Let's Talk "Theodicy"...Is God Yet Good With All This Suffering?

For thousands of years this has been a watershed question of religious and Christian experience. Can evil be reconciled with a God that is good or any God at all that cares about those whom he has created? In many debates best selling author and atheist, Christopher Hitchens, exposed what he felt was the greatest proof against the existence of God by building upon what is called the "Epicurean Paradox" or the problem of evil and suffering in the present world. It was stated by Epicurus like this:

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus

Here is how an inductive version of it could be set forth:

• An omnipotent and benevolent God would not allow evil to exist in the world.
• Evil exists in the world
• Therefore God does not exist.

Now there are many problems with the argument as often set forth by atheists and nonbelievers. So it has been modified over the years in effort to make it as intellectually fulfilling as it appears to be on the surface. A modification would go generally like this:

• The Christian proposes that God is both omniscient and  maximally good
• An omniscient and maximally good God would eradicate evil
• Evil exists
• Therefore, God does not exist

At either rate the object is to draw a sharp contrast between what Christians teach as the good and loving nature of God, to the existence of evil and suffering in the world.

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The lion Of Atheism Pt. 2 ~ "Everyone Is An Atheist"

In debate circles often atheist ( or anti-theist) Christopher Hitchens hails that even Christians are atheists. Even stating the following:

Atheist Christopher Hitchens

"Everyone in this room is an atheist, there's not one of you who isn't. You don't believe in the temple of Diana at Ephasus. You don't believe in the Egyptian Thor. You don't believe in Oden. You don't believe in Quetzalcoatl, y'u-know the other Aztec gods. None of you do. You're all atheists so far as that's concerned. Some of you believe that one of these is OK and that it's true. I just say, I'll go you one better and say I'll be an atheist and I'll be a consistent one." 

With false statements like these in debates, Hitchens tries to do a number of things. First, establish credibility for the claim that atheism is some type of default when it comes to non-preferred religious claims in general. Second, he is throwing a dig at the religious basically claiming "theism-hypocrisy". This is the thought that the religious are inconsistent and bias in their belief system only willing to affirm their particular view of God. Third, it seems that he is communicating, like Richard Dawkins who uses the same type of shoddy reasoning, that Christians, who obviously don't believe in multiple gods or the gods of other religions, are also intellectually dishonest and faulted for not admitting that the only thing that separates them from being atheists is their belief in their particular God. The question is, is any part of his statement, and what is ultimately drawn from statements like these, true? I don't believe so. Here's why:

• Theism is described as the belief that at least one God exists.

• Atheism is described as the belief that no God exists.

Since Christians claim that one God exists they cannot be an atheist under any possible construct even when rejecting the god all other religions and faiths. Out of 1,000 gods the rejection of 999 of them has no bearing on the argument and cannot be rendered as some sort of proof, that one is an atheist. If a person believes that just one God exists he or she cannot possibly be an atheist in any manner or form as atheism is the rejection of ALL God belief. Not nearly all God belief.  

In other words Hitchen's statement is a logical contradiction. It is impossible that a person is an atheist when they agree, affirm or believe that at least one God exists. Further it is intellectual

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The lion Of Atheism Pt.1 ~ "I like surprises"

"Well, I ought never to say there's nothing would change my mind. So, shall I just say no evidence or argument has yet been presented yet that will change my mind. But I like surprises."

Christopher Hitchens is a person I have deemed to be the "lion of atheism" because he has roared so vehemently against God and against religion over the last 8 to 10 years that it has been heard all around the world. He has had many great and bold things to say against God. As you see in the piece, this man has taken secular and religious individuals to task and called for a new order of moral sense based on, if anything, anti-theism. His tenor is not just the non-belief in God, but the non-belief and repudiation of religion and faith in general. 

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Does God Create Tragedy?

In our post, "Haiti-Did God Do This?" I gladly set forth the notion that God was not the author of the Haitian devastation through earthquake and that God did not rise to kill or destroy the thousands that lost their lives during this tragic event.

As stated in that post, atheists like Christopher Hitchens, suggest that God, if he exists, is responsible for such destruction in either one or two ways:

1- Either he causes the destruction to make people pray to him. Which is somewhat of a traditional Christian  sentiment also.

Or

2- That He (God) causes the destruction according to his will.

Throughout this God is  unresponsive to the people's cry for help therefore, allowing the people to suffer in pain needlessly.  An example of needless pain according to the critic would be a person who dies after laying under the rubble for 5 to 7 days. Why couldn't God have simply put them out of their misery earlier or better yet, protected them from the tragedy to begin with?

There are many worthy and notable questions that arise from these sentiments and  declarations that are certainly worth our attention. Although not popular with some, I believe the church community can be better benefited talking about these subjects and trying to understand just what happened to Haiti and even other countries that experience tragic natural disaster. I would encourage churches and pastors to begin teaching about the character and nature of God to their youth so that they won't be caught off guard like so many are within Christian circles when they are pressed on issues like this. With that said, let us ask and answer the tough questions...y'u-know the ones that critics think we can't answer:

Is All Of This God's Judgement?

While Pat Robertson certainly thinks so, I'm surprised that a great deal of Christians do also. I know "we'll all understand it better by and by" but I hold that God has clearly revealed certain aspects of his nature towards man and while that nature does include judgement, it also includes, justice, parity, and righteousness. In other words God is not unjust in any of his ways, acts or dealings towards mankind.

While tragic events are certainly a sign of the coming judgement in the sense that it reminds us of our mortality, it is a stretch to say that things like this are the judgement of God himself. It is distinguishing that difference that will be discussed in this post.

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Haiti ~ Did God Do This?

Over the holidays I decided to tackle some of the more difficult assertions that the New and Reformed atheists are setting forth these days. You know those assertions that seem to make sense on the surface but fall apart upon examination? In this post, which will also be followed by an upcoming radio podcast, I plan to do just that.

My heart goes out to all of the many thousand men, women and children who are suffering through the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. I have been in prayer most of the day as I have read the reports and God quickened my spirit to speak to those of us who also now travail for these our fellow human beings. Please let's continue to pray for them now.

The Tragedy

In what can only be described as one of the worst tragedies imaginable, we observe Haitian devastation that has shaken many of us to our core:

In what is one of the most devastating natural events in recent history, it is estimated that an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7.0 hit Haiti along the fault line, known as the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone. The quake shook Haiti claiming what preliminary estimates say could be hundreds of thousands dead.

Its currently reported that Haiti consists of approximately 9 million people 80% of whom are Catholic, and that 1/3 of its population is said to be directly and severely affected by this devastation. There is an outcry from all sectors of society. The wealthy and the poor have suffered extremely in this devastation. The Prime Minister's palace, which once stood proudly in regal and grand fashion, has been destroyed and cast aside similar to a rickety shacks and inadequately built homes that housed over 60% of this population.

The devastation has also effected those that are in Haiti to help others in large numbers. A group of approximately 800 physicians and medical service personnel, named Doctor's Without Boarders, whose top mission is to provide humanitarian medical services to the destitute, has itself been stricken, leaving most of its staff unaccounted for and and all of it's locations nonfunctional.

Neither religious nor secular humanitarian leaders have been spared the effects of this devastation by any means. The Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, 63 was found dead in his office and UN Leaders such as Heidi Annabe along with at least 100 other UN employees and officials are missing and feared to be dead also.

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I WAS An Atheist

If one were to listen to the atheist rhetoric of authors such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, and the propaganda that fills the internet, one would think that all "thinking and rational" individuals are simply evolving into a condition of atheism or non theistic belief. After all most who don't believe in God, claim that non-belief is somehow a default system or normalcy of human existence. Many also believe that people are only trained to be believers by their culture, family or environment. Still others believe that theism or belief in God is only a product of birth, location and circumstance. To confirm this many point to the growth of religions such as Islam claiming that the only reason for its growth is the high birth rate within Islamic nations. Others apply the same rationale to Christianity. The metaphysical naturalist believes however that the more men learn the less religious they will be.

All of these assertions are simply weak postulations to explain away what is obvious; 1- man lives in a world that includes much more than the materialistic components and 2- what we see comes from a source that we do not see. In fact the bible being ages ahead of this type of argument, applies the eternal existence of that which is not seen (God) to the concept of faith as follows:

2 Corinthians 4:18 ~ "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal."

As I've discussed in 'Does Science Presuppose Atheism' a common thought of unbelievers is that science will somehow eventually answer all questions and that whatever can't be proven by science is somehow illusionary. Well, aside from that fact that science can't prove itself and that many theories of science begin with presumptions that remain unproven, the interpretations of science are said to only solidify natural laws and solidify materialism.

God Is

For many, the assertions I've outlined above were thought to be common. However all of those thoughts, previously said to be rational, have come under serious scrutiny from individuals that the materialists, and especially metaphysical naturalists don't like to talk about much. With the conversion of scientists like Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Allister McGrath and Dr. Dean Kenyon the scientific community has been set on its ear for quite some time with quite some time more to come.

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