"... It was man, not God, who brought pain, suffering, and death into the world. This is perhaps the most pernicious result of a naturalistic worldview. It has man shaking his fist and blaming God for what rightly belongs to himself."

I was visiting one of our members at the hospital this past week when a man came in to say hello to her. At first I thought he was a nurse, then from his name tag I learned that he was a volunteer chaplain. In the midst of our subsequent three-way conversation the subject of suffering and the will of God came up. It was obvious to me that there had been some discussion on this subject before I arrived since it appeared that both of them were referring to a previous conversation. As I was a newcomer to this discussion, I just settled back to listen and continued to do so until I was asked my opinion. When that happened I said a few quick things from scripture, not knowing whether the chaplain was just making conversation on this subject or if he was actually struggling with it himself. The conversation went on for a few more minutes, then after a brief further visit, the chaplain and I both had to leave and go our separate ways.

I have been thinking about the conversation ever since. What affected me most about the exchange as I reflected on it was that it appeared that this man was truly struggling with the question of how a loving, all-powerful God could allow suffering of innocent people in the world.

If the chaplain was really wrestling with the problem he’s not alone. It is an issue that perplexes many. Some former believers even attribute the loss of their faith in God to their inability to discover a suitable answer.

I’m told that Charles Darwin, author of Origin of the Species, gave up his faith in God after the suffering and death of his daughter.

It is also said that contemporary billionaire Ted Turner, owner of the cable television channel CNN and Turner Broadcasting Company, and a strident atheist, gave up his faith in God after the loss of his beloved sister to a painful disease.

Of course there are others.

This is the many-times asked question after natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes in which hundreds, or thousands of innocent people perish. It most certainly has been the topic of conversation in the wake of the tragedy of 9/11 and the subsequent terrorist attacks around the world.

Inability to provide a reasonable answer to the question of how a loving God could allow the terrible pain, suffering and death that goes on in the world everyday may be the greatest destroyer of faith in God in our modern age. I suspect that some Christians cope by simply pretending that there is no problem. While such an approach will work for awhile perhaps, it is often this kind of believer who has a crisis of faith when pain, suffering, and death finally hits close to his own life or loved ones.

Some of you know that I have preached on this subject before. We have looked together at various passages that give reasons for certain individual cases of suffering. Recently however, in my personal reading, I have become increasingly aware that difficulties surrounding this question may stem from a false view of world history. If that statement sounds strange to you, I’m not surprised. It is something I had never fully considered until I read an article by Ken Ham and Jonathan Sarfati of the apologetics ministry called Answers in Genesis. The article stopped me in my tracks. I had one of those "slap-yourself-in-the-forehead-and-say-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that" moments. I will share some of the things I learned from them in this sermon, acknowledging that though the words of this message are my own, the major concepts were learned from them.

Why is there pain, suffering, and death in a world that God designed? Natural disasters take the lives of many. Millions die in war. Evil runs rampant in some parts of the world. Innocent people suffer. It all seems so senseless! The question of the atheist and skeptic is this: How could a loving God allow it?

Let me begin by putting before you:

I know you are familiar with these two views. But perhaps you had not considered them from this angle - so don't tune me out early.

The first view, the one you should be very familiar with if you’re a Christian, comes from the Bible. It says that a powerful and loving God created the world and all living and non-living things in it in six literal 24-hour days(1) and that the world continues and is sustained by the power of this same Creator.(2) I don’t apologize in saying that I hold this view as the only view that is consistent with Scripture. But we’ll leave me out of it for just a bit.

The second view seems to be man’s best explanation of how it all happened. It says that the world and all living and non-living things in it are the product of millions of years of mechanistic evolution, driven not by any superior being but simply by random chance and natural selection.

Each of these views has its own explanation of where death, pain, and suffering fit in. Here is how the first view explains it:(3)

http://answersingenesis.org/home/area/overheads/pages/oh20010907_77.asp

This is the way the Bible explains pain, suffering, and death. These concepts come primarily from the book of Genesis and supplemented by several New Testament books. Notice that it is a time line starting at "the beginning" and progressing into the future. Its time frame is very likely thousands of years, not millions as the other view holds. Let me take you through it a point at a time:

Initially in the history of the world (a time that Genesis 1:1 refers to as "the beginning") there was no death, pain, or suffering among the air-breathing birds, animals, or man.

According to Genesis 1:30 all of these living creatures were vegetarian.(4) There was no need for man or any other creature to kill and eat a fellow creature.(5) There was no evil such as murder, rape, or child abuse. There was no disease like rabies or cancer. There was no mental illness. There was no suffering. God said in Genesis 1:31 that this original arrangement "very good." With that I think we could all agree. Imagine a world where there is no pain, no suffering, and no death. No human or animal has to be killed or maimed for the survival of another. This is the way that God created the world.

Death first came into the world when man sinned. Adam was told ahead of time that the day he disobeyed God he would die.(6) We all know what happened. Romans 5:12 sums it up by saying, "…through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin…." Adam and his wife brought sin, pain, suffering, and death into a world previously had none of these.

From the point of Adam’s sin onward, pain, suffering, and death have been with us. This is because of the curse that God placed upon man and the whole creation at the time of Adam's sin.(7) Human beings began to die. Animals and birds also were affected. Actually, the whole creation was affected.(8) Things began to run down and decay. This curse has continued over the thousands (likely not millions) of years of man’s history right down to this day. The pain, suffering, and death that resulted from the curse will continue until God ultimately abolishes it at the end of earth’s history.(9) Death is called "the last enemy" in the Bible.(10) It is an intruder. It is not there because of what God chose but because of what man chose.

After the abolition of death, for those who have accepted God’s forgiveness and the eternal life that it brings, no one will have to die.(11) Death, according to Revelation 20:14, is ultimately thrown into a place called the Lake of fire. The absence of pain, suffering, and death among those who are saved will then go on for eternity.

To summarize then, death, the enemy, along with pain and suffering, was brought into the world by man and will remain until God calls an end to it. For those who will willingly accept the rule of their Creator, life is still tough. The time of death and suffering prevails on the word. But it is also temporary.(12) It had a beginning point and will have an ending point.

Let’s move on now to the second proposed history of the world that attempts to explain death, pain, and suffering.

http://answersingenesis.org/home/area/overheads/pages/oh20010914_78.asp

This second view of the history of the world is held by many that don’t believe in the God of the Bible and sometimes don’t believe in God at all. Some Christians also try to hold this view, or mix it with the other, because they don’t realize the inconsistency of their position.(13) This view holds that life came from non-life totally by random chance, perhaps in some pre-historic swamp or puddle somewhere. It depends upon a time frame that must provide millions of years of history in order for it to be believable. Note the main parts of the diagram:

"The beginning" here would be that real or imagined point at which non-living components came together in a totally random manner and the very first "life" came into being. No one knows what this living thing was because we have no proof that it ever existed. But that’s what this view demands.

Of course from the very beginning of life according to this view of the world’s history, there was also death. That original living thing had to die to make room for other, more successful living things. As some living things flourished, others things died and became extinct.

In fact, life and death, according to this view, have been partners and a permanent relationship of history from the very beginning in the supposed mechanism that drives the ever-complicated "evolution" of life forms. The stronger, successful ones live long enough to reproduce themselves. The weaker, less successful ones (by far the majority) die. Of course eventually they all die. Pain, suffering, disease, death, and extinction, according to this view, have gone on since the beginning of time and will continue indefinitely into the future - a solid line of unbroken death, pain, and suffering that will never cease until everything is dead. There never has been, according to this view, a time when there wasn’t pain, suffering, and death.

To sum up these two conflicting views of the history of death then, the first one suggests a time in the past and a time in the future, when there is no pain, suffering, and death. Death, in this view, is an intruder - a temporary enemy. The second view says that death, pain, and suffering have always been with us and always will be - indeed they are necessary as the driving force behind the "evolution" of life. So what does this have to do with our initial question about pain, suffering, and death?

This next illustration has both views shown together for easier comparison. Let's see what we can learn by comparing the two views.

http://answersingenesis.org/home/area/overheads/pages/oh20010921_79.asp

I don't know about you but I can immediately see a powerful reason why someone who holds the second view of the history of death would find it very difficult to believe in an all-powerful, all-loving God. Look again at the picture. It's a solid highway of pain, suffering, and death from beginning to end. Death is not only present - it is necessary. And when you consider the timetable of millions of years that it claims, it seems unbearable! Animals devouring animals. People killing people. Animals killing people. Survival of the fittest. A world of tooth and claw – from the very beginning! It’s the law of the jungle where, if an end is conceived at all, it is only one of total death through annihilation – an end to the world - perhaps when an asteroid hits the earth and snuffs out all life. If this were a true picture of what the Creator has made, then I would have a hard time believing that a so-called "loving" god was behind it, too! And if such a so-called "god," after creating such a mess, had the audacity to say in his book that it was "very good," I too, would probably be a militant atheist! And I would laugh at those "believers" who stubbornly persisted in their foolish faith. There is nothing at all good about this picture!

But of course this second view of the history of death is not accurate because it's not the one presented by the God of the Bible. That brings me to a second observation.

I can see that there is a lot more to hope for in the first view of the history of death than in the second. From the first view we learn that the God of the Bible didn't make His creation full of pain, suffering, and death. He made it perfect. When He said it was "very good," it was! It was a paradise. Man could walk through it free of fear. He never grew old. He could live forever because there was no death to bring an end to his life or the lives of his loved ones. There is also hope of another period in the future when things will be restored to the condition that existed in the first place. And anyone can have it if they want it. Peter put it this way in Acts 3:19-21: "Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things…."

I see thirdly that it was man, not God, who brought pain, suffering, and death into the world. This is perhaps the most pernicious result of a naturalistic worldview. It has man shaking his fist and blaming God for what rightly belongs to himself.

http://answersingenesis.org/home/area/overheads/pages/oh20011102_86.asp

"But wait," someone says. "It was Adam who sinned, not me. Why should I suffer for what he did such a long time ago?" Sorry friend. You can't get off the hook that easily. Romans 5:12 that we referred to earlier does say, "through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin…." But then it says, "and death spread to all men because all sinned." If you have never sinned then you have something to claim. But can you make such a claim? If you do you may instantly be culpable for the sin of lying! The truth is, had we been in the Garden of Eden instead of Adam, every one of us would have botched it just the father of our race did.

Fourthly, I can see an important difference in the reasons for death, pain, and suffering in each view. Let's suppose the skeptic says, "But isn't there pain, suffering, and death in both views? How can you say one is any better than the other?" Here's my answer. Yes there is pain, suffering, and death in both views, but what is the reason behind it in each view? In the second view, the reason for the pain, suffering, and death is to supposedly make things better. It is the driving force behind the evolution (and supposed perfecting) of life on earth. Pain, suffering, and death must always exist under this explanation. There can never be a time without them. There is no other way for things to move along. If you take pain, suffering, and death out of the modern theory of evolution, the whole thing grinds to a halt because it depends upon strong and successful things surviving and weak and unsuccessful things dying out. Actually, it depends upon everything dying to make room for the next generation that is supposed to be better than the last. Now what is the reason for the pain, suffering, and death of the first view? Remember that these were not a part of God's original creation. It wasn't until sin entered the picture that they came in. So why did God allow something so ugly to happen? I suggest He did it in order to show man what life is like without God. If man chooses to go it on his own without the help of his Creator, he will learn what it's like. We are told in Colossians 1:17 that the Creator holds all things together. I take that to mean that if God were to suddenly remove his influence from His creation, everything would fall apart. But what if He has just partially removed His sustaining influence? We still see good things in this world, don't we? It's not all bad. But some of it certainly is. When Adam sinned, God partially removed His sustaining power. He cursed the creation to function, at least in part, without Him. That's why things are running down. That's why there is death and decay and decline everywhere we look. John 5:26 says, "[God] the Father is himself the source of life."(14) What do you suppose happens when man moves himself apart from the source of life? The answer is simple: he dies. What do you suppose happens if he continues to keep apart from the source of life? The answer again is obvious. He continues to die. "But isn't that also a picture of futility?" says the skeptic? "If God is so loving as you say, why doesn't He provide a way out or a way to put an end to the pain, suffering, and death?" He has my friend. That's the good news. Rather than take away the penalty for sin, which would teach man nothing other than that he could continue in rebellion against his Creator, God has actually entered into this world of pain, suffering, and death suffered Himself, in the form of a man, The Man, Jesus Christ, in an unmatched display of love, and paid the penalty Himself. That is seen in a number of places in the Bible. We only have time for a couple.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

2 Corinthians 5:21 says that Christ became "sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

God's answer to the pain and suffering and death of mankind was the pain and suffering and death of His Son! That's God's compassionate, loving response to the problem of death, pain, and suffering.

Do you see that last period of time represented by the blue arrow in explanation number one? It says "no death." That arrow is pointing into eternity - no death for eternity. That's what we're talking about my friends. That's what Christians are living for. We understand that while we must experience death and pain and suffering here, for a little while longer, soon we'll be in a place that is the way God intended it all along. God will know who those are who want to live with Him forever. He will also know those who don't.

Writing to Christians, the Apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:17:

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." NIV

Would you like to be a part of that? Or are you just hopelessly attached to that million-year highway of death, pain, and suffering in explanation number two? The choice is yours to make for a little while longer. Why don't you make it now?

Footnotes: Use your "back" button to return to your place.

1. Genesis 1
2. Colossians 1:17
3. Thanks to Answers in Genesis for making these charts available. http://answersingenesis.org
4. Hebrew: nephesh (neh'-fesh); from OT:5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
5. According to Genesis 9:3, God did not allow the consumption of flesh until after the sin of Adam and Eve.
6. Genesis 2:16-17
7. Genesis 3:17-19
8. Romans 8:22
9. Revelation 22:3
10. 1 Corinthians 15:26
11. See also Isaiah 25:8; Luke 20:36; 1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:14; Revelation 21:4
12. Revelation 21:4
13. I refer here to the view called "theistic evolution."
14. John 5:26, Today's English Version.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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