Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Bruce Little on the Problem of Evil

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Matt Capps interviews Bruce Little (CV) on the problem of evil.

Here are a few examples of where I’d raise questions:

  1. BAL: These are not things God planned or caused, they are, in light of Genesis 3, the result of man’s disobedience in the Garden.
    ADN: Is this a false disjunction? Doesn’t Scripture affirm both?
  2. BAL: I am not saying that we may not learn valuable lessons in our suffering, but that does not mean that is why the suffering came to us. God may bless, but if He does, it is in spite of the suffering, not because of the suffering.
    ADN: Does this square with Jesus’ suffering on the cross?
  3. BAL: We must ask the question: if God allows evil to bring about a good, is that good a necessary good? If it is a necessary good, then the evil that brings it is necessary and the only way it could be necessary is if God planned it. This makes God responsible for evil, something I think is clearly contrary to scripture because God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If on the other hand the good is not necessary then we are back to asking the question why the evil?
    ADN:     Is this trying to relieve logical tension by over-qualifying or denying what Scripture says about God’s sovereignty? (See 3.6 here.)

TGC Videos

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The Gospel Coalition recently uploaded nine short videos.

About The Gospel Coalition

About TGC’s 2009 National Conference

More info about the conference here. Register here.

My Contributions to the Evangelical Drudge Report Last Week

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Here is  what I contributed to Justin Taylor’s blog last week (note especially the posts in bold):

  1. “Abortions have not gone down”?
  2. Byron York on the Saddleback Forum
  3. Interview with Thabiti Anyabwile on “Being a Healthy Church Member”
  4. Obama-Clinton Ticket?
  5. Writing
  6. Mohler: “Analyzing the Saddleback Civil Forum”
  7. BestCommentaries.com
  8. Video Preachers at Multi-Site Churches
  9. Interview with Sam Storms on Colossians
  10. Dan Cruver MP3
  11. Suffering and the Goodness of God
  12. Interview with John Frame on the Problem of Evil
  13. The Logical and Emotional Problems of Evil
  14. Sermon Series on Worldliness by Mahaney, Harris, and Kauflin
  15. Missions Mandate
  16. New Biblical Theology Blog by Alexander, Bird, Dempster, and Hamilton
  17. T4A 2008
  18. Another Obama Article on Abortion
  19. NRO Editors on Obama’s VP Pick
  20. Interview with Nathan Busenitz on “Reasons We Believe”
  21. Kirsty Birkett on Naturalism

The Logical and Emotional Problems of Evil

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cross-posted at Justin Taylor’s blog

This summer my church, CrossWay Community Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has hosted a “Difficult Issues Series” on Wednesday nights, and last night I addressed this topic: “How Could a Good God Allow Suffering and Evil? A Biblical Approach to the Logical and Emotional Problems of Evil” (MP3s Part 1 & Part 2 | Handout PDF). I am especially indebted to Drs. Carson, Feinberg, Frame, and Piper. Here’s the outline:

1. Introduction

  1. What is evil?
  2. What are some examples of evil that are (almost) universally outrageous?
  3. What is the problem of evil?
  4. Why must Christians address the logical and emotional problems of evil?
  5. What are some challenges to solving the logical and emotional problems of evil?

2. What are some unbiblical/inadequate solutions to the logical-intellectual-philosophical problem of evil?

  1. Evil is not real.
  2. God is not all-powerful.
  3. This is the best possible world, and evil is necessary for its perfection.
  4. Evil is a result of peoples’ free will, so God is not accountable for evil.
  5. Evil is necessary for people to mature (i.e., build character).
  6. God is the indirect (not direct) cause of evil, so He is not accountable for evil.
  7. God is above the law, so He can do what seems evil to other people.
  8. Non-Christians have no right to question whether God is both all-powerful and all-good.

3. What does a biblical approach to the logical-intellectual-philosophical problem of evil include?

  1. Bad things do not happen to good people; good and bad things happen to bad people.
  2. The problem of evil is an argument for God, not against Him.
  3. God is not obligated to explain the problem of evil to anyone.
  4. God (not our sense of justice) is the standard for what He does.
  5. God ordains and causes evil, but He cannot be blamed for it.
  6. The logical problem of evil (including providence) involves mystery, requiring that Christians maintain doctrinal tensions in biblical proportion.
  7. God uses evil for a greater good.
  8. There was no problem of evil before the fall, nor will there be one in the eternal state.
  9. God uses natural evil to illustrate how bad moral evil really is, and the right response is repentance.
  10. The most significant problem of evil is the cross.

4. What does a biblical approach to the emotional-religious-existential problem of evil include?

  1. People who are suffering typically are wrestling primarily with the emotional problem of evil (not the logical one).
  2. Understand how people initially react to suffering.
  3. You shouldn’t say certain things to people who are suffering.
  4. You should do certain things to people who are suffering.

5. Conclusion

6. Recommended Resources

  1. Books [23 resources]
  2. MP3s [8 resources]

The handout includes a more detailed outline, and the recommended resources section asterisks the most highly recommended resources, hyperlinks to every author and resource, and ranks the level of difficulty of each resource.

Updates:

  1. The address is condensed as a simple four-page essay for CrossWay Community Church’s Exploring Christianity outreach.
  2. Reformation 21 reprinted this article in June 2009.
  3. Related: “Do We Have a Free Will?” (which Reformation 21 reprinted in August 2009)
  4. Two addresses at a conference on April 9, 2010: “The Logical Problem of Evil” | “The Emotional Problem of Evil”
  5. Interview with John Frame on the Problem of Evil

Using and Abusing Sermons

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At the annual pastor’s colloquium for The Gospel Coalition last May, the pastors discussed future enhancements on TGC website. When discussing the new database of resources, John Piper strongly suggested that we add a note against sermon-stealing, something he “abominates.” Everyone seemed to agree. Here’s the note that is currently on the bottom of the resources page:

A NOTE ON THE USE AND ABUSE OF SERMONS

The instant availability of thousands of expository sermons and addresses prompts us to reflect a little on how they should not be used, and how they should be used.

To take the latter first: many of our Council members avidly read the sermons of others, or, increasingly commonly, listen to them while they are driving or walking or jogging. Good preaching not only opens up texts, but helps us learn how others tackle the challenge of structure, apply Scripture to their particular congregations, relate their texts to the central themes of God and the gospel, and much more. We soon sense their urgency and God-given unction. We are sent back to the study and to our knees to become better workers who do not need to be ashamed of the way we handle the word of truth.

The bad way to listen to the sermons of others is to select one such sermon on the topic or passage you have chosen and then simply steal it, passing it off as if it is your own work. This is, quite frankly, theft, and thieves, Paul tells us, will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:10). Yet in some ways that is not the most serious aspect of this form of plagiarism. Rather, it is the deep damage you are doing to yourself and others by not studying the Bible for yourself. Ministers of the gospel are supported by their congregations so they will give themselves to the ministry of the Word and prayer. That demands rigorous study. A faithful minister of the gospel is never merely a biological tape recorder or CD, thoughtlessly parroting what someone else learned, thought through, prayed over, and recorded. Indulge in this exercise and before long you will starve your own soul—and, no matter how good the sermons you steal, your ministry will sooner or later, and deservedly, become sterile, for the stamp of inauthenticity will be all over you.

One helpful suggestion: Listen to many sermons, not just one or two. You will be far less likely to steal, and far more likely to be stimulated and helped, if you listen to five or ten sermons than if you listen to one.

Response to Carson’s Review of “Rescuing the Bible”

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A couple weeks ago I noted this: “The latest batch of RBL reviews includes D. A. Carson’s review of Roland Boer’s Rescuing the Bible. The analysis and conclusion are refreshingly blunt.”

Roland Boer just responded to DAC’s review on his blog. His response is telling and sad. It is filled with incorrect assumptions about DAC and reveals his misunderstanding of what he lumps together as “the religious right,” which is “extreme.” This is a common tendency I’ve noticed in people (including ones at BJU and TEDS): people generally present themselves as the sensible mediating position between two self-constructed or self-perceived “extremes.”