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The Problem of Evil: Obstacles to Faith with Mark Mittelberg, Part 1

The Problem of Evil: Obstacles to Faith with Mark Mittelberg, Part 1

Last updated on: March 3, 2015 at 4:04 pm by Christian Podcast Central

The Problem of Evil: Obstacles to Faith with Mark Mittelberg, Part 1 2015-03-03T16:04:24-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

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Often, when we learn about the Christian Worldview and Apologetics, we are left wondering how to convey these things to our friends and neighbors. You could easily spend over two hours just examining one small question sometimes.

The classic question that almost always comes up is this: Why is there evil, pain and suffering in the world if God is a loving and kind God?

Well, going back to my childhood, we had a prayer that we would recite (almost sing) at mealtimes:

God is great.

God is good.

And we thank Him

For our food.

We said it so often that this rhyme was embedded in my mind: God is great. God is good. Flash-forward several years, and I saw a “Religious Best Seller” on bookstore shelves titled “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” by Christopher Hitchens. The book and the fact that thousands of people have put the book on the bestseller list, show that there is a prevailing thought these days that God is not great. God is not good.

Their argument goes like this: If God were good, He would have to do something about all the evil in the world. And if He is great, then He has the power to do it. But He doesn’t do anything. He allows evil to go on and on, from moral atrocities to natural disasters to diseases and so on. Therefore, He may be good, in that He sees what is going on and wishes there could be something to do about it but is not great and cannot do what needs to be done. Or, perhaps He is great and powerful and could stop all this calamity, but is not good and doesn’t care if the problems persist. To put it simple: God can’t be great and good and allow evil and suffering to exist.

This is a tough question with no simple answer.

The good news is, as Christians, we have the best answer!

In the next several weeks, we will dive into this dilemma and much more as we discuss the problem of evil and other obstacles to Christian faith.

For more engaging and encouraging videos and podcasts, visit the E-Squared Media Network at www.e2medianetwork.com.

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