In one form or another, this question gives voice to the atheist’s most common objection to the existence of God–or at least the existence an all-powerful, loving God. As human beings we very naturally struggle to resolve the seemingly contradictory realities of God, suffering, and pain. After all, it’s impossible to live very long without encountering pain and suffering. We see it daily. We witness the effects of disease, famine and natural disasters. We see the carnage of war, man-made disasters and poverty. And in our personal lives, we experience bereavement, persecution, rejection, depression, loss, loneliness and relational brokenness. Suffering is real; we can’t deny it. The experience of it, whether on a global, national, community or personal scale can cause us to cry out, “Where are you God? Are you even in control? And if you are, don’t you care for us?”
This question of suffering challenges us on two levels: the emotional level, and the rational level. The first is impossible to resolve. Suffering will never not be painful, no matter its source or root cause. Theologian James Emery White states the obvious: “There is no answer that can be given that will satisfy the emotional pain of suffering.”[1] In fact, as seminary professor Michael Kruger suggests in a letter to his college-age daughter, sometimes those who raise the issue of evil and suffering as a challenge to belief in God may be less interested in apologetics than they are in empathy. “Some have lost loved ones,” he writes. “Some have come from broken homes. Some have been abused. Some have suffered from serious illness. Their stories will be hard to hear. In such cases you will want to walk alongside those who suffer–loving them, praying for them, and hurting with them.”[2]
But what if the questions extend beyond the desire for emotional support? Is it rational to assume that the reality of a loving, sovereign God is incompatible with evil and suffering? Most contemporary philosophers will concede that logically, this argument falls flat–that it is indeed possible for the two to co-exist. The existence of evil does not negate the existence of God; nor does the existence of God negate the existence of evil. The two are not logically incompatible. Why not? Because an all-powerful, loving God could have morally sufficient reasons for allowing evil that human beings are not privy to–that we cannot understand. As long as this is possible (and our finite minds cannot prove that it isn’t), the coexistence of God and evil or suffering is logically possible. As humans, we are not in a position to judge God’s reasons, or to see his view (which is much longer and all-encompassing than our own). In order to achieve his ends, God may, in fact, have to put up with certain evils along the way. (Scripture is full of stories that demonstrate this, from the persecution of God’s chosen people by other nations to the unjust condemnation and crucifixion of his own Son!)
There’s another unspoken assumption underlying this challenge that is faulty: that God’s chief purpose for us in life is that we be happy. Theologian J. I. Packer called this assumption “a cruel gospel”[3] because it makes false promises to us. “The lopsided impression which pictures the normal Christian life as trouble-free,” he said, “is bound to lead sooner or later to bitter disillusionment.”[4] This view is not scriptural; the briefest review of the Bible will show that suffering is a key theme. The central Character of the scriptures, Jesus Christ, is even called a “man of sorrows.” But the bible also demonstrates that God can use suffering to change, refine, prepare, purify, sanctify and beautify us. So as hard as it may be for our modern minds to grasp, suffering and evil are not incompatible with the existence of a loving, sovereign God.
[1] James Emery White, Christianity for Those Who Aren’t Christians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books) 2019.
[2] Michael J. Kruger, Surviving Religion 101 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 106.
[3] J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 1993), Chapter 21: “These Inward Trials.”
[4] Ibid.
Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Revelation 21:3-4 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
1 Peter 1: 6-7 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
“The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.” ~George McDonald, Unspoken Sermons, First Series
“The goal of human life is not happiness in this life; we are not God’s pets. His goal is not to create a nice terrarium here for his human pets. Rather, it is to bring persons into communion with himself forever freely, and in order to do that, it’s not at all implausible that a world suffused with natural and moral evil would be the correlative of that.” ~William Lane Craig
“From a biblical perspective, we must also reject the idea that if God loves us, he cannot intend for us to suffer. God’s beloved Son, the One in whom the Father is well pleased, comes expressly to suffer and to die out of love for his people. “People often think that the reality of suffering is an embarrassment to the Christian faith. But I think suffering is the greatest apologetic for Christianity there is.” ~Confronting Christianity, Rebecca McLaughlin