Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

MP3

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

Two Sermons on 1 Timothy 2:1-8

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Here are links to a couple sermons I recently preached:

  1. Pray For Those In Authority (1 Tim 2:1-8) (6-22-08) | MP3 (48:13) | outline
  2. Does God Have Two Wills? Does He Want All People to Be Saved in One Sense and Not Want All People to Be Saved in Another Sense? (1 Tim 2:4) (6-29-08) | MP3 (45:26) | outline

The first is expositional, the second more theological (and heavily indebted to John Frame’s The Doctrine of God and John Piper’s “Are There Two Wills in God?”).

Mike Bullmore MP3s on 1 Cor 7

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My pastor, Dr. Mike Bullmore, is currently preaching through 1 Corinthians, and this morning he finished a sensitive, insightful, pastorally wise exposition of chapter 7.

  1. Marriage in God’s World (April 13, 2008)
  2. A Oneness That Glorifies God (1 Cor 7:1–7) (April 20, 2008)
  3. Glorifying God in Challenging Marital Situations (1 Cor 7:8–16, 39–40) (April 27, 2008)
  4. To Marry or Not to Marry: Singleness and the Glory of God (Part 1) (May 4, 2008)
  5. To Marry or Not to Marry (Part 2) (May 18, 2008)

Today’s sermon (#5 above) is particularly outstanding. Its target audience is older teenagers and their parents, but it is especially applicable to singles in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc. Bullmore gives two reminders followed by five statements summarizing biblical priorities in preparing for marriage. Highly recommended!

Mike Bullmore’s preaching is like a combination of John Piper and C. J. Mahaney! More of his MP3s are available here, here, and here.

Collin Hansen Discusses “Young, Restless, Reformed”

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On April 24, 2008, Dr. Doug Sweeney and Collin Hansen discussed Hansen’s Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008). An MP3 of this discussion, sponsored by the Henry Center, is now available from the Henry Center’s media archive (MP3 | video).

I reviewed Hansen’s book in March for the forthcoming issue of Themelios (more on that later). Highly recommended!

T4G 2008 MP3s

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All of the MP3s for the general sessions and panel discussions are now available for free downloads. Brief bios of the speakers are available here.

I’d recommend listening to these in order:

  1. Ligon Duncan: Sound Doctrine: Essential to Faithful Pastoral Ministry
  2. Panel Discussion 1: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler
  3. Thabiti Anyabwile: Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church
  4. Panel Discussion 2: Anyabwile, Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler
  5. John MacArthur: The Sinner Neither Able Nor Willing: The Doctrine of Absolute Inability
  6. Mark Dever: Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology
  7. Panel Discussion 3: Dever, Duncan, MacArthur, Mahaney, Mohler
  8. R.C. Sproul: The Curse Motif of the Atonement
  9. Panel Discussion 4: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler, Sproul
  10. Albert Mohler: Why Do They Hate It So? The Doctrine of Substitution
  11. Panel Discussion 5: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler
  12. John Piper: How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice
  13. Panel Discussion 6: Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, Mohler, Piper
  14. C.J. Mahaney: Sustaining a Pastor’s Soul

Related:

D. A. Carson on Evangelicalism (and Fundamentalism)

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The following two (lengthy) MP3s by D. A. Carson are penetrating:

This afternoon I listened to the more recent one (“What is Evangelicalism?”), and I was encouraged by Carson’s 4.5-minute analysis of the current state of fundamentalism. It is not particularly constructive when evangelicals and fundamentalists broad-brush and launch grenades at each other. Contrast Carson’s conciliatory attitude here: listen from 42:10 to 46:30.

Update: A transcript of the 4.5-minute analysis is available here.