The Book of Job and the Problem of Evil

This last Sunday we turned our focus on the first two chapters of Job and discussed what God had to say about evil and suffering through this story. If you missed Sunday and haven't read in Job for some time, I encourage you to sit down, crack open the book and at least read the first two chapters. Most of the rest of the book is more difficult to read (but still rewarding), but the first two chapters are easy and shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes.

OK, done? :)

I asked the class to discuss six questions I felt there might have been answers to in the text. I'll list the questions, references, and summarize the discussion below:

1. Why did God single out Job to Satan? (1:8, 2:3)

This is a difficult question to answer, and we should always tread lightly when guessing God's motive without it being explicitly revealed. Some answers were, "to teach Job a lesson" and "to teach Satan a lesson". I like these. I also put forth "to bring attention to His glory". God is glorified in the faith and worship of His creatures. Pointing out Job's righteousness is a way to bring glory to Himself. Consider how this might motivate God in what He does in this story and your story.

2. What is Satan's motivation in this story? (1:9-11, 2:4-5)

I believe that it is ultimately to defame God...detract from His glory. Satan wants to show God that He shouldn't receive glory from Job because Job is only faithful for what God gives him, not because of who God is. Consider this when thinking about how and why the enemy might attack you.

3. Is Satan free to do whatever he wants to? (1:11-12, 2:5-6)

Obviously not. He appears free to think, desire and plan, but ultimately God is sovereign and Satan can do nothing apart from God's permission or restraint. How does lead you think about the bad things that happen in your life? As we discussed before, evil can be explained in part by God allowing his creatures the freedom to choose against Him...but there is apparently a limit to the evil that God will allow. Cross reference these verses with 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 in regards to God restraining evil, and with Luke 22:31-32.

4. By what methods does Satan attack Job? (1:15-19, 2:7)

Satan apparently had/has the ability to provoke men to evil and violence (the Sabeans), cause natural disasters, and infect with disease. Obviously not every evil act of man, natural disaster or sickness has Satan behind it. But how does this open your eyes to what happens around you?

5. Characterize Job's response to His suffering. (1:20-22, 2:10)

Its important to study Job's reaction to his pain because the Bible says that in it he did not sin.

Job grieved. The tearing of the robe, shaving the head and mourning were typical cultural expressions of grief. Its OK to be sad when life is painful.

Job worhipped. Our pain and suffering does not change who God is. He is still holy and requires our worship.

Job self medicated. I think. The bit in 2:10 about scraping himself with potsherds seems to me some way to deal with the pain or discomfort of his boils. If you're sick, go to the doctor. If you are deeply wounded, seek Godly counsel. If you you are exhausted, take some time to rest.

Job acknowledged God's sovereignty. This goes hand in hand with worship. Job knows God is sovereign and just, even if he does not understand it. Without all of his questions being answered, at least for now he is content to receive from God whatever God plans.

6. Who does Job blame for his problems? (2:10)

Could Job have raged against the Sabeans for stealing his livestock and demanded justice? Could he have cursed nature for killing his children? Could he have blamed the devil (though he didn't know about the conversation between God and Satan)? Since he believes God is sovereign, why is he not angry with God?

Job believes God is ultimately responsible...He could stop it if He wanted to. But he does not assign blame to anyone. Can we understand responsibility without blame?

And this tension is what makes the rest of Job, I think. Job sees the apparent injustice of what has happened to him. He is horrified and tortured about it, because he knows His God could have stopped it, but didn't. He can't blame God, but he knows He is responsible.

If that is bothering you, I reocmmend you read the rest of the book, or at least the last four or five chapters when God breaks the silence to answer Job.

One more point that is embedded in some of the questions above is that the evil done to Job was planned, desired and perpetrated by Satan. Yet God explicitly allowed it to happen for His purpose. We don't always know why things happen. Take comfort that God is in control and working all things to the good of those who love Him, but don't accuse God of evil. Evil come from His creatures, not from God.

Problem of Evil and Suffering Pt. 2

This Sunday we continued our discussion on the problem of evil and suffering. For part one see the previous blog post below. This week we started out continuing our discussion on evil which can be summarized as thus:

- Can God be really good and all powerful and never end or finally do away with evil? Last week we discussed why a good and all powerful God allowed evil to happen in the first place (see the previous post). But can this God allow evil to exist forever? I say, "no". God would not be just if evil is never judged. In Revelation 20:10 - 21:4 tells us that one day God will judge and banish all evil and suffering...and that He will make His dwelling with man forever. So we know that God is just and will one day set everything right...Praise God!

- Why is God waiting to end evil...why doesn't He end it right now or why didn't He end it as soon as Adam sinned? God could have ended evil right after Adam sinned, but the result would have been in Adam's eternal condemnation and a people less heaven. God loved Adam (and his descendants) too much to let things end that way. Without Christ's sacrifice no one can survive the coming judgment. Why didn't God end the world after Christ's sacrifice? All I can say is that He is patient and long suffering...God will end things on his own time, but until then perhaps He wants as many people with him eternally as possible.

- Are evil and suffering the same thing? What is suffering if not? Suffering and evil are tightly related but different things. Suffering can be seen as a consequence of evil. If we look in Genesis 3 we see the first suffering enter the world because of Adam's sin. It was a direct consequence, seemingly brought on by God's curse, but why?

- What is the purpose of suffering? God uses the consequence of evil, suffering, to redeem us. Imagine if life on this earth was easy and pain free...would we even know that we were desperately in need of God and His forgiveness? Our pain and suffering lets us know something is wrong, that we are missing God, and it drives us to him. This is why Paul can say they we should consider it joy when we suffer. But suffering can have other purposes to, I think. Sometimes suffering can be punishment or discipline. But the Christian should primarily view it as discipline to train us to depend only on God.

But God is not distant in our suffering. God was not content to let evil steal his creatures and His creation or to lose them forever to evil. God the Son became a man so that He could bear our suffering with us and for us. Ultimately he suffered on the cross and the agony of being separated from His Father.

This enabled God to end evil without ending us. His suffering produced our salvation.

This Sunday we will look into the book of Job to see what insights it gives us on human suffering. Please prayerfully read at least chapters 1 and 2 in preparation and also 38 through 42.

Thanks...

casey

How Can A Good and All Powerful God Allow Evil and Suffering?

Hello, family!

Today we kicked off a topic we will be discussing the next few weeks in class regarding understanding how and why God allows evil and suffering in our world. Its an objection that many skeptics and atheists bring up as reasons to doubt the Christian message. I also think the issue ruminates in the heads of many Christians from time to time, even if its not spoken.

Here is a recap of the discussion this morning:

- The question (if there is a God, how can he allow evil) itself presupposes true evil and good, or injustice and justice. The argument for an objective and universal good or morality really requires a God in the first place.

- Examples of evil and suffering include: human genocide, natural disasters, suffering of innocents, God's apparent injustice in the OT.

- Where does evil come from? Our free will to reject God and His will.

- Why does God allow evil to exist? Because he desires a true loving relationship with people, so they must have the option to not choose God. If there is no other choice but God, the "relationship" is contrived and forced.

- What is evil? Evil is the rejection of God, disobedience to his command, or deviation from His will and character. Evil cannot exist without goodness...it is defined in the negative as a lack of goodness. Evil can be defined as being "not good". Whatever is not good, is evil. It is much like light and darkness, in that darkness is not a hting in and of itself, but merely a lack of light.

- Is God at fault for creating evil since he gave humans free will and knew they would choose it? No. First, evil is not a created thing since it is just a rejection by free agents of God. Secondly, even though God knew man would sin, man bears the full responsibility of choosing evil instead of God (and Satan too).

There is a lot more to discuss and say about this subject (we only made through about 25% of my notes). I would love to have everyone come contribute the next couple of Sundays. If the tming works out, I also plan to open up the book of Job to see what insights it offers.

Until next Sunday, I leave you guys with this 18 minute video from Christian apologist Paul Coban on the same subject:

Good God & Evil World (in 18 Minutes) from Paul Copan on Vimeo.