Tag Archives: Suffering

Evil, Pain, and Suffering, Theology

Is God’s Power Limited?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt 

The classical Judeo-Christian belief has always been that God is all-powerful, or omnipotent.  He can do whatever is actually possible to do, but not what is actually impossible to do.  We previously covered this topic in “Can God Make a Rock So Big He Can’t Lift It?”

But there are some who deny that God is all-powerful because of the problem of evil.  An all-powerful God, they say, could defeat evil, but there is still evil in the world.  Therefore, God cannot be all-powerful.

This is exactly the view that Rabbi Harold Kushner took in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People.  Kushner’s son died of a horrible disease at the age of 14, and Kushner decided that even though God loved his son and wanted him to live, God could do nothing to stop the onslaught of the disease.  God is handcuffed by the laws of nature.

In essence, Kushner believed that God was either limited in power or not infinitely loving.  Kushner could not stand to worship a God who was not infinitely loving (a God who didn’t care about his son’s suffering and death), but he could stand a God who wanted goodness to reign on earth, but could not make it happen.

Contrary to what Kushner believes, there is another option.  God could be all-loving and all-powerful.  In fact, Christians believe that if God is not all-powerful, then his love is impotent.  Why should we worship a God that wills goodness but can do nothing about making sure that goodness will be victorious?  The God Kushner worships cannot guarantee that evil will ever be defeated and that good will prevail.

The true God is allowing evil for a time, but promises that in the future, all accounts will be settled.  Evil will be defeated and the suffering that humans endure in this earthly life will seem trivial.  Those that love God will spend their afterlife with him, and those who reject God will spend their afterlife away from him.

Rabbi Kushner’s dilemma is resolved by the future promises of God.  This is the blessed hope that all Christians have.

Note: If you would like to see Rabbi Kushner debate the issue of God’s omnipotence, in light of the problem of evil, with Norman Geisler, please order the DVD’s from The John Ankerberg Show.  It is a fascinating discussion.

Evil, Pain, and Suffering, Religion

Does Being a Christian Guarantee the Good Life?

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I hear some Christians complain that God hasn’t blessed them even though they are praying and reading the Bible every day.  By blessing, they mean good health, financial success, job success, good relationships, and so forth.  However, when you read the entire Bible, it does not promise that your life is going to be easy if you will just do what God says.  In fact, there are numerous counter-examples.

What about Job?  He was righteous and yet God allowed Satan to virtually destroy his life.

What about Paul?  Are you more dedicated to God than Paul?  He was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and ultimately beheaded for his obedience to God.

Virtually all the Old Testament prophets were mocked and ridiculed, and many of them killed for following God’s lead.  Just read Jeremiah to see if he was living the easy life.

The truth is that God only guarantees that we will live with Him in paradise after this life.  This world is riddled with sin and evil, and God is not going to place a protective bubble around you for your whole life.  You will face hardship.

Now, if we are obedient to God in this life, then generally speaking, our lives will be better.  No doubt about that.  God keeps us from sin and sin will make our lives miserable.  So if you don’t sin, then you will generally avoid many of life’s pitfalls.  And many of us will be materially blessed, but not all of us.

There is not a direct correlation between your material blessings and your obedience to God.  I saw a TV special the other day about one high-ranking Nazi officer at Auschwitz who lived to a ripe old age before dying peacefully in the year 2000.

Good people sometimes suffer and bad people sometimes prosper.  That is not going to change until we are in heaven.

What we are called to do in this life is to trust God and obey Him in every situation.  That is the essence of loving God in this life.