theodicy<\/a>\u00a0as little more than a philosophical problem.<\/p>\nOr an issue of faith that simply\u00a0requires more trust on the part of the believer.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, that sort of approach only makes matters worse.<\/p>\n
For,\u00a0when we tell those who suffer that their pain is part of God\u2019s plan, we only ever compound the problem of evil. We don\u2019t resolve it.<\/p>\n
Moreover, I think this sort of casual dismissal of the problem of pain is ultimately at the heart of those headlines proclaiming the imminent death of the church.<\/p>\n
Because when we make the gospel merely about a momentary intellectual decision and agreement to a list of beliefs, while treating\u00a0the evil of this world as a secondary issue, we make the gospel irrelevant. Which is why it should come as no surprise to see a socially conscious generation fleeing a church more interested in being right than addressing\u00a0the immense suffering right outside its doorstep.<\/p>\n
To put it another way, it\u2019s incredibly difficult for many people to believe in a God who promises to heal pain in heaven, when nothing is being done to alleviate suffering and injustice in the here and now.<\/p>\n
Now, of course, the problem of evil is\u00a0nothing new. Though it sometimes appears to be a revolutionary\u00a0trump card to undermine religion and disprove the existence of God, the problem of evil has existed for as long as people have believed in a higher power.<\/p>\n
Which is why I\u2019m sure it\u2019s\u00a0no coincidence that Job is the oldest book in the Bible.<\/p>\n
After all, why go any further down the path of discipleship if this God we\u2019re supposed to worship is incapable of or disinterested in dealing with evil?<\/p>\n
Or worse, if that God is the source of evil in the world.<\/p>\n
If that ancient book has anything to teach us today, I think it\u2019s that there is no easy answer to the problem of evil and maybe no answer at all this side of eternity. Because\u00a0while Job does have his life restored, no reason is ever given for why a good and loving Creator allowed His creation to suffer.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless,\u00a0our inability to resolve this most fundamental challenge to faith doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t or shouldn\u2019t engage the problem of evil.<\/p>\n
In fact, we must<\/em> respond, not simply for our own intellectual credibility, but because real people are really suffering.<\/p>\nWhich is why our response to the problem of evil can\u2019t be merely philosophical. It can start there, but if it remains in the realm of abstract debate, we\u00a0diminish the seriousness of the issue at hand.<\/p>\n
For, if nothing else, the problem of evil is an imminently practical issue.<\/p>\n
And as such it requires a practical response.<\/p>\n
As Christians, our response to evil is found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.<\/p>\n
In the life of Jesus we see a God who took on flesh because that God takes the problem of a suffering creation seriously. In the cross we see a God who doesn\u2019t ignore the cries of His people, but confronts them head on, making their pain his own. And in the resurrection we witness\u00a0the dawn of a new creation and the beginning of God\u2019s victory over evil.<\/p>\n
As Christians, these are not\u00a0merely theological musings.<\/p>\n
They are a call to a particular, difficult, but hope filled way of life.<\/p>\n
The incarnation forces us to confront evil in the here and now, rather than ignore it until eternity. The cross calls us to stand beside and be willing to suffer with those in pain. And the resurrection empowers us to become the agents of God\u2019s new creation by embodying the hope, healing, and justice of the dawning kingdom on earth, just as it is in heaven.<\/p>\n
Now, don\u2019t get me wrong.<\/p>\n
This is no elegant solution to the problem of evil. We can be the perfect embodiment of love and hope we are called to be and yet evil will nevertheless continue to exist.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that frustrating reality that torments me with doubt, not just about the goodness or power of God, but whether God exists at all.<\/p>\n
Of course, I\u2019m not alone in that.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s people across the centuries have cried out with the psalmist, \u201cMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\u201d<\/p>\n
And yet for some reason some of us\u00a0continue to believe in spite of all our doubts.<\/p>\n
In spite of all the evil we see around us.<\/p>\n
Why is that?<\/em><\/p>\nTo be honest, sometimes I don\u2019t know. And I certainly can\u2019t speak for everyone who continues to believe in the face of evil, but I think many of us cling to our faith because in spite of all the suffering we see around us (and experience ourselves), we also see the good news incarnated all around us, both in our lives and in the lives of others.<\/p>\n
The moments may be more few and far between than we would like, but we\u2019ve seen broken lives restored. We\u2019ve witness peace\u00a0restored to\u00a0the grieving. And we\u2019ve watched\u00a0the dam\u00a0being\u00a0breached and\u00a0justice rolling\u00a0down like water.<\/p>\n
If only for a passing moment, we have been witnesses to these sacred moments.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve caught glimpses of the resurrection and we want to incarnate those moments in our own lives for the sake of others.<\/p>\n
Because without those glimpses there is no hope.<\/p>\n
There is no healing.<\/p>\n
There is no love.<\/p>\n
And without those glimpses, the answer to the problem of evil becomes\u00a0quite simple.<\/p>\n
There is no God.<\/p>\n
Or if there is, it\u2019s not a God worth worshiping.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(H\/T Jason St. Peter, Flickr Creative Commons) Christianity seems to be in a state of crisis these days. Countless news articles bemoan declining attendance while\u00a0boldly proclaiming the imminent death of the Church. From the fleeing of millennials to debates over same-sex marriage to Pat Robertson, the Christian faith is not without its challenges. But what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3437,"featured_media":13043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Single Greatest Challenge To Christianity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(H\/T Jason St. Peter, Flickr Creative Commons) Christianity seems to be in a state of crisis these days. Countless news articles bemoan declining\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/zackhunt\/2014\/10\/biggest-challenge-christianity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Single Greatest Challenge To Christianity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(H\/T Jason St. Peter, Flickr Creative Commons) Christianity seems to be in a state of crisis these days. 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(H\/T Jason St. Peter, Flickr Creative Commons<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n