The Challenge of Suffering

Approaches to sacred suffering, those that believe a good God exists and still allows suffering, has usually lied in either the realm of the philosopher or the theologian. Recently however, these disciplines rarely come together. Since the rise of Evangelicalism and biblical criticism it is perhaps time to re-look at this highly significant question in the attempt not only to find an intellectually satisfactory answer but also a pastorally comforting response to those held in the grip of suffering. It is my attempt to bring both of the disciplines to bear in searching for this goal.

As such we shall begin by looking closely at a challenge given to the problem of sacred suffering by non other than a former Christian apologist now Atheist. This challenge is the correct challenge for this blog and the author is John W. Loftus, and it comes from his book, Why I became an Atheist: a former preacher rejects Christianity.[1] His challenge goes like this…

Why didn’t God just create a heavenly world with heavenly bodies in the first place? Theists typically believe that a heaven awaits faithful believers when they die, where there will be no “death, or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev 21:4), where believers will have incorruptible bodies (1 Cor. 15:30 ff.), in a perfect existence. So why didn’t God just create a perfect existence in the first place?[2]

This is an excellent question because it directly narrows the field of enquiry for us to begin without worrying about too many definitions. The assumptions behind this question are articulated and are as follows...

1. God mentioned here is the Christian God revealed in the Bible.
2. God has created a world where evil suffering and decay are present.
3. God has the power to stop suffering and evil and one day will do just that.

As a result this is exactly the place the discussion needs to begin for us to understand why God has set up the world the way He has. Answering this question will get us some way to understanding why God allows horrific suffering yet reveals Himself as supremely good for us in the present.

As I write this it is but a few days since the mass shooting in Connecticut which took the lives of 20 children and 6 staff members. The question seems more poignant than ever. Why didn’t God stop this tragedy before it happened but one day will?

Before go further we must take a step back and examine the active or passive role God’s has in His creation. If God is active in creation, does that imply that he had a hand in the shooting in Connecticut? And if so how much of a role did he play. Or If God is passive in creation, does that make Him guilty of negligence? For example, in order to prove negligence a person must have had a duty of care, which means a responsibility to act in the best interest of another; hasn’t God therefore breached His duty of care to stop murder of innocents in Connecticut?

But before we begin there are some assumptions that are not clear from this question or even indeed from the whole book written by John. These are...

1. What is Evil, or how do we define what is an evil act?
2. What exactly is God's role in the world? 
3. Is this the right question to ask?

Evangelical teaching on this is pretty straightforward and we may come to appropriate conclusions on them quickly enough. Firstly, Evil can be defined as an absence of God, or Godlessness. Sin, which is a failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature is consequently evil as it is devoid of God. Secondly, God's role in creation is both transcendent and immanent, meaning God created the world from nothing and stands apart from it but also simultaneously governs every bit of it at every moment. God is transcendent and immanent with His creation together. Thirdly, this question is very similar to the question found on the lips of Job as he questions God as to why he, a righteous man, suffers. Job's question is about why does he suffer, John's is why does the world suffer. 

With this beginning we are at a good place to examine some of the possible answers.       

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[1] Loftus, J. W. (2008). Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity. New York:

Prometheus Books.

[2] Ibid., p.236.