The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
Richard Dawkins
It’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?
Stephen Fry
Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?
Epicurus
I’m fascinated when men who do not believe in God attack Him with such great passion and ferocity. “God doesn’t exist!” they proclaim, “But if he does, he’s an immoral psychopath because he allows or even perpetrates [insert atrocity here].”
Theologians and apologists have wrestled with “the problem of evil” for centuries. It’s often presented as evidence that God does not exist, but the quotes above assert something more. There’s an audaciousness to them, an attitude of superiority. They imply that if God exists, man possesses the knowledge, wisdom, and authority to sit in judgement of His actions. How foolish!
An incomplete picture.
Can you rightly judge the quality of a painting if you can see only one square inch of it? Can you read the first word of a book and determine the worth of its message? If you taste only one ingredient, can you fairly critique the whole meal?
In like manner, none of us has sufficient knowledge to criticize God’s actions. We see one speck of one piece of the puzzle, and dare to imagine that we are in a position to pass judgement on the whole. We don’t even know how much we don’t know!
Given our limitations, isn’t it possible that God has good reasons for allowing pain, suffering, and evil to exist? Reasons that we know nothing about? Reasons that are beyond our comprehension? Only pride would dare answer, “no!”
When a parent takes their small child to the doctor and allows the doctor to give the child a shot, what does that look like from the child’s point of view? The child doesn’t understand the purpose of the shot. They don’t know that it is ultimately for their good. All they know is that the needle hurts, and the parent let the doctor stab them with it! Would the child be right to call the parent evil based on what they experienced?
Obviously, the knowledge-gap between us and God is infinitely greater than the gap between a parent and their child. It’s fair to say that we are in no position to accurately judge the decisions of The Almighty.
Where were you?
You are probably familiar with the story of Job. He was a man who had it all… health, wealth, family, and fame. In an instant, God took it all away.
Job was flabbergasted. Why had God allowed all this evil to happen to him? Job’s friends came and basically said, “Wow! Job, you must have sinned pretty bad for God to do all of this to you.” Job insisted he was innocent; that he did not deserve what God was dishing out.
In the book of Job, chapter 31, Job boasts to his friends of his righteousness. Near the end of the chapter he states:
“If only someone would listen to me! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me.
I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown.
For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince.”
Job 31:35-37
Bold words. He’s basically saying, “God, You messed up! You got this one wrong!” But his friend, Elihu, reminds Job who God is (Job chapters 32 – 37), and then God Himself responds to Job (Job chapters 38 – 41).
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.
Job 38:1-4
God asks Job a series of rhetorical questions to remind him of his place in the universe. Such questions apply to anyone who wishes to challenge God. Where were you when God created the universe out of nothing? Where were you when God brought order out of chaos and light into darkness? When did you become omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent? Who do you think you are?
Job, to his credit, responds in the only appropriate way:
Then Job replied to the LORD:
“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.
You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’
I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
Job 42:1-6
No limits.
I don’t know why God allows evil, pain, and suffering to exist, but I don’t need to. The Bible tells me that God is good, that He has a plan, and that He is without limits. God is not bound by time or space. He is not constrained by the laws of nature, physics, or mathematics. If He chooses, He can instantly right every wrong, and mete out His perfect justice to every human soul… past, present, and future. He can do this because He is Almighty God, and with Him nothing is impossible.
If you look at the current state of the world, and believe that evil, pain, and suffering are incompatible with a perfect and holy God, you simply believe in a god too small.
