I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist Part #3: How Could a Good God Exist Since There is Evil in the World? This is one of the most haunting questions we face. As we look at our world, we find an incredible amount of pain, hardships, and suffer which appear completely pointless, like little children dying of cancer, and people suffering by no fault of their own. So, why is there evil in the world if God exists? Why isn't He doing something about it? Some explain it like this, “If God is willing to prevent evil and injustice in the world, but is unable; then He must not be powerful enough to deal with it. If He is powerful enough to stop it, then He Himself must be not be willing. Since He is neither unable nor willing to do anything about it; then why call Him God?” It is because of this reason that some question God’s existence. When answering this dilemma it must be noted that the Bible does affirm the existence of evil (Psa. 40:12; Jer. 15:18). In fact even God’s own Son, Jesus was known as “a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isa. 53:3). Believe it or not, the existence of evil actually proves that God exists. It doesn't matter where you go in this world, unless someone is insane, they will all agree that child molestation is wrong, even if they have done it. All will agree that murder is wrong, even if they have done it. And all agree that rape is wrong, even if they have done it. This inward acknowledgement of evil would not be present if mankind was just the byproduct of evolution through natural selection and survival of the fittest. If that was the case then Hitler was justified in what he did. If we were here simply by natural selection and survival of the fittest then no one has the right to say or do anything to stop or punish the thief, the school shooter, the rapist, the murder, etc. However, anyone who is sane will recognize that that is just not the case. There are certain things that are intuitively wrong. We do not need to be taught these things; we all know these things intuitively. This recognition of evil is known as the Moral Argument and is proof of God’s existence in every culture. Intentional Christianity: August 2023
The knowledge that certain things are intuitively wrong, which supersedes culture and time, are evidence of a Moral Law Giver writing His laws on our hearts. Romans 2:14-15 says, “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” Thus, the moral law that is written on our hearts proves the existence of a Divine Moral Law Giver. However, why does God allow evil to exist? The Bible teaches that God is both good and all-powerful. Then why does a good and all-powerful God not do something to end the suffering that permeates our world? The answer to that question needs to be viewed from two different angles. The first angle is the big picture. The big picture comes back to mankind’s own freewill choice. God created the universe to be very good (Gen. 1:31). And God warned Adam and Eve what would happen if they chose to sin, yet they did it anyways (Gen. 2:17). When they sinned, corruption, disease, evil of all kinds and death came into the world. Therefore, we all suffer because of someone else’s choice. And this same principle can be seen today when a person decides to drink and drive and they take innocent lives. Furthermore, there are numerous other ways which our world suffers as a result of someone’s freewill choice. The second way to view the issue of evil and suffering is much more personal. In the sense of freewill, we can understand in general why there is suffering, but on the personal level, why does God allow certain people to experience certain types of suffering and not others? That is a much more challenging question. And honestly, sometimes, we truthfully do not know as the Bible does not tell us. On the other hand, the Bible does tell us that God has, is, and will do things to end the evil and suffering. God sent His Son to die for us, overcoming the issue for suffering in the first place, sin. Second, God has sent us His Word, His Spirit, and other believers to help alleviate the suffering. In this, we all have a moral responsibility to do something about the evil that exists in our world. Lastly, and most importantly, God is working behind the scenes to make all things work out for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). Thus, God promises to right every wrong that has ever taken place. One day, Jesus will return and put an end to all the things which caused us grief in this life will be no more. God will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away (Rev. 21:1-7). It is my prayer that all of us look at the evil which exists in our world today and look forward to that day when all things will be made new (Rev. 21:5). In Christian love, —Matt
Contact: 10152 East Coe Road St. Louis, MI 48880 989-681-3185 [email protected] Preaching Minister: Matt Boughan 989-710-1116 [email protected] Office Administrator: Jan Fowler 989-388-7041 Assistant Office Administrator: Faith Best 989-763-5068 [email protected] Eldership: Phil Leonard (chairman) 989-388-1935 Larry Bond 989-463-6979 Dennis Fowler 989-763-5579 Deacons: Jack Dougherty Don Engler Roger Freeze Randy Hawkins Bruce Leonard Steve Leonard Darryl Quidort Coe Church of Christ Schedule of Events Regular Service Times: Sunday: Sunday School 9:00 am Worship 10:00 am Monday: Ladies Bible Study 1:00 pm Ministerial Office Hours: Wednesday-Friday: 9:00 am-12:00 pm Additional times available by appointment “Coe Church of Christ exists to reach out to the lost, and to train people to maturity in Christ through discipleship, worship, and fellowship, completely following God’s Word.” • Aug 11-13—VBS 6-8:30pm • Aug 13— Fellowship Luncheon Sermon Series: The Jesus I Never Knew • Aug 6—#27: Trade Hands (Luke 23) • Aug 13—#28: Winds of Change (Luke 24) • Aug 27—Learning Obedience the Hard Way (Jonah)
Praying Mantis. Ants. Lightning Bugs. Caterpillar & Butterfly. Spiders. Samuel. A servant girl. David. Moses & Miriam. Josiah. A boy with a lunch. Helmet. Breastplate. Shoes. Belt. Sword. Shield. What is all of this about? I’ll tell you in a little bit. S'mores, singing, laughter, getting wet, divine appointments, making friends, campfires, memories, what do you think about when someone mentions camp? All of these and more are going on at Rock Lake Christian Assembly this summer. There have been at least 19 different camps this summer with a handful of them being sold-out! I don’t know about you, but things have changed since I’ve been to camp. There are camping trips to the Rocky Mountains, parent and child camps, roughing it in the wilderness, activity camps and even a trip hiking the shores of Lake Superior besides the traditional stay- in-dorms camps. Can you say busy? Rock Lake has certainly had its share of bustling activities, campfires and many other exciting happenings this summer. Prayer points • Praise the Lord for the many, many campers that have attended this year. • All glory to God for those who have made the most important decision in their life – accepting Christ into their heart. • Please be praying for these individuals that they stand firm in their faith. • Pray for others who have not accepted Christ, but are considering taking the plunge. • Thank you, Lord, for financial provision for those who wouldn’t be able to attend otherwise. • Please continue to pray for their needs to be met. And praise the Lord that we at Coe are able to assist in this need. • May God be praised for the staff at camp – paid and volunteer. • Pray for their endurance, perseverance & rest for staff as they begin to wrap up a grueling 70 days of non-stop activity. • Pray for guidance as Amy Dobyns completes her last year at camp and Heather Harrison replaces her. So, why the list of bugs, battle armor and children in the Bible? These are some of the lessons that have been taught this year at camp. Even though the children are small and young, they have discovered that they can make a huge difference like the servant girl who was responsible for converting an enemy army general in the story of Naaman. Missions Moment: Rock Lake Christian Assembly