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Dear Friends,

I’m starting a new series about the Problem of Evil. Yes, it’s a big problem…but the Bible is big enough to handle it. My bottom line response to this problem, up front: The crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

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What Is The Problem of Evil?

Whether you have heard the term “The problem of evil” or not, you almost certainly have heard people articulate the basic problem. This is on a lot of people’s minds….maybe even yours.

This is basically how the problem of evil was stated to me in philosophy class in college:

Suppose you saw someone drowning, but you didn’t know how to swim and you didn’t have anything to throw. Would you be morally responsible for jumping in?

What if you knew how to swim? Would you be responsible for jumping in then?

What if you actually had the power to somehow prevent all drowning deaths? Would you be responsible for preventing all of them?

So, since someone drowns to death somewhere in the world on a daily basis, that means God doesn’t have the power to prevent drowning deaths, or He doesn’t love the people who drown.

I didn’t know what to say. The TA stumped me.

The Problem of Evil à la Sir David Attenborough

There is a horrible worm/bacteria duo that turns people blind in Africa, and natural historian David Attenborough has something to say about it.

You might not recognize his name, but you would surely recognize that soothing, grandfatherly British accent from his nature documentaries. Here is the connection he draws between the worm and the problem of evil (1):

“Well, if you ask…about that, then you see remarkable things like that earwig and you also see all very beautiful things like hummingbirds, orchids, and so on. But you also ought to think of the other, less attractive things. You ought to think of tapeworms.

You ought to think of … well, think of a parasitic worm that lives only in the eyeballs of human beings, boring its way through them, in West Africa, for example, where it’s common, turning people blind.

So if you say, “I believe that God designed and created and brought into existence every single species that exists,” then you’ve also got to say, “Well, he, at some stage, decided to bring into existence a worm that’ going to turn people blind.” Now, I find that very difficult to reconcile with notions about a merciful God.

And I certainly find it difficult to believe that a God — superhuman, supreme power — would actually do that.”

The Problem of Evil à la Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai

It’s understandable why so many people think of the Holocaust when the topic turns to evil. When the topic of the Holocaust came up in my German class in college, and the teacher related it to the Problem of Evil, I came up with a half-baked response. She then briskly transitioned to another topic, and I figured I had effectively answered her challenge. Later, I suspected she was actually just being merciful to a foolish undergraduate.

For now, let’s consider a poem (2) describing the Holocaust as a natural stepping stone to atheism:

From the chimneys of the Vatican, white smoke rises –
a sign the cardinals have chosen themselves a pope.
From the crematoria of Auschwitz, black smoke rises –
a sign the conclave of Gods has not yet chosen
the Chosen People.

After Auschwitz, no theology:
the numbers on the forearms
of the inmates of extermination
are the telephone numbers of God,
numbers that do not answer
and now are disconnected, one by one.

After Auschwitz, a new theology:
the Jews who died in the Shoah
have now come to be like their God,
who has no likeness of a body and has no body.
They have no likeness of a body and they have no body.

Save thyself

It’s very easy to dismiss a discussion like this as a waste of time, or much ado about nothing, etc. Doctrine and theology often get a bad rap; “love is all you need”.

But, Bible readers know that there is a salvation to be obtained from studying God’s Word, learning the right doctrine, and holding fast to it:

[1Ti 4:16 KJV] 16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the DOCTRINE; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

But it’s not a salvation from hell, so what is it a salvation from? I suggest this list, compiled from the first two verses of that same chapter:

• Doctrines of devils
• Departing from the faith
• Seducing spirits
• Lies
• Hypocrisy
• Searing of the conscience

So, yes…whether you read my little blog or not, this topic is worth meditating on!

Next time: Going old school…

God bless,

TFOTF

Links:

1. David Attenborough on the Problem of Evil
2. After Auschwitz no theology