The Problem of Evil and Suffering

Terms used

The Problem

Moral Evil suffering which which people cause when they do wrong. Non-Moral or Natural Evil Suffering which is caused by natural disasters. Benevolent Wishing only goodness and kindness Omniscient All-knowing Omnipotent All powerful Theodicy A way of explaining how there can be suffering in a world created by a benevolent, omnipotent, omniscient God.

The existence of evil and suffering cause problems for religious believers because: If God is all good He would want to end all suffering If God is all-knowing, He must have known there would be suffering when He created everything and is fully aware it is happening. If God is all-powerful, He would be able to stop the suffering happening. Now it is an observable fact that there is suffering in the world. The problem is, therefore, a logical one - Given the existence of suffering in the world, God cannot be all-good AND all-knowing AND all-powerful. Both Judaism and Christianity believe that God is all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful. How do they answer the charge?

Christian Responses to Evil and Suffering

Christian response to suffering in the world is the practical one of helping to alleviate suffering by:

• PRAYER - praying to God on behalf of those who are sufferring. This is called intercessory prayer and can be the prayer of an individual or part of an act of collective Church worship.
• SERVICE - this happens when Christians, often as unpaid volunteers, get involved in actively helping those who are suffering. Many Christians help in developing countries or in hospitals and hospices. Many organise food, clothing and accommodation for the homeless or those whose well-being is threatened in Britain and so on. They often quote the charge in the parable that Jesus told of the Sheep and the Goats "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me." (Matthew 25 vv 37-40)

Christian Explanation of the Problem of Evil and Suffering

1. Free will: the story of creation in Genesis chapters 1 to 3 (whether Christians understand it literally or as a symbolic story) conveys to us the idea that God made "man in His own image and after His own likeness." The idea of freedom of choice, free will, is important. Adam and Eve are given a command by God which they are free to obey or disobey. Eve, and then Adam, ate of the forbidden fruit. That act of rebellion, which is the story of every one of us, brought sin, suffering and death into the world. Evil and suffering are caused when people use free will in a wrong way to gain their own selfish ends. Such suffering is, therefore, our fault, not God's.
2. Many see this world as a preparation for the next. God did not create this world as the final Paradise; that comes after we die, in heaven. This world gives us the opportunity to live good lives and thus go to paradise. It is also possible to make the point that if there were no suffering, how could we be good. If there were no poor, how could I give to bless others? Suffering and evil in this world give us the occasion to live good lives.
3. A big question, which is found also in the Bible, has always been, "Why do the righteous (good people) suffer and the wicked prosper?" Many take the view that we must wait until the final events are played out before we will see eventual justice. At last, the good will be rewarded and the wicked punished - the balance will be redressed. The story of a man called Job, in the Bible, explores the very question of why the good suffer. Job was a very righteous man, and yet he lost all his possessions, his children were killed in a terrible disaster and, last of all, he was struck down by a painful disease of boils breaking out all over his body. His friends told him he must have sinned. But Job maintained his innocence. However, he could not understand why God was allowing Him to suffer; in spite of this he still trusted God. In the end, his health and prosperity were restored. Job, through his testing, had been proved to be a man whom God could trust both in good times and bad times.
4. A final idea is in the "God-moves-in-mysterious-ways" form. As finite human beings we cannot understand why God does things. God must have a reason for allowing evil and suffering, but it is beyond our ability to perceive. We are not God and therefore it is pointless trying to understand everything about His ways. Only God understands God. However, Christians are able to say that in the life of Jesus, God's Son had to experience suffering. He commanded His followers to respond to suffering by helping the sufferers. Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry and raised the dead. By doing our bit to help remove suffering, we are responding in the same way.