In my conversations with friends who reject the gospel, I find their objections usually fall into four main categories:
1. The problem of science.
Science holds an exalted position in our society, especially here in the shadow of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The widespread perception is that while previous generations needed religion to understand our place in the universe, science has replaced religion as the answer to our problems. Scientists have become our priests and preachers as the authoritative brokers of ultimate truth. This view presents the false dilemma that you can be smart or you can be a Christian, but you can’t be both. I’ve written a little about that here.
2. The problem of scripture.
The Bible reports phenomena that violate laws of nature and physics. If there’s a conflict between the Bible and science, science wins. The Bible, they say, is a collection of fanciful stories and fables written by pre-scientific people, passed down through centuries, and corrupted along the way. Therefore, they conclude, it’s not a reliable guide to the truth. I’ve written a little about that here and here.
3. The problem of sincerity.
The problem here is not sincerity, but the lack of it among professing Christians. To be sincere is to be “free of pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy.” The objection goes something like this: “The church is full of hypocrites.” Unfortunately, many churches are, and many detractors of Christianity have used this as an excuse to reject it. Many reject Christianity because they have been hurt by professing Christians. I’ve written a little about that here and here.
4. The problem of suffering.
While the first three problems are favorite targets of philosophers, scholars, and scholar-wannabes, the problem of suffering, and the evil behind it, touches everyone. This is probably the most oft-cited reason for rejecting Christianity. What they often forget is that the problem of suffering is a problem for everyone, whether you’re a Buddhist or an atheist. You still must find a satisfying way to reconcile the existence of evil with your belief system.
Through the centuries, Christian apologists have developed substantive rebuttals to these four objections. Here, I’ll focus on the problem of suffering and evil.
The Problem of Suffering and Evil
Here’s the problem: The Bible presents God as omniscient (he knows everything there is to know), omnipotent (he can do anything he wants), omnipresent (he is everywhere), and omnibenevolent (all that he does is good, wise, and just). However, evil and suffering exist.
Therefore, skeptics conclude there are only four options to harmonize the data and they all assume the Bible is in error:
God is here, smart, and good but not strong.
God is here, strong, and smart but not good.
God is here, good, and strong but not smart.
God is not here and never has been.
But there’s a fifth option: God is here, smart, strong, and good, and he’s not disinterested, disengaged, or deaf. Neither is he silent about our suffering, if we will only listen. This fifth option is the uniform testimony of Scripture.
Good Resources to Guide Your Thinking
Over the years, I’ve recommended books to friends, both believers and unbelievers, that have helped me think about the problem of suffering and evil. Here are a few to consider:
Like many Christians, my first introduction to thinking deeply about the problem of evil and suffering came from C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain. This famous quote from that book has guided my thinking ever since:
Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
Next came Philip Yancey’s Where is God When It Hurts? Building on Lewis’ premise, he uses Hansen’s disease as an illustration of the unintended consequences of a painless life. There are multiple purposes in the pain we rarely understand at the time.
Randy Alcorn’s book, If God Is Good, is an engaging and practical work on a popular level that demonstrates how the existence of evil and suffering does not preclude the existence of a wise, compassionate, and sovereign God.
Professional theologians and apologists do us a great service, but there’s nothing like a skilled practical theologian who has experienced immense personal suffering to guide us in this topic. That’s why I recommend everything written on the subject by Joni Eareckson Tada. For a taste, try her little booklet, Making Sense of Suffering.
Seven Reasons Why I’m Adding One More to My List
More recently, Collin Hansen has written Where is God In A World With So Much Evil? I highly recommend this book for seven reasons.
Because it’s so small (44 pages), it’s a manageable read.
Because it’s so small (did I mention it’s 44 pages?) it’s an unintimidating gift you can give to your friends because, well, it’s a manageable read.
It shows a sweeping command of Russian literature, history, and current events as it catalogues grotesque evil from the Holocaust of World War 2 to the atrocities of the present Russia-Ukraine War.
It presents the Biblical response to the problem of evil, showing that God is not silent on the issue of suffering. He has spoken clearly and compassionately as he comforts his people.
It is compassionate and realistic, not pretending that God speaks to every single instance of suffering as if he owes us an explanation. Sometimes (most times?) we don’t understand why God seems so far away, so silent, in the dark night of our pain.
It platforms the gospel and shows how the ultimate answer to the suffering of the world is found in the suffering of the Son of God.
It is well-crafted by an eloquent writer. Here’s an excerpt:
For now, at least a little while longer, the sounds of slaughter still haunt every corner of the earth. “Never again” gives way to terrorists on paragliders attacking youth during a music festival. Another land war in Europe yields war crimes in familiar Ukrainian cities. The League of Nations couldn’t stop the last major war. The United Nations can’t stop wars today. Over the clanging gong of breaking news, we listen for the first notes from a trumpet that will signal the end of evil (Matt. 24:31). Then, final judgment will be rendered to the butchers of Buchenwald and Berdychiv. No evil word will go unpunished. On that day, every child’s cries will find consolation (38).
Whether you’re navigating through personal pain, wondering why God seems so distant, or you want to help an unbelieving friend work through this issue so they can hear the gospel more clearly, or you’re looking for something to study in your small group, I recommend Where Is God in a World with So Much Evil?
I just added it to my toolbox.
Thank you so much for this message! It really says it all