The first article in this series can be found here.

Does the God of the Bible have good reasons to allow or cause suffering?

Surprisingly (if you’ve ever watched any films where the question comes up), the answer is yes!

Please note that this particular article is written to address the intellectual question around suffering, so here we will be mainly concerned with whether the Biblical documents give reasons that are coherent, correspond well to other aspects of reality, and whether those answers are intellectually satisfactory. So the objective is less about about giving comfort to a specific sufferer, and more about giving a true and satisfactory answer to the enquirer. I am planning a future post in this series with a more ‘pastoral’ focus, which will be linked here when it’s done: COMING SOON

I’m going to quote the Bible quite a lot now…but not in a way that asks you to believe it is divinely inspired or even reliable in order to follow the argument. Rather, I’m going to quote the Bible because ‘the problem of suffering/evil’ is primarily a challenge to the internal consistency of Biblical religions, so I’m going to use the original Christian sources when I attempt to demonstrate that internal consistency and resolve the intellectual difficulty. I could say anything, but if I quote the Biblical documents at least you can be a bit more sure that I’m not just making stuff up to sound better.

Aside for philosophy fans: (click here to show/hide)

The other reason this has to be handled as an internal question to the Biblical world-view, is that most other worldviews can’t say "There really are injustices and many cases of unfair suffering in the world, so Bible-linked religions are false". Can you spot why they can’t go that route?

The reason is the other worldviews would first need to define what they mean by ‘injustice’ or ‘unfair’! There are many religions out there, but to use atheism as an example: Naturalistic atheists (the sort us westerners usually have in mind) believe that nothing exists beyond the physical matter and force interactions and other such things that can be discovered by physical measurements. This leaves no room explaining why non-physical concepts as ‘justice’ or ‘fairness’ would even exist. So there are three ways they can try to challenge Bible-believers about evil and suffering:

1. If injustice and unfair suffering do exist objectively, then in addition to asking the question to Bible-believers, atheists also have the much bigger problem of explaining the existence of real, moral-obligation-creating, outside-anyone’s-opinion-or-preference, non-physical concepts like ‘justice’ and ‘fairness’. ‘Justice and fairness can’t be objectively violated if they don’t objectively exist! But the naturalistic philosophy shoots itself in the foot if it even admits anything non-physical exists, so this route doesn’t work,
2. Alternatively, if the atheist states that justice and fairness are simply illusions or societal preferences and don’t really exist…then violations of illusions can’t be evidence for anything. If there is no such thing as real justice or fairness, how can the atheist call anything objectively unjust or label any suffering as unfair? It’s like saying ‘I don’t like strawberry ice cream, but it exists so it’s evidence against God’. Personal opinions don’t count as evidence – so this route doesn’t work either.
3. But there is still a perfectly fair way to grill Bible-believers about suffering, though: The question "Why would such a God allow suffering/evil?" must be asked as a challenge to the internal consistency of the Biblical world-view. It is a question of "You say God is good. You say God is all-powerful. How do you explain evil?" That’s fair. But since it’s a question of internal consistency based on Biblical teachings, it’s reasonable to also check the answers provided by the Biblical documents.

Note: *I am not particularly planning to cite the popular ‘free will defence’, mostly because the documents collected in the Bible speak repeatedly and directly to the issue of evil and suffering…and although these sources do treat humans as having the ability to choose and as having responsibility for the current state of the world…I haven’t found these sources particularly using a ‘God has to do things this way to preserve free will’ explanation for God’s own choices.

In fact, I think the message in the Bible acknowledges what we all suspect – although our human choices are rightly blamed for various kinds of moral evil (human evil is far more dangerous and cruel than any other cause of suffering), an all-knowing and all-powerful God could have made us differently if he wanted. And, importantly, he promises to ‘remake’ humans differently as well (Ezekiel 36:26-27, Jeremiah 31:33-34), or at least that somehow the issue of human free will leading to suffering will somehow be resolved. Maybe we’ll just get less stupid? Additionally, it clearly gives examples of God causing suffering and disasters. God has actively chosen to bring suffering into this world, at least for now. By acknowledging these things and then giving us God’s reasons (and his future plans), I think the Bible gives a more robust and more satisfying answer than the (nevertheless still effective) free will defence.*

01 – God is going to remove all sources of suffering and deal with all evil.

It’s best to start with not merely the Biblical explanation, but the Biblical solution for evil and suffering. All throughout the Bible, the writers make clear that God has set a day on which he will undo death, act against all moral evil (Acts 17:31, Isaiah 9:6-7), and then recreate the universe without any suffering so that humans can live in complete joy, fulfilment and peace together forever. (Revelation 21:4-5, Isaiah 11:1-11, 2 Peter 3:9-13 among many others). This is what is meant by eternal life – not only living forever in the future but, as we might say, "really living!" Eternal life also means the ability to have close, personal and (eventually) visible relationship with our creator (John 17:3, Rev 21:3). Here are a few of those passages:

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them.

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 65:17–25 (ESV)

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Romans 8:16-24 (ESV)

So the first Biblical answer is that God has chosen to fix suffering. The question then remains "Then why has he chosen to not end suffering yet? And why ever introduce the possibility in the first place?"

02 – Why not yet?

Peter answers this exact question in his second letter:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:9–13 (ESV) – bold emphasis mine

(Note: He’s not saying suffering happens because the sufferer especially deserves it. An earlier article in this series discusses that misconception.)

Even what we think of as ‘minor’ immoral acts, like passing on a mean joke about someone because it’s just too tasty to resist, cutting corners because doing the right thing will cost us time, effort, money or social standing. Eg copying our friend’s music because the CD is expensive, or cheating on our taxes (oh look there’s unrighteousness and covetousness)

• Taking sides and factions.
• going along with something we know is wrong (or helping cover it up) because there’s a lot of peer pressure and we’re too worried what other people will think of us.
• distorting the truth to benefit our own selfish plans eg ‘throwing a sickie’ to attend a social event

…these all have effects on somebody, whether they find out about it or not. And remember, if there is a God, he always sees us do this and always knows the effect. And the responses to those effects add up too – eg social ‘drama’, tension, and factions; increased prices and use restrictions for music; lower average wages and bosses not trusting or listening to employees. Both the direct and indirect effects of even ‘minor’ immoral acts cause suffering. This is why the world is how it is!

Multiply all these – plus the suffering caused by lust/hatred/exploitation/dehumanising ideals/greed and more – by forever and it would become unbearable! Most of us think staying married to someone we chose for fifty years is pretty good going! Fifty thousand years and you haven’t even scratched forever. If God removed all external suffering and let humanity live forever as we currently are, we’d cause an immense degree of suffering to each other. Not to mention to God himself who has to put up with all our nastiness and selfishness unfiltered, since he knows our thoughts! (Romans 1:29-2:3, Acts 17:24-31)

For example, God declares to Jeremiah:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Jeremiah 17:9–10 (ESV)

(note: the metaphorical use of ‘heart’ in Hebrew was associated with the person’s concious mind and will, not only the emotions as we often do in our culture.)

And Solomon observes:

To show partiality is not good, but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

Proverbs 28:21 (ESV)

Moving to the new testament, Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire."

Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV)

and

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Matthew 5:27–28 (ESV)

And then Jesus warns:

"Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!"

Luke 12:2–5 (ESV)

So according to the Biblical sources, why hasn’t God removed all sources of suffering yet? Well, because ‘sources of suffering’ includes any of us humans who (even occasionally) behave selfishly or immorally and so cause someone else (even a small amount of) suffering. Think about that for a moment…the tiniest bit of introspection should tell us that on ‘suffering removal day’ God would have to ‘remove’ all of us as well!

In the Genesis 3, God’s very first responses to human rebellion were:

1. To hint that a future human would succeed against the one who did the tempting (Genesis 3:14-15) – this is good.
2. To announce suffering and death will be a feature of daily life (Genesis 3:16-19) – this is our main source of confusion.
3. To deny humans eternal life (Genesis 3:22-24) – this is what we’re currently examining.

Notice that by definition, being unfit to live forever means we deserve to die at some point!

Ouch. Let’s pause to think for a second: When we read Bible passages about all of us sinners deserving death we usually think ‘that seems overly harsh’…but if we aren’t fit to live forever (because we do immoral things, and cause suffering, and God can’t allow those injustices to go on forever) then by definition the only other possibly is to not live forever. So…if we do any evil at all, cause any suffering at all…we do deserve to die at some point. That’s uncomfortable, but perfectly coherent with how a good person might deal with bad people: At a minimum, he won’t let them get away with it forever.

So without additional intervention, God’s big day to sweep away suffering and injustice from the world will be the day each of us is chucked on the cosmic rubbish heap, since each of us regularly causes some amount of suffering and injustice. So, within the Biblical worldview we can’t complain too quickly about God’s intervention being delayed.

This is what God is waiting for.

Thankfully for us, this is where God’s over-the-top goodness comes in. He isn’t just a good judge in terms of accuracy and impartiality, he is also a good judge because he is compassionate, he remembers what his judgement will cost us and he seeks for ways to minimise that, longs for the opportunity to restore and redeem us if we’ll accept his offer. So far in this article we have discussed passages that indicate the problem of evil is mostly a problem we create for ourselves, either directly or because evil people cannot be allowed to live forever – it just wouldn’t be right! But we must remember that main subject of the rest of the Bible is God’s offer of undeserved redemption and transformation to every human (at great personal cost to himself…namely that he agreed to suffer, also!), offering us another way so that when he removes all suffering from the world, as many of us as possible get to actually experience that world:

Genesis 15:3-6 John 1:1-5 John 1:9-18 John 1:28-30 Romans 3:23-26 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

The good news

Now back to our first passage:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:9–13 (ESV) – bold emphasis mine

Notice that the key thrust is not that God wants to condemn humanity (if he did he wouldn’t have to wait!) but that he is delaying action against suffering and evil precisely because he is compassionate and would much rather redeem than condemn us. So that’s good news. And it’s an intellectually satisfactory explanation for why a good God would delay bringing complete justice.

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

Ezekiel 18:30–32 (ESV)

and later in the same book:

"Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 33:10–11 (ESV)

But why natural disasters, animal suffering, diseases? etc

There are two more big questions to explain:

• Firstly, although the Biblical documents may have offered reason for God to not step in and remove the suffering caused by human evil, why does God allow or cause what we call ‘natural suffering‘ (death, disease, disasters and so forth) as well as human evil?
• Secondly, "Surely there’s a better way than this? Why did God choose to make us humans the way we are in the first place?"

The first question we’ll look into now, and the second in its own article.

Now let’s think about the reason for continuing death, disease, injury and other forms of suffering which do not usually come from human evil. A number of places in the Bible affirm that God does do these things, eg Genesis 3:17-19, Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 45:7, and again in Romans:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Romans 8:18–23 (ESV)

Animal suffering is an worth discussing, and is brought up by the above passage. I need to do a little more research on it first…

…but for now I’m collecting a list of passages that might relate to the topic:

• Proverbs 12:10
• Luke 12:6
• Matthew 6:26
• Genesis 1:30
• Genesis 1:28
• Genesis 9:1-6
• Exodus 23:5
• Deuteronomy 25:4
• Deuteronomy 22:6-7
• Isaiah 11:6-9
• Psalm 145:9

And Jesus gives a very direct answer to the purpose of suffering:

Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison. And if that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny."

About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too."

Jesus, recorded in Luke 12:54-13:5
(New Living Translation, which I used here because its rendering of Luke 13:1 is more quickly understood by a modern reader than the one in the ESV, highlight the verse reference to see what I mean)

Some points we can extract from Jesus teaching:

1. Pay attention to the signs of the times. To the Jews of the first century, this included the many miracles Jesus did in front of them as well as the everyday hardship of life and the things the people of Israel had suffered nationally. Suffering should at least indicate that everything is not fine, so perhaps we should take that to heart and look for understanding and solutions!
2. Suffering right now is not an indication that the sufferer was relatively worse than any other human. Lack of suffering is not an indication of someone being relatively better than any other human. Suffering is an indication that all of us must repent or perish.
3. Suffering, and particularly the inevitability of our death, is a warning to all of us. Whilst the suffering we see now is unpredictable and not proportional, it reminds us that a proportional and fair judgement is coming, and none of us knows how long we have.
4. We should not ignore the warning, but come to God humbly and ‘settle out of court’ while we still have the opportunity.

We can see God telling people that he has done, and will use natural suffering to warn and to punish in many places (eg Amos 4:6-11, Revelation 2:20-25, the second half of Deuteronomy 28 and more). Notice how he deliberately uses escalating situations to get peoples’ attention. This is merciful – he doesn’t destroy them all at once. In fact, in Psalm 73 we see how the removal of all such warnings can ultimately be an act of judgment despite the apparently reduced suffering for the person. This doesn’t make the suffering much easier to bear of course, but the point is that God has a definite purpose to use it to warn us, hoping that we can avoid the more ultimate judgment and instead accept his offer of eternal life.

Remember that Acts 17:31 makes it clear that the risen Jesus himself will be doing the judging, and also note that Jesus greatly suffered (1 Peter 2:22-24, Isaiah 53:2-12) and does understand our hardships (Hebrews 4:15 is speaking of Jesus). More than that, the same Biblical documents are the ones that teach that Jesus is God in the flesh (so God suffered!), and so here we have God volunteering to suffer hugely to provide the offer of redemption (Philippians 2:5-9, Matthew 20:28) that he is now waiting for us to accept. I might prefer that God kept suffering out of the world, but if he chose to do it this way for whatever reason it’s hard to say he’s being unfair since he subjects himself to some of the worst of it as well.

Other good things accomplished through suffering:

I’m out of time for now but I want to fill in a section here about some good purposes God can have for particular instances of suffering, given that at least some suffering in the world is necessary.

Conclusions

So according to the Biblical documents (the same ones that teach the existence of an all-powerful, entirely good God, and thus prompt the question):

• God cannot delay his intervention indefinitely, as that would prolong all this suffering forever, so he will act at a time he has already chosen, and will destroy evil and remove all suffering from the world. (This is good!)
• The primary reason God allows human evil for now is to allow us humans the chance of redemption. (this is good!)
• The primary reason why God allows or causes natural suffering in this life is a loving warning to anyone who sees it that we should seek this redemption before we face our ‘day in court’ and the full and accurate sentencing we deserve. (this is also good!)

Notice that because of this:

• Using suffering to get our attention and warn us only works if God also reveals the specifics of the problem and his solution somehow so we are able to act on the warning.
• Suffering, and death in particular, is also more effective as a warning if there are no guaranteed patterns, because if they were perfectly predictable then he’d see a lot more people planning doing whatever evil they could get away with right up until the hour of their death and then attempting a last minute change of heart. Many would fail (‘old habits die hard’) and be doomed, and who would live long enough after their ‘death bed conversion’ to tell anyone else God’s message of redemption?
• So real and unpredictable suffering – along with a clear message to turn from evil, seek forgiveness and be transformed – is the best way to rescue as many people as possible. If nothing else, suffering and death make us ask questions, and that certainly causes people to search for reasons.
• Since Christianity is the most widespread religion, the Bible is the world’s most widely distributed book every single year, and Jesus specifically tells his followers to take the message to the entire world, it’s hard to fault God for making his answers out of reach.
• Delaying intervention and warning undeserving people who are in great peril in order to save them is a great good, consistent with being both all-powerful and entirely good.

As I said at the start, I’m not asking you to ‘just believe the Bible’ or something. The point is that the question "Why would such a God allow suffering/evil?" is asked based on what the Biblical documents claim about God, and is presented as a challenge to the internal consistency of the Biblical worldview. So it is also perfectly reasonable to check the answers to that question provided by the same documents. Regardless of how we feel about the answers, we can see that the existence of suffering (for a time, followed by its removal forever) is rationally consistent with the goodness of the God in the Bible, especially if God himself suffers.

I’m expecting to write at least two more posts in this series exploring suffering:

• The first will explore "Why did God make fallible humans in the first place?" (especially if he is capable of letting them be ‘born again’…why not just get it right the first time?)
• The second will explore the pastoral and emotional side of things, a less comprehensive but more practical post to help sufferers and their loved ones.