1. Hard Questions #1 God and Evil 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Page 1794

2. The Question: “How could a loving God allow evil?” 1) It may not be a question but an accusation. 2) Those who ask this may not want an answer that comes from the Bible they want to be listened to and understood. 3) You have been put on the spot to answer for God and set a foundation for someone else’s understanding of God and that is not easy. 4) There is no quick answer as it requires speaking of the character of God not so much quoting a chapter from the Bible. 5) You may not have an answer for yourself.

3. How Are We Going To Answer This? 0 This is a start and I have some articles to take home as well. 0 I am also available for you, or others, who may want some help processing this question. 0 I will be sharing my thought process in the hope that it helps.

4. Where I Start: 0 I try to determine if this is a real question or an accusation. 0 Questions are answered, accusations are listened to.

5. The Next Question: 0 I ask “Where is this coming from?” “What evil are you thinking of and what would you have liked God to do about it?” 0 You can best help through empathetic listening without evaluating the pain … “at least it was not…”

6. Psalm 42:9-11 Page 881 0 Ps 42:9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” Ps 42:10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 0 Ps 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

7. Is This a Grief Question? 0 The danger of teaching that God blesses and protects the righteous and punishes the wicked. 0 Psalm 73 and the Book of Job – The struggle of the wicked prospering. 0 There are different sources and responses to suffering: Your sin, The Sin of Others, A Fallen World, and suffering for Righteousness.

8. The Theological and Logical 0 Natural Evil or Moral Evil? 0 God made us with free choice and he does not interfere with our choices, or the choices of others. 0 He has provided us with a moral conscience which we can ignore and cause problems for others and ourselves. 0 He does not overlook sin and his wrath will be poured out on those who do not repent.

9. Romans 8:28 Page 1757 0 He does not create the sin but he can make something good come from it. 0 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

10. Philosophical Approach 0 Moral evil is an absence of God like darkness is an absence of light. 0 1 John 4:18 “God is love.” 0 Not God has love, but that God is love. Love does not cause suffering.

11. Our Testimony 0 Life is not about avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. 0 That is Hedonism not Christianity. 0 Consider 2 Corinthians 11:23-30.

12. A Question for Them: 0 I would ask someone if they thought that their suffering was leading them toward God or away from Him. 0 It is likely that people whom they have trusted, that were supposed to be speaking for God, have said some very dumb and hurtful things. 0 God did not say those things, or do those things.

13. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7on page 1794 0 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

14. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7on page 1794 0 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

15. How Can You Answer? 1. Through listening and good questions. 2. With honesty, compassion, and sharing. 3. By looking at God’s love and our freedom of choice. 4. By having people consider going to God for understanding and comfort instead of blaming Him and pulling away.

16. Conclusion: 0 I hope this has been helpful to you and that the other resources I have brought will help you be more prepared to answer this hard question. 0 People have asked you for a reason and it may lead them closer to Christ.

17. Hard Question #2 0 In honor of Valentine’s Day - 0 “How can I love the unlovable?”