On Suffering and Evil

Two very important and related questions are being asked today. If God loves everybody, why does he allow so much violent and world suffering? Epicurus allegedly said, "Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to; or he cannot and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, his is impotent. If he can, and does not want to, he is wicked. But if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world?"

With the recent atrocities at Virginia Tech, people were horrified by the incident. As cameras followed an individual a few days after the event, the person said, "This proves there is no God. A good God wouldn't allow such things to happen."

Variations of this statement seem to be becoming more and more common place. It is a very important observation.

However, on talking with people who raise the question or observation, I find they would be aghast at God intervening in human affairs and putting an end to evil and suffering. He would be seen as manipulative, controling, and imposing Himself on human kind. In fact, I have seen material that expresses the dismay that God might indeed aggressively intervene against evil. There are people who dismiss scripture because such interventions.

As it indeed turns out in scripture there is a recorded incident of God intervening, the Flood. There are those who find it so atrocious that God did such a thing that it is part of the reason they reject the Flood account. There are other reasons they do so as well, but this is one of them.

Further, the descriptions found in Revelation of God's intervention to eliminate evil and suffering once and for all offend some people, maybe a lot of people

Why is there suffering? Some blame God saying that since God created everything, then God created evil and thus suffering.

Yet, the Biblical account describes creation as being created "good."

We cannot be naive here. God created the world, etc. in the midst of evil. For Satan in the disguise of the serpent virtually immediately came to successful tempt and seduce Adam and Eve. The consequences were dramatic

Sin and Evil were introduced to creation and with the Fall polluted all of creation.

Why didn't God stop it?

An answer is that God had already set in motion a plan that would overcome suffering and evil. Nothing Satan, human beings, or sin could do can thwart this plan.

Thus, to the variation of the opening questions, why doesn't God do something, or why didn't He? The answer is God did. He responded to the crisis through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And God continues to respond to the reality of evil and suffering via the Holy Spirit drawing attention to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This response is illustrated in the following verses: "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" John 16:33 (NASB).

"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. [38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, [39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"
Romans 8:34-39 (KJV)

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [2] And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away"
Revelation 21:1-4 (KJV)

Now, nonbelievers, and maybe many believers may not like how God handled the harsh realities of suffering and evil, but God did, does, and will continue to respond to them through Jesus as the Christ.

The overall point is that God has done something about evil and suffering. It turns out that what God decided to do is rejected by all too many.