.jpg)
Is God Dead?
Christian philosopher Eleonore Stump states, “Orthodox Christian doctrine holds that persons once created are everlasting and are of infinite value. If they become defective, it is up to a good God not to eliminate them, but to fix them if He can.” Although Christians hold these truths to be absolute, this statement presents us with a conundrum or a difficulty. That is, how can we say God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-benevolent when we see so much evil in the world? That, of course, has been the question we have labored to address over the last many weeks.
It’s not rocket science; there is tremendous suffering in the world. There is great suffering in our society; there is suffering in our church families; there is suffering in our personal families. And each of us has had periods of great personal and private suffering. In some sense, it seems to be sinful in and of itself even to attempt to give an explanation for why God might allow evil to exist.
This is especially true when we consider the suffering of children. The great Russian novelist and Christian philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky said this, “If all the grief and sorrow and suffering in the world, if all the evil in the world could be eliminated by the tears of a single tortured child; then the price is far too great.” I agree with Dostoevsky. For that reason, here, I offer no defense for the suffering of children. Therefore, in what follows, I proceed with great caution, lest I be misunderstood or offend someone in the midst of great personal suffering. Even still, the question lies before the world: why does a good God allow evil to exist? We have argued that the best answer is that God, being of unquestioned goodness, has a morally sufficient reason for permitting evil in this world.
This notion is further supported by the idea that a world in which there is no pain and suffering is a world in which there is no opportunity to make moral choices. Every time we face evil and pain and suffering, we make a moral choice. And in a world in which there is no pain and suffering would be a world in which there is no opportunity to make moral choices. And in a world where there is no opportunity to make moral choices there is no opportunity for moral growth. At any rate, over the next few weeks, I want to look closer at this truth claim that we have made that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-benevolent. by looking in the context of the biblical story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-17). It is the story that has been used generation after generation after generation to show how the evil and sin that began with Eve eating the forbidden fruit has now escalated into the first murder in the history of the world, with Cain killing his brother Abel.
The story first comes to a crossroads when God approaches Cain about his anger. God knows what is in Cain’s heart, so He warns Cain that his anger is going to turn into sin. At this point, the first question, naturally, is, “Why doesn’t God warn Abel that his brother is plotting to kill him?” We don’t know, but the fact is God stands by and does nothing as Cain rises up and kills Abel. After the murder, when He comes to punish Cain, God doesn’t kill him. There is no blood for blood, or eye for eye, no tooth for tooth. There is no life for life. Instead, God first brings about a special miracle on behalf of Cain by cursing the ground when and wherever Cain tills it. Then, God sends Cain away to wander about “the land of nod” (Gen 4:16). “Nod,” by the way, is a Hebrew word meaning “to wander.”
But before he sends him away, God takes pity on Cain and marks him so no one who finds him will kill him. Something important to note: a bit further along in the story, we read that Cain marries, has children, and establishes a city he names Enoch after his son (Gen 4:17). Now it seems to me that Cain’s life after he commits the first murder in history, really doesn’t seem all that bad. Meanwhile, his brother, righteous Abel, is cold, and dead, and in the ground. No doubt, this story seems to be filled with injustice and God is right in the middle of it. Where is the goodness of God in this story? How does this story even end up being part of Holy Scripture?
Nevertheless, Christians are doctrinally committed to the absolute truth that God’s goodness is absolute. To say this is to claim no bias or presupposition, but it flows logically, rationally, and naturally from His divine attributes; it has been revealed to Christians through God’s special revelation of Himself and is presented through the evidence of religious experience. So, then, it is understood that Christians are driven by that evidence to say that God is good. These things given, there must be something we have missed in the story. What is actually happening here?
Join us again next week as we continue to look at the first murder in human history all in pursuit of the answer to the question, “Why does God allow evil to exist?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife, Vicki, are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore, OK. You can contact him at [email protected].
