Conversational Evangelism: How to Respond to 7 Common Questions From Nonbelieversਨਮੂਨਾ

5. How can there be a loving God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world?

First, we need to identify the key question or issue behind this question, and also address why this question causes us so much difficulty. The implication of the question is that if God exists, He would not allow so much pain and suffering in the world. Yet if He does exist alongside this much evil, He is not truly good.

Second, we need to help our nonbelieving friends see that only the theist can provide an adequate answer to the question about evil and suffering. The agnostic does not have an answer because there is no one to direct the question to. The pantheist also cannot give an adequate answer because for him, evil is not real. But if theism is true, then the question is valid, and the theist can offer some valid answers.

Next, we want to define evil and suffering by asking them, “What do you mean by evil? Is it possible to know what is evil without some standard of good?”

C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, pointed out the fallacy of accepting the concept of evil without also accepting the concept of good. He said, “[As an atheist] my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”

So ask them,

• “Do we not measure what is evil by the standard of good rather than measure good by a standard of evil?”
• “How do we objectively determine right from wrong in a universe without God?”
• “If we say something is good or right, does that not imply a moral law? And if there is a moral law, does that not imply there is a moral lawgiver?”

The next term to clarify is cause. “Would a good God cause bad things to happen to good people or would a good God allow bad things to happen to good people?” This is important to clarify because the Bible teaches that “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13). This then may lead to a further question: “Who then is the author of evil?”

A skeptic may argue that if God is the author of everything, and evil is something real, therefore God must be the cause of evil. The pantheist escapes this dilemma by insisting that somehow evil is not real but merely an illusion. However, this will not work for one who believes in theism and in the reality of evil.

The way to resolve this dilemma is to point out that evil is a corruption of the good things that God made. It can exist only in relationship to good. This means there is no such thing as pure evil, just as we know that there is no such thing as a totally moth-eaten garment. It does not exist. The same is true for rust on your car. Your car cannot be totally rust-eaten, otherwise it would not exist. Likewise, evil cannot exist without reference to good. We want to introduce them to the One who is completely good.