Around year 2000, I read a book called "God of War" written by Gregory Boyd (side note: Boyd seems to have shifted to the progressive Christianity side of things. I do think the book was prior to the shift and, for me, it has influenced my position)
WARNING! Detour before getting to the specific question to establish framework to support question response.
It is possible you will not agree with me. I am open to having discussion on such things. Most of us have to deal and wrestle with this question. Teachings is church gives us most of our current beliefs. Though I have been taught in church, I often struggle to reconcile the teaching to what I see happening in the world around me. Most of the time, the two don't align. (Just have faith John, just have faith. The book "God at War" really challenged me to look more from a spiritual realm perspective)
A few questions to ask yourself:
Where do we get our picture of God from?
Where do we get our authority from?
The primary and perfect example of what God looks like is found in the person of Jesus. When we consider the types of behaviors and attitudes God would have, we only need to look at the life of Jesus.
I believe it is important to establish a fundamental understanding of God or it will be next to impossible to understand why God allows suffering and evil. If we take a view that God is love and God is good, then if God is those things, we have to force ourselves to believe that all things that happen in this life is because God has planned it and therefore, what He has planned can only be good. In other words, when a person is murdered, it must be good because God is love and God is good. When a person is raped, it must be good because God planned it and therefore, what He has planned can only be good.
The question of "why" still lingers and if God is all-powerful, it would indicate He can do what He wants. If that is the case, why doesn't He just take all the issues away? If my body needs healing, why doesn't He just heal it? If my friend has cancer, surely God could remove the cancer it if He wanted to. If a child was being raped, God could stop it if He wanted to. He could do so because He is all powerful. Doesn't this seem to indicate that if He is all powerful and can heal or stop any bad thing, He doesn't because He doesn't want to? If we believe God is love and God is all good, then is it good that my body has sickness? Is it good my friend has cancer? Is it good the young child was raped?
We all should be careful how evaluate God as being good. If what we believe about God being good and the examples are thereby defined as good because God wants us to have those things; if these things described didn't happen, we would have to put ourselves in a place of saying that the things in the world would be less good because God would not be involved.
If we continue this flow of God is good and He is all powerful, then all the things that happen in the world are part of His good plan.
Some might think, God would never do these kinds of things to people. Are we talking about God or the devil? I would respond with, if God wills that a person is dying from cancer, or a child is raped, people are terrorized, etc, what do we need a devil for? If God is actually controlling all these things, can we agree there really isn't anything left for the devil to do?
In John 10:25-30 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30The Father and I are one.”
John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
Colossians 1:15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.
Philippians 2:6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to
To have a realistic view of who God is, we have to get our picture of God from Jesus. Jesus is God and God is Jesus (in flesh).
If we look at Jesus life, was there ever a time he was supportive of people being left in their sickness or was condoning of a rape, murder, or kidnapping? Is there any reference in the scripture that Jesus inflicted a person with a disease? I would advocate that Jesus revealed a God that was not inflicting or causing pain and suffering but rather the opposite. Jesus did, in concert, what He saw the Father doing. If this is true, Jesus is revealing a God who does not deliberately cause disease but heals and rids disease. (a quick side note: in Job, God permitted the devil to inflict Job. God did not do the actual infliction). He is a God who liberates, not one who puts us in captivity. Jesus came so we could have life. The devil is the one who come to kill, steal, and destroy.
Any line of reasoning that shows God as anything other than the picture of Jesus, there must be an error somewhere in our reasoning.
Most of us believe God is omnipotent. When we think of God as being all powerful, do we equate power to all controlling? It would make sense as a human because that is the type of power (control) we would like to have. It is possible we are not looking at God being all powerful in a Christlike way.
Jesus never painted a picture of being all-controlling. Jesus (and God) demonstrated different types of power. Let's consider a few types of power.
1. Neanderthal power - brute power; testosterone power; power to conquer; power to impose my will on others
2. Machiavellian power - how to control people (the masses) without them knowing it. The people actually think they are making their own decisions
3. wisdom power - a person with good ideas or insight into things; the person ideas have wisdom that causes it to have drawing power
4. agape power - this is not power by control but power to win allegiances through service; the influence you have by serving, caring, loving a person, sacrificing for a person
What kind of power is most appropriate to God? Do you see a hint of Neanderthal power when He commanded demons to come out of people? Can you identify the wisdom and agape power?
God, through Jesus, demonstrated His power mostly through wisdom and predominantly through agape power. Yes, God used Neanderthal power in the Bible but it was not often. After all, God is God. He can do what He wants.
If we can shift our understanding that God is all powerful but not all controlling, is it easier to understand
Isaiah 65:2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes.
Romans 10:2, But as for Israel he says: “All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."
Looking at this passage, how can a God that is all powerful be in this position of outreached arms all day long? He can if he is exercising wisdom or agape power. When God is in this position, He puts Himself into a place where He capable of sadness (pain).
Jeremiah 14:17 You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
If God does not control everything, we can't look at everything and don't need to think God ordained every issue in our life to be here. We can't read God's will off of every even that happens. A lot of things cause events including other free-will decisions. I propose we should not look at all of life's circumstances and say that God willed it, but we must look at the circumstance and say that God is in it; He is present in all the stuff going on in and around us. I propose God controls little, but His influence is everywhere.
Consider this: If we believe our own will or other free-agents are out there that are affecting what comes to pass, it gives us all the more reason moment by moment, day by day to be relying on the loving influence of God in all places, at all times, in all people, in our own life, God is present as the one who can turn all things intended for evil for the good and to destroy the work of evil. God is close to us, even holding us in His hand, not controlling but continually influencing.
When we are in the midst of storms, we should position our heart in such a way as to say, God, I trust you are here with me in this mess, and you are willing to help me to:
1. see you; look for His grace to break through
2. align my will with yours; cooperate with Him to transform the evil to good
Let me attempt to answer the question, why does God allow for suffering and evil.
1. He allows the world to be broken so we can be free. If he fixes everything, He knows we are just going to mess it up again. Because we have free will, if God were to fix everything, in order to prevent things from being messed up again, He would have to take our will away. This sounds confusing but in order for us to maintain our free will, He allows the world to remain broken.
2. God is responsible for the FACT of freedom; humans are responsible for their ACTS of freedom. God can do all things that are logically possible. For example, God cannot create a square circle. Can God create a stick with only 1 end? No. In order for God to create humans to be free which is a good thing. However, if we are to be free, we cannot be forced to obey God. Freedom without choice is like a square circle, which is a logical contradiction. No choice, no freedom.
3. He does not take away our suffering or pain. He enters into the middle of it to transform it, and then redeem it, for His glory.
4. He allows it for us to understand the consequence of sin (individually or collectively). Because of the fallen nature of man, we would continue to sin and never stop.
5. He allows is for our own protection. Circumstances can alert us to danger. All pain is not bad, it can be for our good.
6. He allows suffering and evil to reveal who we are. A lot of times suffering and evil reveals who we are. We often think we are strong. We think we are patient. We think we have everything under control. When something goes wrong and we realize we can't handle it, we recognize our need for God.
7. He allows suffering and evil to drive us to Himself.
8. He uses those whose hearts are evil to accomplish what God wants to accomplish. (Isaiah 10) - Our will is enslaved to our natural state. If we are in a fallen state, our will is aligned to that fallen state. If we are regenerated, then our will is aligned with an alive spiritual nature. A good example: if you put a vulture in a room with a pile of meat and a pile of carrots, which pile will the vulture naturally go to? The meat. If you take a rabbit and put in the same room, which pile will the rabbit naturally go to? The carrots. Therefore, if you take a man who is in a fallen state and put him in a room with God in a corner and sin in a corner, which side will the person naturally go to? The sin. If you take a regenerated person who is born again and has a spirit that is alive in Christ, which side will the person naturally go to? The person will go to God.
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