This is typically spouted by someone
who wants an excuse for ignoring what the Bible says. More
often than not if you ask them to give an example they will
immediately quiet down because they have none.
We know the Bible to be true because
it is God’s Word and God can’t lie according to Isaiah
55:10-11, John 17:17, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 4:12. The Bible
itself claims to be true in 2 Timothy 3:16. “All scripture
is God-breathed…”
Not everyone will accept the claims of
the Bible’s truthfulness coming from the Bible itself
however. Instances where there appear to be errors or
discrepancies in the Bible are matters that need to be
carefully looked at and studied. There are some instances
where we simply have not found proof of the truthfulness of
a Bible passage but new archaeological discoveries are being
made every year that time and time again verify that the
Bible is truth. More importantly, not one discovery has been
made to disprove any claim in the Bible.
If God is so good, why is there
evil?
God didn’t create evil, it entered the
world through sin. This question is more a question of God’s
power however as in, “why doesn’t God stop evil from
happening?”
In order for free will to exist, man
must be allowed to make his own choices. Because we are
sinful by nature, sometimes these choices are evil. While
the existence of evil is a problem, it is more important
that God has a solution.
First of all, evil does not go
unpunished. There will be a day of reckoning for all evil
deeds. It may appear as if evildoers prosper today but
nothing escapes God’s notice. Because we are all sinful
though, God did something about our desire to do evil. God
sent Jesus into the world for the forgiveness of sin. Evil
has been defeated by Jesus on the cross but it has not yet
been removed from the world.
Why is there suffering?
The problem of suffering is closely
tied to the problem of evil. There is suffering in the world
today because there is sin in the world today. God didn’t
create suffering, man brought it upon himself when Adam and
Eve first sinned.
Contrary to popular belief though,
suffering can be good as it strengthens our faith and causes
us to rely more closely on God. This doesn’t mean that we
should ask God for more suffering but it should be noted
that suffering gets our attention.
When people face difficulties in life,
they can either grow closer to God or they can become angry
and bitter and turn away from God. It is impossible to stay
at the same place spiritually where enduring suffering.
Suffering is also a matter of what we
believe we deserve. The US Declaration of Independence says
that we have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. No such promise is given in scripture however.
When we complain about suffering, we are really saying that
what is taking place is not fair. In other words, God isn’t
just. If God were just though, we would be far worse off
because we deserve punishment for our sins. Instead of
calling God unfair when we see suffering we should thank Him
that His mercy keeps it from happening more often than it
does.
If there's a hell, why would a
loving God send people there?
Man is separated from God because of
sin. God can’t allow sin into heaven. Because of God’s
abundance of love, He sent Jesus into the world to die for
our sins and suffer the penalty of those sins for us.
God doesn’t send people to hell as
much as their rejection of Jesus condemns them to continue
on their pathway to hell. For a fuller in depth theological
see Spreading Light Ministries’
Fate of the Unbeliever.
