When faced with the reality of suffering, the classical view of God becomes exceptionally difficult to defend. The idea that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving is challenged by the existence of evil. It brings up the age-old question of theodicy: how do we reconcile our notion of a loving God, a God who has the power to eliminate suffering, with our notion of justice in the face of evil?
The problem of evil is one of the largest stumbling blocks in the question of God’s existence. Because of that, I believe it is also the best place to start when forming an argument regarding God. If a rational argument can’t be made to explain how a loving God can allow the extent of suffering and evil we’ve seen in the world, then I don’t believe a credible argument can be made for the existence of God.
Providing a rational argument though does not provide evidence for the existence of God, but it allows us to move further into the question.
Now, dealing with the problem of evil can get very complicated. Evil can be separated into two main categories: moral evil and natural evil. Moral evil deals with willful acts committed by humans, such as rape or murder, while natural evil refers to natural disasters. Answers that deal with one sort of evil don’t necessarily translate to the other sort of evil, which means that any argument must have both in mind.
The problem has become even more difficult with the 20th century though, with an event that transformed the discussion: the Holocaust. The Holocaust had a massive impact on theology. For many, it killed the classical view of God, because it appeared impossible to find a reason why an all-loving God, who was all-powerful, wouldn’t have stepped in and prevented millions of Jews, his chosen people, from being led to the slaughter. It also showed that every human has the capacity to do evil. Because of this massive impact, we will return to the Holocaust frequently.
Looking at the Bible, this complicated situation doesn’t become any clearer. There are dozens of Biblical explanations for the existence of evil, such as it being a byproduct of free will, that there is some hidden plan, that it’s a mystery, or even that evil isn’t necessarily bad, as it teaches us something.
None of those explanations are inherently false, and in some situations, they do have their advantages and may be justified responses. But in regard to the Holocaust, they don’t measure up. In response to burning children, to tossing babies into fires, such explanations are found wanting. Part of the issue is that those who wrote the Bible simply couldn’t have known how far evil could go. They couldn’t imagine the technological dimensions that allowed the Holocaust to be so efficient.
In such a situation, though, where children are being burned alive, the question of why there is evil may be beside the point, and instead, we should be asking, ” What do we do now?
There are certain things that can be said, though. Overall, the Bible takes a more nuanced view of the subject rather than seeing things in black and white. Instead of picking a single perspective, Biblical texts often provide multiple angles, which really help show the complexity of the situation. Most importantly, though, Biblical writers even dared to connect God with both suffering and evil, forcing readers into a deeper conversation of what that connection truly means.
Instead of overarching statements, the Bible brings us into a middle position. The Bible claims that some suffering is the will of God, but not all of it is. Some suffering is due to sin, but not all suffering is due to sin. From the Bible, we get a view of God that isn’t absent from the life of the world, as deism claims, but at the same time, God doesn’t micromanage it.
At this point, we need to take a step back and look at a core aspect of any possible god. If God exists, we have to realize that God is fundamentally different from us. Our ways, our thoughts, are not the ways and thoughts of God. Because of this, we face a paradox with God: we are unable to plumb the depths of God, to really understand God, yet God wills to be known by us.
This is important to remember as it creates an asymmetrical relationship between God and humans. Such a realization is fundamental to tackling the question of suffering and evil, at least from a Biblical perspective. That God is in a genuine relationship, or desires to be, with all creatures, is intrinsically tied to God’s way of being as well as doing. This, in turn, becomes key to interpreting God’s relationship to not only humans, but also to evil and suffering.
This relationship is further built upon another aspect: since God wills to have a relationship with all creation, God must be present everywhere. This aspect of God raises a number of issues, such as why God doesn’t hear our cries in our most dire situations. It also makes the dynamics of the relationship much more complicated.
It is this relationship that forms the foundation of the argument for how God can exist alongside evil. We will still have to address all of this regarding the Holocaust, but it is a point at which we can start.
God’s Relationship
While God freely enters into this relationship with humans, it’s not just a one-way street. Both participants have something important to say. This communication comes in various ways, but the most obvious is prayer. However, we must rethink what prayer really is.
Instead of prayer being a vehicle simply for asking God to fix our problems, we will see that it takes on a different shape. For now, it’s worth noting that often when we pray, we often get answers we don’t care for, if we get any answer at all. In a way, it can seem as if we are Job, who believes God isn’t there, only to have God appear later.
Prayer isn’t the only vehicle used to foster this relationship. There is a major aspect that goes back to the beginning, to the idea that God created humans in God’s image. Throughout the Bible, humans are given the space and power to be creative. They are entrusted with caring for creation, and even though they make mistakes, that responsibility is never taken away.
With this relationship, we are led to two different ideas. The first is at the core of Liberation Theology, that God works through humans. God has given us the tools we need in order to fight oppression, and work towards justice. But humans are imperfect, and because of that, the results are mixed. Even with that being the case, we, as humans, must continue doing our part.
The second idea is that of a God that is limited. This limiting factor is necessary for humans to be humans. It is also necessary in order for God to have a meaningful relationship with us. For God to enter into a relationship with humans, God must surrender a portion of His power, otherwise we are left with a situation of a puppet-master with his puppets.
This self-limiting also goes back to the idea of humans being created in God’s image, which necessitates that humans also have power, and the power to create. In turn, this will lead to two further ideas that will be addressed later on: the idea of kenosis and panentheism.
What this all leads to is a God who is not all-powerful; a God who has placed limits upon himself to allow humans to be what they were created to be. This allows a relationship to form, but it also comes with serious risks. As humans are imperfect, the possibility for atrocities are there. In the end, it means that God must have faith in humans, just as humans have faith in God.
Why do we Suffer?
Putting this all together, we can begin to put forth a few answers as to why we suffer, and why there is evil. But we have to remember that many other factors will come into play, so we will have to revisit these answers later.
First, the primary reason why humans suffer is that we are limited. We aren’t perfect, and we make mistakes. Not all suffering is bad, though. At times, we push ourselves to our limits. When it comes to exercising, we may suffer the next day as our muscles heal. Or it may mean that we stay up all night finishing a paper or reading a book, and we suffer the next day as we fight to just stay awake.
The world isn’t risk-free, and even something good can cause suffering. Gravity is a great example, as it is both a gift and a danger. It means we stay firmly planted where we are. We can use gravity to our benefit, such as when falling a tree. But if we aren’t careful, that same tree can come crashing down on us.
Taking this a step further, we can intensify that risk. If I go out and get intoxicated, I may fall more easily and thereby hurt myself. I may also wake up with a hangover.
Second, we have to realize that our actions have consequences. We have the ability to commit evil, which in turn can cause suffering. At the same time, we also have the ability to do great good, and relieve that suffering. Part of this is taking responsibility for our actions, and realizing that nothing we do is in a vacuum.
This leads to two additional points. Often, the suffering we experience is not because of something we have done, but because of the actions of others. People who are oppressed generally are in that situation for reasons beyond their control. That is why we are called to rebel against oppression, and to make things right.
At the same time, though, much of this sort of oppression isn’t just caused all of a sudden. Evil and suffering can build up over time, where it is slowly integrated into the fabric of life. It’s more of a systematic evil that future generations have to experience.
While our actions may have immediate consequences, they can also have long-lasting impacts as well. Racism wasn’t created in a day; over time, it becomes systemic and affects us on a global scale. In the same way, racism and other forms of systematic evil won’t be defeated in a day, but we can continually chip away at it.
What this all points to is that we are interconnected. We don’t exist in a vacuum, and we must remember that. We have the ability to set into motion both evil that affects people on a global scale, or good that uplifts people around the world.
As humans, we are responsible for these actions, and God calls us to work within this system, in order to keep creation good. It would definitely be easier if God would just intervene, but as we saw, such an action would strip us of our humanity, as well as of the relationship that is possible with God.
A Caveat
There are still problems, though. The first revolves around natural evil. We live in a dynamic world where we have massive acts of natural destruction. Forces such as hurricanes, tsunamis, or volcanoes can destroy vast amounts of life. And it truly appears to be at random.
This is a topic I will dive more into later, but a quick thought. While these natural forces can cause massive destruction, they can also help shape a beautiful planet. Volcanoes can destroy, but they also form islands that enable further creation. Forest fires can destroy lives and homes, but they can also bring new life by creating space for growth.
That doesn’t explain away natural evil in its entirety, but it gives us a starting point. It gives us a basic framework to look at such events, and see them for more than what the surface level tells us. A much fuller explanation is needed, though, in order to explain the why? If there is a God, why create a world that is so dynamic and dangerous? It is a question I will come back to.
The second major problem gets back to the Holocaust. When we see suffering and evil on that scale, the answers as to why we suffer feel a bit empty. In part, we can look at the Holocaust and see that humans put into action a set of events that decimated whole populations. It wasn’t something done in a generation, but was the outcome of centuries of persecution, to the point that antisemitism had systematically taken hold of much of the world.
We must remember that the Holocaust was just the final solution to the age-old Jewish question. There were millions of chances to stop it, yet neither God nor humans stood up. Where was humanity, is a question that needs to be answered.
To Sum Up
Taking everything up to this point, we begin to get a partial picture, a beginning to the answer of why there is evil and suffering. There are still very large gaps in the answer that need to be addressed. But an outline is taking shape.
A key point in all of this concerns our relationship with God and what that fully means. It means we must see God as limited while also recognizing that humans have power. This doesn’t remove the problem of suffering, but it helps to put it in the correct perspective.