Conversational Apologetics The Problem of Evil – Part 2

Conversational Apologetics Open Questions  To understand and know them Pointed Questions  To remove the “roof” of their irrational assumptions Explain the Gospel  Only when asked Nurture The Relationship  Help unbelievers grow towards Christ  Help believers to grow IN Christ

The Problem of Evil If God is all powerful, He can prevent evil. If God is all loving, He abhors evil and wishes to prevent it. Evil Exists Therefore, God cannot be all powerful or all loving.

Review Who is Evil a Problem for?  The unbeliever Has no universal, absolute morality Must argue some form of moral relativism But as soon as he believes, speaks, or acts as though some activity is evil in itself, he has contradicted his set of beliefs.  The Christian’s belief of universal, absolute morality is rationally based on the Transcendent, Creator who has revealed Himself in human history

The Challenge for Christians The atheist may say:  “Even if I cannot account for evil in my worldview, how do you account for it in yours?” Christians believe in an all-powerful, all-loving God. Christians know there is evil How do we resolve the paradox?

Greg Bahnsen’s Theodicy Student of Cornelius Van Til, the ‘father’ of presuppositional apologetics M.A. and Th.M from Westminster Theological seminary PhD in Philosophy from the University of Southern California Presuppositional Apologetics = The non-believer is on trial

Christian Presuppositions As Christians, we believe the Bible when it tells us that God is perfectly and completely good.  The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. (Deu 32:4) Thus, we can and should evaluate everything in our experience in light of this presupposition.

Consistent with our Worldview Christians are being perfectly logical and consistent with our worldview to infer that God has a morally sufficient (though perhaps undisclosed) reason for the evil that He allows. This is to say that God allows evil events for reasons which are morally commendable and good.

The Fourth Premise God is all powerful God is all pood God has a morally sufficient reason for the Evil He allows Evil Exists

Biblical Examples Joseph  "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Gen 50:20) Abraham  "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Gen 18:25)

The Greatest Evil Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified. (Mar 15:15)

Why Did God… …Allow His Son to suffer the greatest evil?  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2Co 5:21) If God had a morally sufficient reason for allowing the greatest evil, can He not have one for all evil?

The Heart of the Problem God does not always give us the reason He allows evil in the world.  Christians and unbelievers alike instinctively think to ourselves, “Why did such a terrible thing happen?”  The Bible calls on us to trust that God has a morally sufficient reason for evil.

The Believer… …often struggles with this situation  We are called to walk by faith and not by sight  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28) But we can take solace in knowing that God, through Christ, participated in the evil that men do and suffered at their hands. We have a sympathetic High Priest (Heb 4:15).

The Unbeliever… … finds the situation intolerable.  He refuses to trust God.  He demands that God subject His reasons to the unbeliever for analysis and approval.  In other words, he wants to be his own God!

The Problem of Evil… …comes down to the question:  Will I place my faith in God and His Word, or  Will I trust my own human thinking and values? Who is the ultimate authority in my life? Where was this very question played out for the first time?

Evil Enters… Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (Gen 3:1)

The Temptation "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5)

Human History… …depended upon whether Adam and Eve would trust and presuppose the Goodness of God. Since they did not, the human race has been visited with evil and suffering ever since. When unbelievers refuse to accept the goodness of God on the basis of his Word, they simply perpetuate the source of all our human woes.

The Problem of Evil really… …is a personal expression of a lack of faith. The unbeliever argues in circles:  Because they lack faith, they begin arguing that evil is logically contradictory to the goodness and power of God.  When they are presented with a logically adequate and Biblically supported solution to the Problem of Evil…

Full Circle They refuse to accept it, again because of their lack of faith in God! They would rather be left unable to give an account of any moral judgment whatsoever than to submit to the ultimate moral authority of God.