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I’m sure Perg will end up causing it to be locked way before then.I am still looking forward to the day when Noah and Alethea join PB and seek advice on how to deal with Perg. I predict that will be the longest PB thread in history.
I am still trying to figure out how to deal with Perg. He's a handful sometimes.I am still looking forward to the day when Noah and Alethea join PB and seek advice on how to deal with Perg. I predict that will be the longest PB thread in history.
Yes, this point seemed to gain some headway with her. The problem of evil IS, indeed, a problem, but is a Christian problem. If life is meaningless, then pain has no meaning and there is nothing redeeming about it. So she sees that atheism or nihilism is not a preferable solution. Without God there really is no objective good or evil, but she affirms that there is good and evil. She just has trouble with an all-good God allowing this much and this degree of evil.I think there are some simple points that are worth bearing in mind. It's wise to acknowledge that this is an old, universal, and very difficult problem. There's nothing wrong with having questions or concerns, or struggling. Job comes to mind, and so does Jeremiah. Arguing with God about drought is one form of wrestling with this problem.
Second, what's the alternative? Either we take up the standpoint of Paul, that we trust God and look to the judge of all the earth to do right, indeed, to define right and wrong, or we take up the absurd standpoint of passing judgment on God as though creatures could judge the Creator. If we do that, then we have an inexplicable problem of good. Is it better to have a system where good is basic and evil is the conundrum, or a system where good is the conundrum?
Third, whether we can understand the Lord's decisions or not, we can affirm that he didn't dodge the consequences of his own decisions. The curse that God pronounced in the garden fell on the Son of God on the cross. Evil is a problem; but it's not a problem God shuffled off onto us.
Oh, but it'll be a lot of fun in the meantime, though!I’m sure Perg will end up causing it to be locked way before then.
Hey Pergamum. I'm sorry to hear this. It is so difficult when a family member struggles in his or her faith.My daughter is 14. She has not adjusted well to all of our moves after I got sick. From 2 different Asian countries and then the US now. She saw her dad try to serve God and almost die because of it and now is having trouble with the problem of evil (how can a good God allow evil. What sort of sick being ordains suffering for His own glory). She is finding the platitudes we use to "solve" the problem of evil to be cliched and offensive. God could have created a world with no evil and suffering and still have His Creation praise Him. She finds the idea of hell repulsive.
Any advice? Any resources for young adults? The John Piper line of explanation is not satisfying to her ("Don't waste your cancer" etc). Evil is....well, evil and the pains of the world are preventable by God and yet He not only allows it but all suffering is ordained by God.
First, pray for her, my Little Alethea. I would gladly die for her and I worry about her. Second, I also struggled with this same problem. Third, I need something that fully acknowledges the problem and does not treat it smugly or fault the person struggling with the problem of evil. It is a true problem...but it is only our problem for in atheism there is no moral good or evil but mere chance random meaningless suffering.
She asked a camp counselor and other pastors for explanations, but the answers were all surface-level and seemed to be a means to shut her up and not fully engage the problem. "Just have faith" drives her further from it and seems a cop out to her (and also me). I plan to eat sushi and ramen with her several times this coming week (daddy-daughter dates) and I hope she continues to talk to me (she talked 2 hours with me last week and seemed disappointed with me when I had to stop to pack for this latest trip for speaking.
God, please save my little Ali, my heart hurts for her and longs for her good. And I feel terrible that her worries about my own illness has helped her to question God's ways. I am still alive, after all, and God has not only delivered me from hell but also has allowed me the privilege to help others.