In the aftermath of the Aurora shooting, it's important as Christians to season our words with salt. To answer wisely giving the right answer at the right time. When people raise the problem of evil, they could be asking a few different things. It's important to understand what is being asked so we can give the timely, appropriate answer. After such a horrific event, people often are asking for comfort rather than an intellectual answer.
When approaching the problem of evil it is important to begin by making some key distinctions. Distinctions help us to define the issues more precisely, which leads to greater clarity of the problem as well as the solution. This is just one reason philosophy is such an important tool for believers. Here are some of the key distinctions.
First, it is important to distinguish between the intellectual problem and the existential problem. The intellectual problem requires a tough-minded philosophical response while the existential problem requires a tender-hearted pastoral response. If you attempt to answer the existential problem merely with philosophical abstractions or Christian clichés, you may as well keep your mouth shut.
This distinction needs to be considered on a personal level as well. You may have answered the intellectual problem with careful philosophical analysis but another question remains: Is your soul prepared for suffering? This question haunts me a bit, particularly since my wife and I have had kids. Sometimes I think about how I would respond to God if something tragic were to happen to one of my kids and I must confess, I am a little pessimistic about my response. I think it reveals my need to put a greater amount of trust in God and not in just having good intellectual answers.
Second, we need to make a distinction between different kinds of evil. There is moral evil, done by human beings (think 9/11), and there is natural evil, caused by physical events (think Hurricane Katrina). This distinction is important because our response to each may be different, careful to address the relevant features of these different kinds of evil.
Third, we need to distinguish the logical (deductive) problem from the evidential (inductive) problem. The logical argument claims the existence of God is logically impossible given evil and therefore, belief in God is necessarily false. If the logical argument succeeds, it would spell the end of Christianity in particular and theism in general. The evidential argument attempts to show the existence of evil makes it unlikely that God exists. It claims the evidence of evil against God's existence makes it more probable that He does not exist rather than that He does exist. Again, this distinction is vital as our response to the logical and evidential problems will be different.
Amy,
What would you say the probability that Christianity is true and why? I'm asking about your personal confidence. Obviously you can refuse to answer if you like.
RonH
Posted by: RonH | July 25, 2012 at 02:11 PM
Amy
"Louis, I don't think the problem with these guys is thin skin. I think the problem is that they have contempt for apologetics, apologists, and evangelical Christians, so they'll take any opportunity to insult and impugn their motives."
I don't think it has to be an "either or" issue. I think we can find examples of each. Some driven by hostility and some that are genuinely offended. It can be hard to know which in some cases.
Posted by: Louis Kuhelj | July 25, 2012 at 02:28 PM
It's not just that just "a video" Ron, i don't know if you you went to link i posted or not which tells much more.This is only one of many examples that connects this to satanic mind control via symbology and ritual to forward the antichirst agenda from a one world religion to gun control. It's an agenda , wake up children of God. The world (and sadly most christians too) are just blind to see the satanic deception that is full in their face, from the pop industry, movies, secular religion and philosophy, monuments and worldly rituals. The world will just call it all crazy "conspiricy therory". Why do christains have such a hard time getting the fact that this world is evil, deceptions are rife enough to to even fool the elect and satan is the prince of it via his vessels that control it. Perhaps so many of you are so comfortable with your lives in the world and that you live a nice here in this evil world and then go Heaven that you ignore reality.
I find the lack of discernment on here to plainly shocking. You are so fearful of offending that you can longer tell the truth from the lies of the world. Just look at your dollar bill, they put it right in your faces and still you refuse to see the truth.
Posted by: Andrew | July 25, 2012 at 03:16 PM
Fair enough Amy.
And I think you are doing a fine job. So please don't take my prior remark as calling that into question.
It turns out that I was wrong about why you shut down the comments. I still wish you hadn't had to do so, but by now I suppose you're a pretty good judge of when things are shaping up into a horrid snipe-fest, and I certainly don't intend to second guess you on that.
Posted by: WisdomLover | July 25, 2012 at 03:37 PM
Andrew wrote:
"The only way we anyone can be saved is by the our Lord and Saviour. Who can not say those murdered by this evil have not been saved some suffering or tribulation in this evil world?"
What do you mean by this?
Posted by: John | July 25, 2012 at 03:38 PM
Amy,
I agree with you on that. Some people can't let a perceived opportunity pass.
Posted by: squallybimbadine | July 25, 2012 at 05:45 PM