tension we live in on earth. We see the mess, pain, and hurt around us and wonder where it is from. For some this question is a reason to discredit God because evil limits his goodness or love.
Facts:
- Evil is not a thing like the other things God created and said was good. Evil is the result of wrong choices. Genesis 3
- Evil is rooted in broken spirituality.
- Evil is the result of choices, not God’s design.
- The cross is God’s part of the practical solution to evil. Our part is to repent, to believe, and to work with God in fighting evil by the power of love. - Peter Kreeft.
- God is love (1 John 4:8).
- God hear God more clearly through pain, than when things are going well.
- As believers we have hope in pain. 2 Corinthians 4:17
Biblical Foundation:
After God made everything he said it was good (Genesis 1-2). He made man in his image and said it was very good. In creating man he did not make a robot or puppet, but rather a being that has choices and a will to make its own choices freely. Through the temptation of the serpent in the garden and the wrong choice Adam and Eve made, sin and evil entered the world. Genesis 3 record this event and the consequences that came from sin. Until christ returns and the new heaven and new earth are revealed we life under God hoping for his creation to be restored to the way he intended it yet facing the reality of its brokenness.
Where to Start:
The problem of evil as this question is often called tends to assume that evil is bigger than God. The reality is that the opposite is true. God is bigger than evil. God’s character is the opposite of evil. Through the cross God has defeated evil. At the end of time the new heaven and new earth will exist without pain, suffering, or tears. In the mean time, evil and pain point us and our students to God and develop Godly character.
Where to Learn more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-small/why-evil-suffering-exist_b_2829441.html - A secular perspective of this question.
http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/evil.htm - A philospher’s explanation
http://billygraham.org/story/if-god-exists-why-is-there-evil/ - An essay from Billy Graham’s ministry
http://www.josh.org/resources/study-research/answers-to-skeptics-questions/why-does-a-good-god-allow-evil-to-exist/ - A good article from Josh McDowell
No comments:
Post a Comment