As I noted in the comment thread of “Is belief in God rational? My Reasonable Doubts Debate with Chris Hallquist,” my contribution to the debate has received a vicious and ill-informed response from commenters at “Reasonable Doubts”. However, one commenter named Michael did offer a courteous and thoughtful comment in response to my article which I […]
Search Results for: natural evil
The outhouse, evil and eternity
The problem of evil is predicated ultimately on the belief that God could not possibly redeem the moral and natural evils we regularly see in our midst. But can we really know this is true? Consider the following illustration… I cannot imagine a filthier more disgusting environment than the bottom of an outhouse. And yet, […]
God and Evil: The case for God in a world filled with pain: A Review
Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr., eds. God and Evil: The Case for God in a World filled with Pain. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013). God and Evil is an expansive collection of nineteen essays (plus a sizeable appendix featuring the transcript of a debate between William Lane Craig and Michael Tooley). The […]
Satan and the problem of evil: is the devil in the details?
Let’s consider further the attempt to attribute natural evils to the operation of malevolent spiritual agencies. Kerk takes issue with the way I described the role of malevolent agencies in the natural world. He writes: I think you are distorting the way that the evil agency hypothesis purports to explain natural evil. One does not […]
God’s meticulous providence and the prevention of evil
Does the doctrine of providence lead to quietism in the face of evil? By quietism I mean a state of inaction in the world, particularly in the face of moral evil, due to a belief in God’s providential governance of all affairs (not to be confused with 17th century French Quietism). The threat of quietism […]
Tourette’s Syndrome, children and the problem of evil
In my article “The Problem of Meticulously Cruel Evil” I discussed a particular problem of evil. If the synchronicity of good events can seem to signal a benevolent deity, what is signaled by the synchronicity of evil events? The real life example I noted was a young woman who fell ill with a previously undiagnosed […]
Does God punish people through natural disasters?
By some counts more than three hundred thousand people were killed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake while an additional three hundred thousand were injured and one million rendered homeless. The scale of human suffering is truly unimaginable. And then, even as people were still struggling for their next breath while buried in ten tonnes of concrete, along came […]
Personifying the problem of evil
Things began on a sour note when Jerry Rivard accused me of holding a “morally reprehensible” view: “Randal, no offense, but I find this “we’re insignificant without God” perspective to be morally reprehensible….” I find the charge Jerry presents especially troubling. Consider: (1) If Jones holds a racist view then Jones is a racist. By […]
I want to know what evil is
The critics never liked Foreigner much, but then their mullet-wearin’ Camaro-drivin’ fans never liked the critics much. And really, who could resist the infectious drive of an arena-grade power ballad like “I want to know what love is”? Although Lou Gramm may have been asking what love is, I think he had a reasonably good […]
Vomit flavored jelly beans and other offenses to the natural order
As I noted last time, people disagree radically on their conceptions of what it means to flourish. To some people, flourishing would mean growing old and full of years. But Roger Daltrey (lead singer of The Who) hoped he’d die before he gets old (see the lyrics for “My Generation” for further clarification). And as for Eric […]
Advice for Young-Earth Creationists
In light of Ken’s Ham-fisted performance on “Unbelievable,” here are a few tips for young-earth creationists: Your literal interpretation of Genesis 1 is — wait for it — an interpretation. Your literal interpretation is one of many interpretations in church history. The Gospel does not depend — AT ALL — on your literal interpretation of […]
The Solution to Christians Becoming Atheists (Part 1)
In this article, I continue a conversation with John Marriott on Christianity and atheism based on his new book, A Recipe for Disaster. In part one, Dr. Marriott summarized some of the catalysts that lead to Christians becoming atheists. In this article, we continue the conversation by turning to consider ways that Christians might seek […]
The Question that Never Goes Away: A Review
Philip Yancey. The Question that Never Goes Away (Zondervan, 2014). Philip Yancey launched his illustrious publishing career close to forty years ago with the publication of Where is God When it Hurts? In his aptly titled 2014 book The Question that Never Goes Away Yancey returns to the enduring question of evil and suffering: why? Three events in 2012 […]
You can’t judge a book by its cover: A Review of “Death Before the Fall”
Ronald E. Osborn. Death Before the Fall: Biblical Literalism and the Problem of Animal Suffering. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014. This book suffers from a serious identity crisis. On the face (that is, the cover) of it, the book purports to provide an in-depth theological analysis of the problem of natural evil generally and animal […]
