Some say, “I don’t believe in God because there is evil in the world.” Others ask “Why does God allow suffering and pain?” or “How could a loving God not put an end to suffering?” These are fair questions, and ones we have all thought about if we’re being honest. One only has to turn on the news to see how life isn’t fair and someone somewhere, right now, is hurting.
This brings us to the age-old dilemma of good versus evil. How do we know what evil is? How do we know what good is? How do we differentiate between the two? If evil exists, then good must also exist.
This question of suffering can only be legitimately asked by the theist. A true atheist wouldn’t be bothered by the strong taking advantage of the weak, as it would be survival of the fittest after all. Why do people even matter? If we really are just chemicals and atoms, and if the weak are meant to die first anyway, and if that really is the way the world works, then the question of suffering wouldn’t be one to ask. It would just be a fact of life.
Objective vs. Subjective Moral Law
Richard Dawkins, an outspoken atheist, said “We supply our own basis for ethics.” He has a subjective moral code. In this case, what’s wrong for you might be right for me. But this doesn’t play out in real life. In reality, with an objective moral framework, I can say rape, racism, and incest are absolutely wrong for everyone, not just wrong for me. And that justice would need to be served for those that commit such atrocities.
To differentiate evil from good, there must be lines drawn. Where do these lines come from? I’m reminded of the movie “The Pianist” which is based on a true story of a Jewish pianist in Poland and his struggle to survive during the Holocaust. In one disturbing part of the movie, Nazi soldiers throw an elderly man in a wheelchair out of a 2 story building. The Nazis were supplying their own ethics. Those who fought against them recognized their behavior was evil, past the line of reasonable and moral behavior.
God gave everyone a conscience to be able to tell basic right from wrong. The question stands, because objective morality exists. We have an objective standard that we are judging others by, whether we realize it or not.
For those that don’t know what they are doing is wrong, or their conscience has been led astray, God has spelled out his objective moral law out in the 10 Commandments and in the Bible. This is where the standard comes from.
Aside from the Bible, most of us are born with the ability to imagine what a perfect world would look like. We realize there is something quite wrong with the current world we live in. The desire for a perfect world lives in all of us. A world without dying, without illness, without suffering. It is interesting how we all long for that. The desire is there because we were created for another more perfect world than this one.
People have Intrinsic Value
The reason people ask this question, regarding the suffering of human beings, is because people are valuable, even the weak, the poor, and the disabled. People have intrinsic value. God made all life sacred. Deep down we all know this. That is why what Hitler and Stalin did was so atrocious. And that is why people ask, “How can a loving god allow people to suffer?” Most everyone reasons according to this objective moral framework whether they admit to it, realize it, or not.
God has created the standard for an objective moral law. He is the overarching entity that made this law, and most of us carry this law in our hearts. This is why we are concerned for others who are suffering.
Understanding the Concept of Free Will
Evil exists because love cannot be compelled. Without choice, we would be nothing more than robots. Love requires choice. Choice requires the existence of both good and evil, yes and no.
“Free will though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love, joy, or goodness worth having.” CS Lewis
We ask, “Why does God allow suffering?” but we don’t ask, “Why do I allow suffering?” For those that ask the question, we have to ask ourselves, “What I have done today to alleviate someone else’s suffering? How many hungry people have I fed? Whom have I adopted?” We are quick to point the finger at an unfair and evil God who doesn’t care, before looking at ourselves. Perhaps I am part of the problem.
“A true opium of the people is a belief in nothingness after death — the huge solace of thinking that for our betrayals, greed, cowardice, murders, we are not going to be judged.” Czeslow Milosz
Related: Why is the God of the Old Testament So Angry and Unfair?
Jesus Empathizes with Our Suffering
Christians worship a God who doesn’t just watch our suffering from afar or just feels sorry for us. No, He entered this world and endured the same human suffering we do. This is contrary to the God that other religions would think worthy of worship. Why would an all-powerful being subject Himself to suffering and debase Himself by coming into the form of a mere human? This is what the ancients thought, and early Christians were ridiculed for it.
Jesus came into this world to suffer alongside us, he knows whatever suffering you’re going through and wants to hold your hand. Immanuel means “God with us”. We are not alone in our suffering.
Reflecting on the ways in which Jesus suffered, He experienced and understood the whole gamut of human emotion and suffering:
- Grew up poor
- Grew up an outcast (Mary’s early pregnancy was scandalous, talk of the town I’m sure)
- Discriminated against
- Grew up in a nowhere special kind of place, Nazareth
- Endured people actively trying to arrest and kill him
- Knew what it felt like to have no one believe you, or listen to you
- Went hungry
- Had friends turn their back on Him
- He died a most horrific and sufferable death
Jesus grew up poor, was from an obscure family, and an obscure place. If you’re money-poor, Jesus was too.
He was born into a family where His family story was scandalous at best. Mary being pregnant before she was married would have cost the family a reputable standing in the community. Joseph and Mary were likely ostracized, and Jesus was probably looked down on because of this. If you come from a family with some extra baggage, know that Jesus did too.
Jesus, being from Nazareth could have been discriminated against. A town where no one expected anything and was a place of contempt. If you’re from the wrong side of the tracks, so was Jesus.
He knew what it was to be poor, go without food, and be tired. He camped and traveled, never owned a home, never had a wife or family, or many of the things people aspire to have. He worked and didn’t live a luxurious lifestyle. If you’ve ever been tired, hungry, and overworked, Jesus can relate.
He endured people trying to kill him out of jealousy. He lived this fugitive-type lifestyle, which must have been stressful. Can you imagine a group of religious leaders actively trying to trap you in your words and hunt you down? If you’ve had a bad experience with religious leaders or organized religion, so has Jesus.
He knows what it felt like to have no one get you, believe in you, or even listen to you. Not even your friends. If you’ve felt alone and misunderstood, so has Jesus.
He had his closest friends abandon him in his greatest hour of need. They turned their backs on their teacher and friend. One denied ever knowing Him, and another sold Him. If you’ve been back-stabbed by friends, Jesus has been there too.
Jesus died a most horrific and sufferable death. A death only reserved for the vilest of criminals. If you’ve suffered unfathomable pain in this life, know that Jesus can truly empathize.
“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is — limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death —He had the honesty and courage to take his own medicine… He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When he was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.” Dorothy Sayers
Christians worship a God who can empathize with our suffering. We worship a God who humbled Himself to experience the worst humanity had to offer. In contrast with other religions, Jesus is a personal God, who cares about the least of these, including you and me.
If you enjoyed reading The Problem of Evil: Why Does God Allow Suffering and Pain, check out The Radical, Counter-Cultural Way Jesus Treated Women
