WEBVTT 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:09.519 most difficult questions to answer when witnessing 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:13.859 to non -believers is the dilemma of innocent 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:18.739 suffering. This question is usually posed in 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:22.260 a manner such as this. If God were all good, 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:25.820 he would desire all his creatures live perfectly 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:29.899 happy lives. And if he were all powerful, he 00:00:29.899 --> 00:00:33.719 could do as he wished. Then why does he allow 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:39.369 the innocent? to suffer. For another way it may 00:00:39.369 --> 00:00:43.090 be asked, how can a loving, just, and all -powerful 00:00:43.090 --> 00:00:46.890 creator permit the cruel and evil events which 00:00:46.890 --> 00:00:51.170 often befall humans? This is an old question. 00:00:52.109 --> 00:00:55.649 One that has confounded men at least since the 00:00:55.649 --> 00:01:01.270 time of Job was written. And it's an honest question. 00:01:01.490 --> 00:01:06.349 There's never an answer. But it's also a difficult 00:01:06.349 --> 00:01:11.189 question, even for theologians. Several answers 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:13.269 have been provided in the past and are still 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:16.530 in use. The following is a review of the most 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:19.930 prevalent answers offered by recent writers on 00:01:19.930 --> 00:01:25.329 the subject. A current view, widely held, is 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:28.209 that evil is the price we pay for the greater 00:01:28.209 --> 00:01:31.329 benefit of freedom in the universe allowed by 00:01:31.329 --> 00:01:35.390 God. If the possibility of evil did not exist, 00:01:35.709 --> 00:01:42.290 mankind would not be free to love God by choice 00:01:42.290 --> 00:01:45.730 and thereby become part of God's own family. 00:01:46.670 --> 00:01:49.849 Humans would be compelled to love God, and the 00:01:49.849 --> 00:01:52.609 creation of a bunch of robots lacking the freedom 00:01:52.609 --> 00:01:56.409 to choose him out of love was not in God's design. 00:01:58.670 --> 00:02:01.290 We learn from the book of Job that neither should 00:02:01.290 --> 00:02:04.230 we love God because he can provide us with abundant 00:02:04.230 --> 00:02:08.490 gifts. It's assumed by nearly all theologians 00:02:08.490 --> 00:02:12.710 today that God wants us to love him unconditionally 00:02:12.710 --> 00:02:17.770 simply because he's God and we're his creatures 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:23.189 and he loves us unconditionally. A prevalent 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:26.409 view of ancient Hebrews as well as those of Jesus 00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:32.919 there. was that all disasters, as well as disease, 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.960 pain, etc., were the result of wrongdoing or 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:42.460 sin of the person afflicted. This is assumed 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:45.639 by many today. And one would have to agree that 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:49.099 much human suffering can be attributed to the 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:52.419 immoral choices made by the individuals themselves. 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.080 As some would say, they're getting what they 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:02.419 deserve. Yet we know that much suffering is visited 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:07.219 upon the totally innocent. This was the dilemma 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:10.960 of Job. His friends advised him to admit the 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.560 sins he had committed and ask God for forgiveness. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:18.759 But Job knew he had committed no sin. And so 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:24.500 his question remained. Why? In chapter 9, Job 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:27.199 seems to be ready to abandon the assumption that 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:31.860 God is good. He wonders, perhaps God is so powerful 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:35.620 he was not made to be good. He may seem to be 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:38.560 good, punishing the wicked and warning the righteous, 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:42.419 but being all -powerful, he has no compulsion 00:03:42.419 --> 00:03:48.340 to do so. Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book, 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:51.939 When Bad Things Happen to Good People, suggests 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:57.159 that God is not all powerful. God is really good, 00:03:57.259 --> 00:04:03.360 he says, and would like only good things to happen 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:07.400 to good people. But some things are beyond his 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:11.740 control. Not all events are part of an ordinary 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:16.019 universe. Some things happen by chance, and God 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:21.300 has no control over them. C .S. Lewis in his 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:24.759 book, The Problem of Pain, says that pain or 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:28.839 evil is God's way of making us realize that something 00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:33.420 is wrong. The way we conduct our lives and our 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:38.199 world. If pain or evil did not exist, we would 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.259 continue smuggling along present paths without 00:04:41.259 --> 00:04:45.279 realizing the need to change. Lewis reminded 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:49.519 us that God made us for himself. And only by 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.480 surrendering ourselves to him completely can 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:57.120 we achieve the state of perfection he envisions 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:01.180 for us. Only when we experience things going 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:05.879 badly will we realize the need to change. To 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:10.879 use Lewis' words, God whispers to us in our pleasures, 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:16.500 speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:21.779 us in our pain. It is his metaphor to rouse a 00:05:21.779 --> 00:05:26.519 different world. In a popular book, Finding God 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:29.699 in the Questions, Timothy Johnson addresses the 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:32.300 question of evil as the principal one of several 00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:36.399 he raises. Johnson says that he approaches the 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:40.060 problem by attempting to play God and design 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:45.500 a better world than the one we have. He admits, 00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:49.339 however, that no matter how hard he tries, really 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:52.459 cannot imagine a better world than the present 00:05:52.459 --> 00:05:56.879 one. Surely a major feature of Johnson's new 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:01.220 world would be the absence of suffering. He does 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:04.139 note, however, that a world without suffering 00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:07.459 or death would be a world where humans would 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:12.000 be incredibly smug, pursuing pleasure without 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:17.139 worry or concern. As he says on page 177 of his 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:20.800 book, I find myself torn between the natural 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.279 desire for a world without suffering and injustice 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.740 where we would feast forever on a cosmic silver 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:32.100 platter and the present one where there is at 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:34.680 least the possibility of striving to overcome 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:41.379 pain with honest love and real choice. Johnson 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:44.079 also notes that suffering and injustice of this 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.920 world not only provide an opportunity to make 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:50.800 it better, but also provide an opportunity to 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.800 look forward to another time and place where 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:59.300 there is ultimate justice and no suffering. A 00:06:59.300 --> 00:07:06.240 place permeated by love. The last source that 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.579 I will touch on this morning is the book by James 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:16.730 Dobson, When God Doesn't Make Sense. This book 00:07:16.730 --> 00:07:19.529 contains a series of heart -wrenching stories 00:07:19.529 --> 00:07:24.329 of sufferings by children and adults who, like 00:07:24.329 --> 00:07:30.870 Job, were innocent victims. Dobson's advice to 00:07:30.870 --> 00:07:33.689 such victims refers back to the conclusion drawn 00:07:33.689 --> 00:07:37.810 by Job. Let us remember that God is creator and 00:07:37.810 --> 00:07:42.829 man is creature. Not only is God all good and 00:07:42.829 --> 00:07:48.050 all powerful, He is also all -knowing. Man is 00:07:48.050 --> 00:07:52.370 limited in all three characteristics. That which 00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:55.269 man is capable of knowing is but a minuscule 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:59.610 part of that which isn't known. Most of God's 00:07:59.610 --> 00:08:05.730 activities are just unknown to man. Dobson says 00:08:05.730 --> 00:08:08.569 that when God doesn't seem to make sense, we 00:08:08.569 --> 00:08:11.550 should remember his greatness in our limitations. 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:15.959 That will allow us to maintain our faith in him 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:21.959 even when we don't understand. This is also the 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:25.079 answer given at the conclusion of Job. After 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.819 God finally speaks to Job from the storm, Job 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:34.279 replies. And in chapter 42, we read his confession 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:40.299 to God. I know that you can do all things, Job 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:45.460 said. No plan of yours can be thwarted. You ask, 00:08:45.659 --> 00:08:48.259 who is this that obscures my counsel without 00:08:48.259 --> 00:08:52.919 knowledge? Surely, I spoke of things too wonderful 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:57.440 for me to know. You said, listen now and I will 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:59.940 speak. I will question you and you will answer 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:06.080 me. My ears have heard you. Now my eyes have 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:10.759 seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent. 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:19.740 and dust and ashes. So, which of these answers 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:23.740 will you give when someone poses the question 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:30.919 to you? Personally, I cannot accept those answers 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:35.299 which place limits on God. I believe that God 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:39.240 is all good, that he is all powerful, and that 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:44.110 he is all knowing. I can accept that much suffering 00:09:44.110 --> 00:09:49.549 is a result of immoral choice. Innocent suffering 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:52.350 often results from the wrongdoing of those of 00:09:52.350 --> 00:09:57.409 us who are not so innocent. I can accept that 00:09:57.409 --> 00:10:00.289 evil exists so man will have the benefit of moral 00:10:00.289 --> 00:10:04.470 freedom, which is also C .S. Lewis' basic point. 00:10:07.429 --> 00:10:12.350 Through pain, God is trying to wake us up. to 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:17.730 the need to change our behavior. Johnson's point 00:10:17.730 --> 00:10:20.169 also seems valid, that the suffering of this 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:24.210 world provides an opportunity to strive for a 00:10:24.210 --> 00:10:30.269 better way. And I, Fred Smith, would add that 00:10:30.269 --> 00:10:34.190 it provides an opportunity for each of us to 00:10:34.190 --> 00:10:42.549 grow. When Sarah, my wife, was 68 years, passed 00:10:42.549 --> 00:10:48.129 a few years ago, I was devastated. I cried deeply 00:10:48.129 --> 00:10:52.710 for nearly three months. Anything might set it 00:10:52.710 --> 00:10:57.730 off. I would see her picture. A bowl she cherished. 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:04.509 The chair where she always sat. Anything. One 00:11:04.509 --> 00:11:08.639 evening in my house, it was dark. It was cold, 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:13.980 and it was still, and the loneliness overwhelmed 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:22.240 me. I went from room to room, calling her, Sarah, 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:27.600 Mama, Mom, please come, I need you. But she wasn't 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:33.419 there. I began sobbing so hard, I fell to the 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:39.740 floor. I had hit rock bottom. I cried to God, 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:44.159 Lord, please help me. I can't continue like this. 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:49.659 And folks, as clearly as anything I have ever 00:11:49.659 --> 00:11:56.480 experienced in my life, I heard a voice say into 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:02.899 my head, I am Jesus Christ. I will fill that 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:05.779 empty spot left in your heart by her departure. 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:12.639 And you won't have to feel lonely. Folks immediately 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:18.299 began to feel good, elated even. I regained my 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:22.620 walker and was shouting hallelujahs, got myself 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:26.759 ready for bed. That night I slept peacefully 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:32.679 till the next morning. I have never since felt 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:38.919 that kind of loneliness. I began to grow. for 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:43.460 love and compassion for others that I never before 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:49.600 knew existed. My life is more meaningful than 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.500 I ever thought it could be after serving him. 00:12:55.620 --> 00:13:00.940 So yes, suffering will come, and it will hurt, 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:07.899 and you may not know why, but don't let it. Drive 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:14.919 you to despair. Call on Jesus. Listen to him. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.759 He speaks American English. We're the son of 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:22.919 action. I know why I'm hurting. Join with me. 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:28.840 You don't have to have a dead spouse. But if 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:32.500 you let Jesus come into your life, he will raise 00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:34.940 you up to more than you can be.