For centuries mankind’s top theologians, philosophers and Christian Apologists have attempted to resolve the Problem of Evil, which I suggest is a fake problem created by non-believers.
Prior to the Judaeo-Christian monotheistic God, mankind had hundreds of gods. The gods argued with each other and pretty much acted like jerks. Mankind suffered under these human-like emotional gods. No one had a problem with evil then. The gods caused most of the evil or allowed it because they often didn’t give a crap about humans.
But when Genesis explained that there really is only one God, who is all powerful, all knowing, all present and loves us more than we can imagine, well, people had a problem with that.
Some people just can’t leave a good thing alone.
It probably started with people who missed the mountain god or Zeus or the turtle god or whatever gods they were used to worshiping. They developed this man-made “problem” in an attempt to discredit the all-powerful Genesis God who loves us. I have no evidence for this, I am merely speculating.
The problem was explained this way: You say God is All Powerful, All Knowing and All loving. Yet, there is much evil and suffering in the world. Thus one of three things are true:
- Your all powerful God does not exist.
- God does not love us, otherwise He certainly would not allow such evil/suffering!
- God loves us but is not all powerful and/or all-knowing, thus He is unable to prevent such horrible evil and suffering. (See the book by Dr Thomas Oord, “God Can’t”)
The possible solutions to their riddle are to change the nature of God, to destroy the magnificent God of the Bible. Once someone believes that God is not perfect, that He is only somewhat smarter and more powerful than we are, He is disrobed of his divinity. He is no longer God. He is like Zeus, a big badass dude but not someone who is all powerful or all knowledgeable. Zeus was a really powerful being, but a God? No, not at all.
But soon it was not just the atheists or the worshipers of Greek gods who got involved in this made up problem. True believers tried to answer the question in order to respond to the non-believers, and thus they created Theodicy, the study of trying to answer the problem of evil.
They fell right into the trap that the non-believers set!
It is an ingenious device created by non-believers to tear down God. And many good Christians have fallen for their trap. The turtle worshipers are winning! Zeus rules!
Let me insert here that all of us have difficulty when truly horrible things occur. I don’t want to belittle anyone who is in deep pain or going through suffering. And let me add, it is OK to question God when such things happen.
But we cannot fall for the unbeliever’s scam. They never questioned flawed and weak turtle gods or Mercury, Zeus, etc.But they consistently question the Christian all powerful, all loving God.
What part of “All Knowing” did they not understand? God isn’t just smarter than us, but is the most intelligent being in all of existence! He has all knowledge! He knows everything there is to know. His knowledge is at a level that we as human beings with our tiny 1 watt brains can not even remotely comprehend.
Have you ever tried to explain to an ant why you don’t want him/her at your picnic? Obviously, there is zero possibility that the ant could understand your logical arguments. Have you ever tried to explain to your pet dog or cat why you have to take them to the vet for routine shots? Not a freaking chance their brains could grasp the concept!
Have you ever tried to explain to a four-year-old human child why they should not run into the highway, talk to strangers, or eat sweets all day long? Even though the child speaks your language, they can’t comprehend what you were trying to explain!
That is us. Our Human Being brains have zero possibility to understand God’s ways. The Bible tells us this too.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33 ESV
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:25 NIV
The Human Race considers itself vastly intelligent. So intelligent that it thinks it can understand God. Yet, we still don’t even know for sure why we sleep. Or why we dream. Or how to cure the common cold to name only a few things we just don’t know. And by the way, when was the last time mankind created their own tree, from nothing? Science does a good job of discovering things, but even they will admit in this universe the things we understand is minuscule compared to things we do not yet understand. Yet, theologians think they can explain God?
We are as far away from God’s knowledge as an ant is to you. When you drop a crumb from your toast onto the kitchen counter and the tiny grease ant scampers to get it, the fact is, the ant has no capacity to understand you, the toast, or why it fell from the sky.
I understand that when horrible events occur such as child abuse, rape, school massacres it is difficult if not impossible to imagine that a loving God has allowed this. I understand that, and there have been times that I myself questioned why God allows this. I mean, must the world be this awful?
The standard reply from many churches does not help at all. They say everyone suffers because we are sinners, inheriting the sin nature from Adam and Eve. Or that Satan is causing the evil, or that it is our Free Will.
Yet, the most obvious answer is ridiculed the most. That as created beings, we are meant to not know. We are not the creator, but the created.
“Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ ” Romans 9:20
It is easy to devalue God, to say He is not all powerful, that He does not really know everything, that he isn’t a God at all, just smarter and more powerful than we are. Don’t blame God, He was only doing the best that He can. Sure, the world sucks, but at least God still loves us, and suffers with us. When we do that, we stop worshiping the almighty God of the Universe, the divine all powerful, all knowing father in heaven! We are back to worshiping the turtle God. Personally, I could never find comfort in the turtle God. I have no problem trusting an all powerful, all knowing God. If He created a world where suffering and evil exists, well, there must be a reason that I cannot understand. I may not like that, but my faith and trust in Jesus Christ accepts that God knows more than I do. Just like a parent knows more than a four year old child can understand.
Maybe when I awaken from this dream we call life and stand in the next world I will know. But for now, the fact that God is all-powerful, all knowing, and all loving gives me comfort.
I would never be comforted by a God who does not love me.
I would never be comforted by a God who ineptly created a flawed universe and now can’t even do anything about it. How the Hell can I be comforted by a weak and incompetent loser of a God? Give me a God that is all powerful, all knowing and one that is so far above me that I could never understand the universe while walking about in this animal body. I want the almighty loving God of the Bible. I am comforted by trusting in an almighty Creator! Not the wimpy Muskrat god.
This is just me and my thoughts. Your mileage may vary.
No turtles or muskrats were harmed in this presentation.