God and the Problem of Evil Part 3

God created the world perfect, without sin, and “good.” Adam and the angels had free will to choose to follow God or do what they wanted. Several angels and Adam and Eve decided to choose sin, cursing the world.

Here’s the irony I often hear from atheists: If God is good, why does He allow any pain in the world? Why doesn’t He stop all of it? 

I think this is a good and fair question. Let me propose counter questions: Do you want God to make you a robot? Do you want God to make every single last decision for you your entire life? Most atheists would not be for this of course, but in reality that is what they are proposing when they say, “why doesn’t God stop all evil and pain?” The only way to do this is to stop everyone from having any free choice and God making every choice for every individual.

So what happens when we live in a world where God doesn’t make us robots and allows free choice? There is sin. There is pain. There are consequences. 

When people say, “If God is real and good, why wouldn’t He stop the pain?” what they are really saying is, “Why doesn’t God stop all the pain I think should be stopped?” or the pain that is against me? They don’t think about the counter argument. They don’t understand for God to truly do that, He would not be able to allow them to sin. He would not allow them to make any choices which would cause any pain in anyone else’s life, even their own. The original argument, or question, falls flat on its face, with everyone watching. 

Do you really want God to make every choice for you? Well, as a Christian I do. But if you don’t want God to make every decision for you, don’t complain about the fact that there is pain and suffering in this world.

Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, PA 18421 on Sundays at 10 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes  or Googleplay.