Dear Skeptic: Where is God when Evil is Winning?
By Michael J. Breznau | 2021
A claim raised by many people today is that the amount and kind of evil we see in the world is very strong evidence against the existence of God. This argument has been brought before me in various ways, e.g. as a question from a believer, a skeptic’s counterpoint, and from the heart-cries of those suffering deep grief and loss. Such a hypothesis deserves a thorough response.[1]
Evil Everywhere: We Agree
One does not have to scan far down the news releases from the Associated Press to be inundated with reports of sex-trafficking, child slave labor, mass murder, violent drug cartels, racism, rampant disease, and genocide. I fully agree the pervasive evil across the globe is both terrifying and saddening. I affirm that the amount – the quantity – of evil is overwhelming. The consequential devastation of evil is everywhere. We live in a beautiful yet broken world. As the poet-songwriter Bob Dylan wrote, “Broken bottles, broken plates, broken switches, broken gates, broken dishes, broken parts, streets are filled with broken hearts, broken words never meant to be spoken, everything is broken.”[2] I agree the forms of evil, namely, the kind of malevolence and suffering we observe is startling – even sickening. I concur that what we see in the world is not an increasing improvement of society but rather growing evidence for the deterioration of society. Whether or not the global population is more or less evil than in previous centuries is an inherently subjective debate. But regardless of history, our present experience is stark.
Two young men walk into a high school and murder twelve students and one teacher.[3] A dictator slaughters thousands at-will.[4] A twenty-six-year-old woman high on methamphetamine throws her beautiful ten-day-old infant into a washing machine resulting in the baby girl’s death.[5] A six-year-old girl is raped and killed.[6] If these human-on-human violent forms of evil feel distant, then the following examples of suffering – evil – will likely feel closer to home.
A mother watches her wonderful toddler die from a sudden illness.[7] An energetic, hardworking, lovely eighteen-year-old woman is tragically killed in a car accident.[8] A category five hurricane smashes into the shoreline of Florida and destroys homes and businesses. The winds and floods take hundreds of lives.[9] Such devastation prompts us to wonder how a good, loving, all-powerful God could let such evil and suffering occur.[10] If God allowed these evils, then what on earth could be the reason(s)? These are natural, genuine questions to ask. For centuries, both Christians and non-believers have attempted to process these concerns. I, too, have wondered how the imminent activity of a sovereign, good God could coexist with the present evils we see in the world.
I stand with you on common-ground, dear skeptic, in mutual longing for evil to cease. Our core human desire is for shalom – as the ancient Jews coined the concept of peace, physical and relational wholeness, safety, deep joy, and provision for all our needs.[11] Therefore, we agree that evil is an aberration. Evil and suffering ought not define human existence. All is not right in the world.
TENSION: Belief or Unbelief
As we survey the reality of evil and our core desire for shalom – a life without evil and suffering – you and I are drawn into a series of related questions: (1) Is the presence of evil a basis for believing or disbelieving in God’s existence? (2) How can a benevolent, all-seeing God allow evil to run rampant or even exist at all? And (3) if He is supposedly the God of peace and justice, then why is there not worldwide shalom? These questions are not an exhaustive list. You may frame your skepticism with slightly different concerns and nuances. But in sum, you may purport that the array of evils stack-up as strong evidence against the existence of God.
Some philosophers and psychologists observe that a movement toward unbelief in God often occurs in two ways as a watershed event related to evil and suffering: (1) personal experience or (2) an atheistic argument.[12]
First, personal experience. For example, a man or woman reads a devastating report of evil, witnesses overwhelming violence and death as a soldier at war, or watches a loved one unexpectedly die. This personal tragedy of experiencing evil or its effects may lead one down a cycle of disappointment to discouragement, from discouragement to disillusionment, and finally to despair, doubt, and unbelief.[13]
Perhaps consider for a moment how the in-your-face reality of evil has led you into a path of disillusionment and doubt. I resonate with the heart-wrenching reality of evil. My wife and I have suffered through nine miscarriages. Our family wept uncontrollably at the loss of our beautiful eleven-year-old niece who died of complications related to Chiari malformation. Our role in the community has led us into helping people toward healing after despicable cases of abuse and neglect. We have seen evil rip families apart. Infidelity, sexual abuse, and domestic violence are often hitting too-close-to-home. The tragic consequences of systemic racism, political power-mongering, and military and monetary oppression have slapped me in the face during my travels to southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. I have seen desperate lepers mauling tourists, cripples lying in the streets, and children begging for food. The COVID-19 pandemic is yet another occasion of global suffering in countless ways.
Even further, the pull toward evil intent grows ugly tentacles inside all of us. Hatred, selfishness, greed, rage, violence, propensities toward addiction, and more lurk beneath our skin. We despise these demented depravities within. Yet our souls continue to feel an interest toward evil. Ovid the Roman poet said, “I see and approve the better things of life but the evil things I follow.”[14] Reinforcing the same reality, Goethe thought “there was enough material in him to make both a rogue and a gentleman.”[15] All these experiences may press us into the cycle of disappointment, discouragement, disillusionment, despair, and doubt.
Second, an atheistic argument. The harsh realities of evil may not yet be directly personal to you. Perhaps the effects of our world’s brokenness have not yet wreaked havoc or tragedy in your everyday life. Yet I concur with the First Noble Truth of Buddhism: life is suffering.[16] Similar are the words of Jesus when He called his disciples to “deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow [Him]…” all the way to the cross, a place of torturous death (Mark 8:34ff). Experiencing evil in some degree is a certainty for everyone. But perhaps your skepticism grew from encountering persuasive arguments against God’s existence from an eloquent university professor, a respected friend, or professional YouTuber. Concerning the problem of evil, the line of reasoning is typically arranged as follows:[17]
- Horrific evils occur every day all over the earth.
- If God is a good and all-powerful Creator-Ruler, then He would prevent evil.
- Evil continues largely unabated, therefore there is no God.
Another argument is known as the evidential challenge or “unicorn objection”:[18]
- Unjustified evil likely exists.
- If God exists, unjustified evil would not exist.
- Therefore, probably, God does not exist.
The nuance with the second argument is the admission that, perhaps, some things we perceive as evil may be justified while other forms of evil are unjustified. We can easily think of evils of which a good reason is unimaginable, e.g. the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, child sexual abuse, and the many other examples given above. It appears God has no good reason for permitting such evil. Philosopher Greg Ganssle probes us with this question: “To what degree should we expect to discern God’s reasons for allowing a particular evil?”[19] Various situations of suffering or evil may have discernible reasons. Yet some cases may be impossible to decipher. Hence, Ganssle calls the evidential challenge “‘the unicorn objection’ because the atheist is saying that something probably cannot be found.”[20]
Reasons for permitting evil and suffering may be to allow for human freedom and personal responsibility, punishment for sin or the result of sin, a test that produces character, the preservation of the benefits that flow from the natural order, i.e. cause and effect, natural and moral law, etc. But consider the hypothesis that God is infinite. If He is the Creator of the incredible complexity we see across the earth’s ecosystems – from the animal kingdom to the plant kingdom – and beyond to the solar system, then we might not expect ourselves to discern all of His reasoning for every circumstance.
Returning to the original claim, the “kind of evil” indicates that various levels exist and that some evils are worse than others and even what some consider evil may not be evil. If you have a set of morals, then how did you arrive at such morals to determine what is evil? Who or what determines what types of evil are particularly wrong and why they are so?
What “we see in the world” indicates human observation, our perspective of the evil. This implies that if God were also observing the evil, then He would certainly do as we would, if we had His power. So, what would you do right now if you were God? Would you: (1) Grant mercy to evildoers? (2) Offer the possibility of their transformation into people of goodwill? (3) Exercise patience to allow self-governance? (4) Remove by execution all evildoers who reach a certain point of personal depravity? (5) Destroy all humanity with a lightning bolt, fire, or flood?
Perhaps if we return to the “amount” of evil the answer will be clearer. We might say:[21]
- If there is a good and all-powerful God, then we would not expect the current quantity of evil.
- If there is no good and all-powerful God, then we might anticipate the current quantity of evil.
- Therefore, the quantity of evil argues against the existent of a good and all-powerful God.
Yet, ironically, most people believe there is more good than evil in the world and that life, generally, is worth living.[22] All humanity expects and longs for human flourishing. We detect there is a way things ought to be; that evil and evildoers should not rule over us; and that attributes of kindness, love, and mercy ought to be applauded and repeated. The uncanny presence of these morals and desires drives us to wonder if there may be Someone over us, who hard-wired these inclinations in, seemingly, the majority of us. It makes us wonder if the wise King Solomon was right when he wrote that eternity is set in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). We ponder this transient world and contemplate if there is something more. Are we destined to survive in an increasingly evil planet or is there a different answer that might end evil and usher in the shalom for which our souls long?
RESOLUTION: Enter a New Story
Ultimately, I find atheism’s answers to the problem of evil unconvincing. But even more than being unpersuaded by the rationale of atheism, I believe the answers are unsatisfying. Hope, healing, and purpose are sorely lacking in the atheist’s construct. Therefore, I invite you into a new story: the unfolding drama of chaos, creation, death, and redemption. This is not just a fable or cute bedtime book, but rather God’s epic saga of love, forgiveness, and restoration for our beautiful yet broken world. I invite you to compare the Christian vision of life with the atheistic view of life. The choice is yours. The Christian story – the metanarrative of God – invites us into and through the problem of evil in at least five ways.
Evil: No Sugar-Coating
First, evil and all the inherent consequences are not ignored but rather given in full detail in the Bible. Christians consider their sacred text as God’s Word to the world. If we want to think about God or know of God, then we turn to His message for us. In the various books within the Book are countless chapters and verses that present suffering and evil in bold relief. We discover our problem with evil is not new. Right near the beginning of the story, we find the first two sons of Adam and Eve in relational conflict. Cain’s discontent and anger propels him to murder his brother, Abel, out in a field (see Genesis 4:1-10). Not too far down the family tree arrives Lamech, who is preoccupied with violent retribution. He remarks, “Give heed to my speech, for I have killed a man for wounding me; and a boy for striking me; if Cain avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (Genesis 4:23a-24b). Evil of all quantities and types has been the common experience of humankind from the beginning of time.
If the presence of evil posed an unanswerable contradiction to God’s existence, surely the Judea-Christian scriptures might attempt to sugarcoat the evidence. Yet the entirety of the biblical storyline does the exact opposite. Most of the Bible was written by and to people in suffering by way of persecution, judgment, exile, or oppression. Biblical characters who went through intense suffering include Noah, Job, Jacob, Tamar, Joseph, Moses, Naomi, Hannah, David, Elijah, Elisha, Esther, Jeremiah, most significantly, Jesus the Christ, but also his eleven remaining disciples, and nearly all the later followers accounted for in the New Testament: Stephen, Paul, Silas, Timothy, et al.
Suffering is not sugarcoated in the Bible, but rather the context of the whole story. Sadly, popular level theology across the globe often foolishly glosses over grief, presents pat-answers to suffering, and treats death as a happy gateway to a disembodied eternity. Incidentally, much of this teaching has more in common with Gnosticism than the historic Christian faith.
The Christian story says evil, suffering, and death is an aberration from God’s original creation. Therefore, all humanity expects – longs for – human flourishing, shalom. The everyday evidences of evil chafe against the human desire for peace. We crave the absence of evil and suffering. God’s story reveals that He wired us this way in the Garden of Eden long ago. The experiences and consequences of evil are recognized as the way things ought not be. Therefore, the implication is that there is a way things ought to be. Yet renowned atheist, Richard Dawkins wrote that our universe “has…no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”[23] To his remark, Rebecca McLaughlin countered, “This bleak view of the universe erodes the foundations on which we balance life and humanness itself. If there is no good or evil, why do we lament?”[24] Our reason for discussing the problem of evil is because anyone who hits pause long enough to think deeply recognizes something is broken, off-kilter. The earth, as it spins today, is wrong. The Christian story does not contradict but resonates with our present problem of evil.
Cosmic Battle: Good and Evil
Second, the presence of evil necessitates the reality of a greater good, God. Just as the Bible is entirely honest about evil in the world, so also it presents a greater and more powerful presence, God. Sin is defined as what is contrary or in opposition to God’s good design for human flourishing. The system run by Satan, the archenemy of God and His people, is geared to run on the fuel of sin. Evil, suffering, and death is the natural outflow of this system. Humans thrive as they follow God’s original design, yet suffer great harm when they are ruled by evil.
This cosmic battle between good and evil – God and Satan – is integral to the Christian story. Greg Ganssle goes so far as to say, “Without lots of horrible evil we would know Christianity is false.”[25] Evil is pervasive. Yet, as noted previously, most people think there is more good than evil in the world and that life, generally, is worth living. The Christian story best explains this reality: “That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.”[26]
God’s Mission: Jesus
Third, the Christian gospel – God’s good news to the world – can be explained as a mission of redemption. The mission of God[27] is the ultimate defeat of evil and completion of victory for His redeemed people. God the Father sent the Son, Jesus, to live a life not ruled by evil but governed by love, insomuch that He died in the place of evil, broken humanity so that we may receive a new, forever life in Him. A well-known but often ignored passage frames this mission: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).
God’s rescue mission to the world is through Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection. British scholar John Stott explains that the cross is the location of the answer to evil and suffering.[28] God is not ambivalent to our pain. He suffered for us so that at the cross, evil was defeated at its root. The sincerest form of sacrificial love was displayed and offered to all. Christ laid down His life for us and for our salvation.
The resurrection of Christ on the third day, according to His promise, pronounced victory over the penalty and power of sin’s system: evil, suffering, and death.[29] Therefore, the gospel “has the resources for the personal problem of evil – the presence of Christ.”[30] As humans experience divine love and forgiveness in the person of Jesus, they, in turn, flourish as people who extend love and forgiveness to others. In this way, the death and resurrection of Jesus marks the already-but-not-yet redemption of humanity.[31] God is progressively – already – redeeming us from our selfish, evil propensities. But we have not yet fully experienced the complete redemption of the entire earth, which is the core hope of Christ’s good news to the world.
Our Purpose: His People
Fourth, God’s mission continues through His people. The Father sent the Son, then the Father and the Son sent the Spirit to the Church, so that we enter the world equipped as agents of His redeeming love. The power of Christ is already pushing back evil through the faithful presence of His people.[32] We learn to live in-step with this new way of life by focusing on the One who is at the epicenter of the story: Jesus. He handles tragedy, suffering, and evil in a way not ever before seen on earth. Jesus, the God-man, did not heal every single person and right every wrong in the entire world when He walked the pathways of Judea and Galilee. Yet he did heal multitudes of people that came to him with physical needs – hundreds upon hundreds – even thousands upon thousands (see Matthew 9:35-36; 12:8-21; 14:14-21).
When people suffered, grieved, and cried out in pain, Jesus was moved with sorrow and wept with love (John 11:33-35). When thousands of people were hungry and needy, Jesus looked upon the crowds with mercy and fed them (Matthew 14:14-21). When people showed up with bodies wracked with illness, disease, and injury, Jesus touched them and healed them all. (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 3:1-12; Mark 8:22-26; 9:14-29). When people were filled with fear and uncertainty, Jesus was filled with compassion and shared His message of hope – the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 9:35-36).
Jesus raised the dead, touched and healed the lepers, the blind, and the outcast, and proclaimed Himself to be the “new and living way” (cf. Hebrews 10:20). If you want to know the full picture of what God is like, then look at Jesus Christ. The Old Testament picture of God was true and accurate, but incomplete. Enter Jesus: “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17). Jesus came to reveal the Father and make known to everyone what God was really all about: Law and Grace, Truth and Mercy, Judgment and Hope. He sends believers on the same mission of living, showing, and proclaiming the new way of God’s reign – shalom now – and to declare that He will one day return to re-create perfect order out of the perfect storm. This hint at the future leads us to our final step.
Our Hope: Shalom
Fifth, the return of Christ as King ushers us into the hope of vanquishing all evil and suffering in the earth made new. The Christian story begins in a beautiful garden – creation. The first man and woman are seduced by the temptation of the archenemy – fall. The presence of evil, suffering, and trial is the following narrative of humanity. Yet into this brokenness God is writing a through-story of healing, forgiveness, and hope. At the cross of Christ, justice and mercy meet for the reconciliation of humankind with their Creator – redemption. The tomb was sealed and guarded by highly trained soldiers. But on the third day, Jesus rose from the grave victorious over evil, sin, and death. As the resurrected Lord, He revealed Himself to five hundred witnesses, ascended into heaven, and promised His return to judge evil – the living and the dead – and establish His kingdom of peace, justice, and righteousness on the remade earth – restoration. A.N. Wilson, British author and longtime skeptic-turned-believer, wrote:
“The Resurrection, which proclaims that matter and spirit are mysteriously conjoined, is the ultimate key to who we are. It confronts us with an extraordinarily haunting story. J. S. Bach believed the story, and set it to music. Most of the greatest writers and thinkers of the past 1,500 years have believed it. But an even stronger argument is the way that Christian faith transforms individual lives – the lives of the men and women with whom you mingle on a daily basis, the man, woman or child next to you in church tomorrow morning.”[33]
As we live in the space between the empty grave and the coming kingdom, we experience the presence of Christ through the Spirit in the midst of evil and suffering. Rebecca McLaughlin encapsulates this relationship, “Jesus holds us close as we lament. He weeps with us as we weep. He knows the end of the story, when he will wipe every tear from our eyes [Revelation 21:4]. But this does not stop him from cleaving to us in our pain. In fact, pain is a place of special intimacy with him.”[34] The Christian vision of life grounds us in the hope that evil can and will be defeated. God will judge with perfect justice in the end. Christ’s gospel captures our desire for shalom and commissions the believers of this Story to participate in the pushing back of evil as agents of peace, mercy, and justice.
CONCLUSION: Your Invitation
Evil is everywhere. Pain and suffering are ubiquitous across every continent. There is a great likelihood that you and I will be confronted with evil yet again before today’s sunset. We agree, dear skeptic, that the amount and kind of evil we see in the world is overwhelming – sickening.
Surveying a few atheistic arguments for the problem of evil left us with many questions. The conclusions were, in my opinion, more than unsatisfying both to the intellect and soul. Atheism fails to offer a healing, comforting balm to people suffering at the hand of evildoers. Removing God from the equation does not give greater hope for humanity’s future, but rather far less. Even the logic of the most common atheistic arguments against the existence of God in light of the problem of evil were found to be faulty. Perhaps the atheistic view of life might offer hope for vengeance or recompense through our judicial system or the possibility of the human spirit being forged by persevering through trial. But for what purpose? Ultimately, the atheist is left with more questions to answer than the theist.
So, my invitation extends to your doorstep. The Christian story does not ignore and sugarcoat evil. We do not find Jesus Christ ambivalent to our pain, discouragement, and doubt. Instead, we discovered the metanarrative of God invites us into and through the problem of evil and suffering. The death and resurrection of Christ inaugurated a new way of life for humanity. No longer controlled by evil or overwhelmed by suffering, people who put their trust into Christ are commissioned to be a force against evil – to push it back just as God will, ultimately, roll in perfect peace and justice. Finally, the Christ who died and rose again is coming again. His return will mark the vanquishing of all evil. We will weep in His presence and then He will wipe away our tears. The earth will be redeemed, restored. For He said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5a). Dear skeptic, I invite you to step into this Story – perhaps again or for the very first time. You will find Jesus waiting to receive you, weep with you, and restore your hope and purpose for life.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The outline of my response follows the recommendations personally derived from class discussion in the Doctor of Ministry course TTMN 906-907 with Dr. Greg Ganssle at Talbot School of Theology (June, 2021). First, discern what you can affirm about the person’s observation, desire, or belief. Second, identify the tension or core question and objectively outline the differences between their position and yours. Third, present a resolution that offers counterpoints to their claim/question from a fully-orbed understanding of the Christian story, i.e. the metanarrative of the Bible or the Christian vision of life. My approach also seeks to incorporate elements of Curtis Chang’s strategy of “taking every thought captive,” i.e. to enter the story of the challenger, retell their story, and then ultimately capture the challenger with the ‘Story of stories’ by delicately pointing out the inadequacies in their own story (see Curtis Chang. Engaging Unbelief: A Captivating Strategy from Augustine and Aquinas. IL: IVP, 2000, p. 26-27, 36, 38-39, 94, 137, 144).
[2] From the song, “Everything is Broken” from the vinyl album “Oh Mercy” (Colombia Records) 1989.
[3] The infamous Columbine shooting as recorded by History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/columbine-high-school-shootings. Accessed 16 October 2021.
[4] The reign of dictator Kim Jong Un of North Korea exemplifies this behavior and many other oppressive tactics, as reported by the Human Rights Watch in World Report 2020: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/north-korea#. Accessed 15 October 2021.
[5] The heart-wrenching story is reported by the NY Daily News: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/baby-dead-mom-tosses-infant-washing-machine-launches-spin-cycle-cops-article-1.453050. Accessed 16 October 2021.
[6] Read the heart-wrenching story of young Scottish girl, Alesha MacPhail here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Alesha_MacPhail. Accessed 15 October 2021.
[7] Such tragedy struck a family with whom I am acquainted, as reported by the Victoria Advocate: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/obituaries/todd-l-francis-jr/article_7ce8a0d9-bfab-5f49-ba1c-2191089ec660.html. Accessed 15 October 2021.
[8] The story of Corinn Linkowski: https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2019/02/goodrich-teen-who-died-after-head-on-crash-remembered-as-kind-caring.html. Accessed 15 October 2021.
[9] Survey the list of deadly hurricanes in Florida: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Florida_hurricanes
[10] Here I conjoin evil and suffering because we perceive the latter often flows from the former. The causative agent of suffering may be an enraged dictator, a delirious drunk-driver, or an abusive mother or father. In such cases, we may point to a person as evil. But when cancer cells wrack a body, a hurricane kills a family of five, or when a young girl dies from a rare neurological condition, who then is the causative agent? Some attribute such cases to God. They may say He Himself is malevolent, psychotic, passive, or too preoccupied to thwart such suffering, which then makes Him evil.
[11] Philosopher Cornelius Plantinga wrote, “The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.” (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 10.
[12] These two categories were the subject of class discussion and summarized in class notes in the D.Min. course TTMN 906: Transforming the Mind I with Dr. Greg Ganssle, Talbot School of Theology, June 2021.
[13] This stair-step experience was the topic of discussion during the course TTMN 906: Transforming the Mind with Greg Ganssle, Talbot School of Theology, June 2021. Ganssle eludes to this cycle in Gregory E. Gannsle, Thinking About God: First Steps in Philosophy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 110.
[14] Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.20
[15] As quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. via Fulton J. Sheen, Peace of Soul (New York: Whittlesey House, 1949), p. 36: “Goethe regretted that God had made only one man of him when there was enough material in him for both a rogue and a gentleman.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was a German poet, novelist, and playwright. From a footnote in MLK’s message “Mastering our Evil Selves” from June 5, 1949. From The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/mastering-our-evil-selves-mastering-ourselves. Accessed 17 October 2021
[16] Lopez, Donald S. “Four Noble Truths”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Mar. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Four-Noble-Truths. Accessed 19 October 2021. See also Glen Scrivener’s brief essay “How Does the Gospel Answer what the Buddhist Truly Longs For?” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/gospel-answer-buddhist/. Accessed 15 October 2021.
[17] This is a consolidation of various arguments brought to me during pastoral counseling sessions and public engagement, but also an abbreviated version John Mackie’s argument against God’s existence in J.L. Mackie “Evil and Omnipotence” in Mind, Volume LXIV, Issue 254, (Oxford: Oxford University Press: April 1955), 200–212. Cf. Gregory E. Gannsle, Thinking About God: First Steps in Philosophy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 112-121.
[18] See William Rowe, ‘The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism’ in M. M. Adams and R. M. Adams ed., The Problem of Evil (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990). Cf. Victoria Harrison “William Rowe on the Evidential Problem of Evil” University of Glasgow class notes: https://www.gla.ac.uk/0t4/humanities/files/mindmapping/Evil_files/docs/Rowe.pdf Accessed 20 October 2021.
Many thanks to Dr. Greg Ganssle for summarizing and explaining this argument during class discussion during the course TTMN 906 Transforming the Mind I at Talbot School of Theology, June 2021.
[19] From Class Notes, TTMN 906 Transforming the Mind I at Talbot School of Theology, June 2021.
[20] Gregory E. Gannsle, Thinking About God: First Steps in Philosophy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 141.
[21] The following has been adapted from class notes, TTMN 906 Transforming the Mind I at Talbot School of Theology, June 2021.
[22] Consider the research of those living in the slums of Calcutta, who despite their poverty still consider their lives surprisingly meaningful and satisfying: Robert Biswas-Diener and Ed Diener, “Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Satisfaction in the Slums of Calcutta,” Social Indicators Research 55, no. 3 (September 2001): 329-52.
[23] Richard Dawkins, A River out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (New York: Basic Books, 1996), 133.
[24] Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 194.
[25] From class notes, TTMN 906 Transforming the Mind I at Talbot School of Theology, June 2021.
[26] From the hymn lyrics “This is My Father’s World” Author: Maltbie D. Babcock (1901) Tune: Terra Beata
[27] Christian scholars have used the Latin phrase missio dei to discuss this particularly channel of biblical theology.
[28] For a full explanation see: John Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 335-336.
[29] For a thorough defense of the historicity and implications of the resurrection see: Michael Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2010); N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God in ‘Christian Origins and the Question of God,’ vol. 3 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003).
[30] Greg Ganssle in class notes, TTMN 906 Transforming the Mind I at Talbot School of Theology, June 2021.
[31] For a full development of the already-but-not-yet motif in Christian theology see: Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ, 64-70. See also: George Eldon Ladd, Jesus and the Kingdom: the Eschatology of Biblical realism, [1st] ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), 89-100.
[32] Sociologist James D. Hunter elaborates on the call to faithful presence: “From this posture of what some may call incarnational living, the implication is clear: a theology of faithful presence obligates us to do what we are able, under the sovereignty of God, to shape the patterns of life and work and relationship – that is, the institutions of which our lives are constituted – toward a shalom that seeks the welfare not only of those of the household of God but of all.” James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 254.
[33] A.N. Wilson “Religion of hatred: Why we should be no longer cowed by the chattering classes ruling Britain who sneer at Christianity”: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1169145/Religion-hatred-Why-longer-cowed-secular-zealots.html Accessed 21 October 2021.
[34] Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 201.
