The Problem of Pain

People of faith have struggled with the broad question of why bad things happen. If an all-powerful and all-loving God exists, why then do bad things happen?

To the best of my knowledge, no definitive answer has ever been offered. By my reading (not exhaustive, I'll confess), the answers tend to break down into one of three broad categories:

1. "The Lord works in mysterious ways"
2. God teaches us valuable lessons through trials and suffering
3. That's out of God's control
   

Mystery -- This is the easiest answer, but is deeply unsatisfying. While it's true that many aspects of God that are deep and beyond our comprehension (such as the nature of the Trinity), when one is suffering personally it is very, very difficult to draw comfort from this answer. Yet there's an aspect of this that aligns with a broad theme of the Bible; that is, in times of distress we are to place our trust in the Lord our God first and foremost. The Psalms are full of this message. The Gospel is essentially a message of trust (in Jesus).

Trials, Suffering and Growth -- This answer makes sense when the trial is something small and manageable, but more difficult to accept when the trial is large and life-threatening. Still, the idea of struggling and hard work as a means of growth and strengthening isn't hard to see in our everyday world. My difficulty with this answer comes up when the "trial" is the sudden death of, say, a 10 year old child. What opportunity does the child have to learn anything from suddenly dying? Perhaps part of the answer involves the lesson being applicable to another, who suffers greatly because of another's death and comes out of the grief stronger in some way. I do not know. This too is a mystery, at least to me.

A Non-Sovereign God -- There is a relatively recent theological development called "Open View Theism," or simply "Open Theism." The thinking with this is that God is not in control of all things; that events on this earth are out of his control; that he is not all-knowing; and that God is "learning as he goes" with his creation called the universe and mankind. This may provide a convenient way around the problem of pain, but the cost to the doctrinal framework is high. Stripping God of his omnipotence and omniscience runs completely contrary to the Bible. It also begs a critical question that cannot be ignored: "If God cannot control the events of this earth to stop the death of a small child, then why bother praying to him for any other help or assistance?" The non-sovereign God answer is a disturbing development.

One question comes to my mind: is there a distinction between God causing something and God allowing something? The book of Job tells of God allowing the Devil to afflict Job. It does not say God did any of the horrible things to him. To your eye, do you see that as a distinction without a difference?

I do not know why God allows tsunamis to kill over a hundred thousand people. I do not know why innocent children lay dying in cancer wards. What I do know is that the Bible reveals this earth as a fallen place, and that God love us despite our sin, as evidence by Jesus on the Cross. In times of stress and turmoil, it is important -- yet difficult -- to remember that Jesus taught, time and again, that our hope must be set not on things of this world, but on things eternal.

That answer does not completely satisfy, I confess. But that answer is what the Bible instructs.