Probably the
most common objection, by far, against believing in God amongst atheists,
skeptics, naturalists, and non-Christians is, “If there really is a God, then why
is there so much suffering in the world?”
But the purpose
of this article is not to specifically answer the question of why evil
exists. There are many great articles
that address this topic elsewhere. Here are
links to a couple of them, one by author (and former atheist) Lee Strobel:
And one by pastor,
author, and apologist Charlie H. Campbell:
But today, our
focus is mainly on the argument that says:
Since evil is present
in this world (especially the suffering of innocent little children) then God
must not exist.
To
elaborate, many atheists and skeptics will use this type of argument as an
excuse for not believing in God, as stated earlier. They’ll say, “Why is there senseless
suffering, especially of innocent children, in this world? It is inconsistent for a God who is both all-powerful
and compassionate to allow such
tragedy. If He is able to stop it, why wouldn’t He?
Apparently, He really must not care.
If He really has the power to do it, then He is obligated; He MUST stop
children from suffering to be consistent with what the Bible claims about Him
(that He is compassionate), otherwise, He just cannot exist.”
But this is
a false dilemma. You can’t erase God’s
existence or override His wisdom and timing with these emotional
arguments. And you can’t say that there
is no God just because He does not act like you feel He should act.
First, God
is able to turn all bad things into something good (Romans 8:28). Second, God never promised that anyone (even
the innocent) would be immune from suffering in this life. Third, simply having the ability to do
something does not logically obligate
Him to do that particular thing. If He
wanted, God could make every person on the planet very, very rich. But just because He can doesn’t mean that it would be wise to do so.
Look, if
there is indeed a biblical God (and there is), then by definition:
· He created us.
· He is sovereign and in authority.
· He is far stronger and wiser than we are.
· The right to establish the rules
belongs to Him, and Him alone.
· We don’t have the right to tell Him
what to do or how to run this world.
· Since we are finite / limited, we
should expect that He would do some
things that we don’t understand.
These are simply
things that define who the Christian God is, but atheists are trying to
re-define Him by saying that, if He would exist, He should be subject to man’s
demands.
Real Concern for the Children?
It seems
that the only time that atheists become vocal about suffering children is when
someone mentions God. Are they really as
concerned as they say they are, or are they just using the children to attack
the concept of God? But if there is no
biblical God to blame, then who will
the atheist blame for the suffering children?
Would he be so quick to condemn his own “god” of evolution? Would he DEMAND that science immediately fix
the problem of suffering, as he would demand of the Christian God? Or would he just say, “Oh, well, suffering is
just part of life”?
And, instead
of blaming God, why not blame the corrupt politicians who often cause the
famine and devastation of countries and people, primarily because of
mismanagement and / or stealing of funds that were sent to relieve the hunger
and sickness?
Sawing off the Branch You’re Sitting
on…
Atheists
will also say that if God is compassionate, then why does He not remove evil completely? Actually, He WILL do it. But it’ll be in His timing and on His
terms. And again, He is under no
obligation to erase suffering and evil when we want it done. Man is often impatient and we don’t see the
things that are being done “behind the scenes” by God. But, like any good parent, God just wants us
to trust Him. (Genesis 18:25)
But do we really want God to put an end to all
suffering? If so, then He must put an
end to its cause, as well. But remember,
every one of us has, to some extent, contributed to the cause of someone’s suffering! So, God would have to destroy us all if we insist on getting rid of suffering (and
whatever causes it). So, be careful what
you ask for.
In the Beginning
Atheists may
ask, “But if God exists, why didn’t He merely create a world where suffering
and tragedy don’t exist in the first place?”
Actually, the fact is that He did
just that in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:31)!
God didn’t
create evil. What He created was perfect. But in order for love to be genuine and
freely given (He didn’t want robots), He gave man and the angels free
will. They had the ability to freely
choose either good or evil. And this
free will was abused by both angels and men, twisting goodness into evil,
through their sin and disobedience. In a
nutshell, this is why there is suffering in our world, even today.
An Argument that Backfires
We all agree
that evil exists in this world, but you know, the very fact that we designate
something as “evil” is strong evidence FOR the existence of God! Though many may not realize it, calling something
good or evil is an appeal to an objective (or absolute) standard of morality. It points to a standard that is transcendent
(above and beyond the limits of man and this world). In atheism, “good” and “evil” can only be
relative terms. What is “right” for one atheist may be wrong
for another atheist. One atheist might
consider a certain act wicked, while another thinks it is totally
acceptable. For the atheist, there are
no moral absolutes, and without that absolute standard (God), the atheist cannot
say with confidence that anything is actually “good” or “bad.”
Conclusion
We believe
that even if God decided to heal every single suffering child in the world, many atheists would be quick to attribute that miracle to something else,
something other than God. They would
simply find another reason to
continue to disbelieve in God’s existence.
Those same atheists may want to end the suffering of children, but what
they want even more is to have
reasons NOT to believe in God and be accountable to Him.
It is an
unfortunate fact that we have suffering children in our world. Sometimes the suffering may seem absolutely
pointless, but rest assured that there is a God, and that He has morally
sufficient reasons to allow this suffering, for the children’s sake, and for
the sake of those directly affected. Man’s
ultimate purpose in this life is not mere “happiness,” but it is to know God
intimately. Only when we come to realize
this does the “senseless suffering” make sense.
Eternal bliss awaits those innocent children, and anyone else who puts
their trust in the person and work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. That even includes the atheist.
In summary,
the fact that children suffer on earth certainly does not prove that there is
no God.
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