The problem of suffering and evil is one of the most persuasive challenges against the Christian worldview. As defenders of the true worldview, Christians need to be prepared to address this challenge. Interestingly enough, this challenge does not only come from unbelievers but also from those within the Church. The idea that animals died before humans arrived on the scene (and fell into sin) is a stumbling block for many to coming to Christ, yet the natural world tells of a history of animal suffering and death prior to humanity. It seems as though the scientific evidence and the claims of Christianity are at odds with one another. In his book Peril In Paradise (paperback and Kindle), Mark S. Whorton addresses this supposed incompatibility directly. His confrontation of the issue is in the context of a long discussion with Christians who support such an incompatibility (which appears to give the unbelievers' concern credibility). The book is 233 pages divided into four parts and sixteen chapters. This review will provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book's content, but it is not meant to replace reading the book to dig more deeply into the details of the arguments presented by the author for his conclusions. The review will conclude with this reviewer's thoughts and recommendations.

David Bentley Hart’s essay The Doors of the Sea: Where was God in the Tsunami? is a delightful little book in many ways. It is very well-written, and it has some provocative and often helpful things to say about theodicy. One of the things that is most interesting about this book is that Hart spends at least as much time (maybe even more time) speaking of what we might call “meta-theodicy” as he does in developing a theodicy proper. That is, he has as much to say about when, where, and in what circumstances theodicy is appropriate, and about what general approach the Christian should take to theodicy, as he does about the particular theodicy that he wishes to defend. This reviewer actually found these portions of the essay more engaging than much of Hart’s own theodicizing!

In God, Freedom, and Evil Alvin Plantinga (AP) attempts to rebut the logical problem of evil [i], which posits that the following two propositions [i] are inconsistent:

(1) God (an omnipotent and perfectly good being) exists
(2) Evil exists

Where is the Inconsistency? 
AP spends the first section of the book attempting to demonstrate an inconsistency between the two premises. He argues that (1) and (2) are neither explicitly nor formally [ii] contradictory, and (following J. L. Mackie) decides that the most promising course for the atheologian [iii] is that the propositions are implicitly contradictory. A set of premises is implicitly contradictory if one or more of the terms violates a logically necessary truth. What the atheologian is looking for, then, in pressing the logical problem of evil is a necessary truth which, when added to (1) and (2) above, yields a contradiction.

In Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: Theism and the Problem of Animal Pain, Michael J. Murray outlines and assesses the adequacy of various defenses of theism in light of ‘the Darwinian picture’. The Darwinian picture consists, roughly, of the following claim:

For hundreds of millions of years—long before man arrived on the scene—non-human animals capable of experiencing real and morally significant pain have inhabited the earth.

The conflict between the Darwinian picture and theism I shall henceforth call ‘the problem of animal suffering’ (or PAS). PAS is, in Murray’s estimation, worth investigating because it a version of the problem of evil that has been relatively untouched in philosophy, because it makes suffering a central component of the development of life[i], and because he thinks that the standard responses to other versions of the problem of evil are largely impotent when it comes to animal suffering.

Life is tragic.

With that statement, Pastor/Author Tim Keller embarks on a study of evil and its ramifications in Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. As he notes, nobody can avoid troubles and it’s impossible to cope with them entirely on our own. We need help and the best help, Keller asserts, comes from God. However, while suffering drives some people to the Lord, it drives others away from him. Keller explains how and why God is trustworthy in the midst of pain.

The author presents his case in three parts. He begins with a theoretical look at the phenomenon of suffering and the variety of ways different cultures and religions throughout history have sought to deal with it. Whether moralistic in nature (Hindu), transcendent (Buddhist), fatalistic (Muslim) or dualistic (a battle between good and evil), these approaches to the subject see the world as both material and spiritual and suggest that something good can out of suffering, usually in terms of human improvement.

For Christian apologists, the publication of Divine Evil?: The Moral Character of the God of Abraham and the 2009 conference that gave birth to this volume together constitute an exciting development. Since September 11, 2009, the so-called “New Atheists” have not been shy about their objections to the moral atrocities committed in the name of religion throughout history. Among these moral atrocities are apparently evil commands issued by Yahweh in various Old Testament passages. But despite this persistent New Atheist critique, a thorough response from the apologetics community has not been immediate. When Paul Copan’s Is God a Moral Monster? appeared in 2011, he wrote in his first chapter that “Despite the strong intellectual response to the New Atheism, one area left unaddressed is that of Old Testament ethics.”[1] Copan’s book was a long-awaited and important step in addressing this neglected area. Although Divine Evil? first appeared around the same time and addresses the same subject as Copan’s book, it has something different to offer. The editors, Michael Bergmann, Michael J. Murray, and Michael C. Rea, have produced a scholarly discussion of the character of the God of Abraham that offers an opportunity for some of the greatest minds in the philosophy of religion to directly interact on the salient Old Testament[2] passages. While discussion of these passages has long existed in other fields, in Divine Evil? we finally see the attention of contemporary Christian philosophers turning more fully to this important dispute.

In partnership with The PowerPoint Apologist, Apologetics 315 is offering a series of 12 Free PowerPoint presentations, released monthly. These cover 12 essential topics in apologetics. These are free to download, modify, and use for your own apologetics presentations. (However, please retain the final two slides featuring the PowerPoint Apologist and Apologetics 315 resources.)

The tenth in the series explores the Problem of Evil:
"Why Christianity?—In An Evil World"
Download it here. Slideshare here.
Enjoy.

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Matthew Flannagan. Original audio here. Transcript index here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics315. Today’s interview is with Doctor Matthew Flannagan. Matt is from New Zealand, he holds a PhD in Theology, and a Masters and Bachelors in Philosophy. He and his wife blog at www.MandM.org.nz on the topics of philosophy of religion, ethics, and theology. The purpose of our interview is to get to know a little bit more about Matt, his area of expertise, his blog, and his recent debate on morality with Raymond Bradley. Thanks for speaking with me today, Matt.

MF: Not a problem, it’s a pleasure.

BA: Now, for those who are not familiar with you and your work, would you mind telling us a little bit more about yourself?

In this 18-minute video (found here) Paul Copan discusses the issue of how a good God could allow a world containing evil. More Paul Copan resources here. Paul Copan books here.

Full MP3 Audio here. (18 minutes)

Video here.

Check it out.

In this set of three videos, Christian philosopher Greg Ganssle explains the classic argument that God does not exist, called ‘The Problem of Evil’. He distinguishes two versions of that argument. He gives a response to the deductive version of the Problem of Evil on behalf of someone who believes that God exists. Then Greg considers the evidential version of the Problem of Evil, and gives a theistic response. More resources by Greg Ganssle here. More videos like these here. [HT: Doug Geivett]

"While Western atheists turn from belief in God because a tsunami in another part of the world caused great suffering, many brokenhearted survivors of that same tsunami found faith in God. This is one of the great paradoxes of suffering. Those who don't suffer much think suffering should keep people from God, while many who suffer a great deal turn to God, not from him."

—Randy Alcorn
If God is Good, p. 102 [HT: Truthbomb]

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Bruce Little. Original audio here. Transcript index here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.

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BA: Hello this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315. Today's interview is with Dr. Bruce Little. He is the Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He's also the author of A Creation-Order Theodicy: God and Gratuitous Evil. The purpose of our interview today is to learn a bit more about Dr. Little and his work, discuss the topic of evil and theodicy and seek his advice for Christian apologists. So Dr. Little, thanks for doing this interview.

BL: My pleasure, Brian.

BA: Would you mind telling our listeners a bit more about yourself and your background?

Chad Meister’s Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed is a remarkably concise and accessible introduction to the “problem of evil”. Meister summarises a quarter century of academic debate and philosophical reflection in a book that can be read in an evening. He also finds time to critique Hindu and Buddhist responses to evil, and to present a moral argument for Christianity based on the gravity of evil and suffering.

Mesiter leads with the logical problem of evil, which was presented most effectively by JL Mackie.
i) A wholly good being always eliminates evil as far as it can.
ii) There are no limits to what an omnipotent and omniscient being can do.
iii) So, if a wholly good, omnipotent and omniscient being exists, it eliminates evil completely.
iv) Evil has not been eliminated completely.
v) Thus, a wholly good, omnipotent and omniscient being does not exist.

Given that most of us are perplexed to a certain extent about evil, this new book on the subject by Chad Meister, professor of philosophy at Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana, is aimed at just about everybody.

Meister begins his work with an attempt to answer the question of what evil is. He notes that “the meanings of the word are multifarious and often fall short of capturing the depth and complexities of the term” (1). He offers several examples, then goes on to classify evil in two categories—moral and natural.

The author asserts that, if we are to talk about evil and its relationship to God, we must also elucidate what we mean by “God”. He then lists a number of properties in the traditional theistic understanding of God, including omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence.

"When you say there's too much evil in this world you assume there's good. When you assume there's good, you assume there's such a thing as a moral law on the basis of which to differentiate between good and evil. But if you assume a moral law, you must posit a moral Law Giver, but that's Who you're trying to disprove and not prove. Because if there's no moral Law Giver, there's no moral law. If there's no moral law, there's no good. If there's no good, there's no evil. What is your question?"

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with Paul Copan. Original audio here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics315. Today I interview Christian apologist and philosopher Paul Copan. This is my second interview with Paul, the first covered a number of different topics for apologists, but today’s interview will focus on his recent book release entitled, Is God A Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God. I hope to explore just a few of the many questions that Paul covers in this extremely useful book. Thanks for joining me today Paul.

PC: Glad to be with you Brian, thank you.

BA: Well, I’ve enjoyed all of the books that I’ve read of yours, but I must say that this one in particular could be one of the weightiest in its subject matter. It covers the emotionally charged issues that surround the “God of the Old Testament,” and you’re looking at the moral and the ethical questions that are raised by these various historical narratives in the Old Testament. Why don’t you, Paul, if you could, just describe briefly what your overall goal is in writing this book.

Theodicy: An answer to the problem of evil that attempts to "justify the ways of God to man" by explaining God's reasons for allowing evil. Two of the more important theodicies are the "soul-making theodicy," which argues that God allows evil so as to make it possible for humans to develop certain desirable virtues, and the "free will theodicy," which argues that God had to allow for the possibility of evil if he wished to give humans (and angelic beings) free will. Theodicies are often distinguished from defenses, which argue that it is reasonable to believe that God has reasons for allowing evil even if we do not know what those reasons are.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 114.

Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering?
by Lee Strobel

Today's interview is with philosopher and theologian Ken Samples, senior research professor at Reasons to Believe. (Hear a prior interview here.) He talks about the Straight Thinking Podcast, the Unbelievable? Conference 2012 in London, an abductive approach to apologetics, the explanatory power of Christianity over atheism, morality and the human condition, the problem of evil and suffering, the different kinds of evil in the world, God's purposes in suffering, gratuitous evils, how to address the problem of evil with tact, and some of the key ideas in his newest book 7 Truths that Changed the World: Discovering Christianity's Most Dangerous Ideas. To enter the drawing for a copy of the book, just fill in this the quick entry form here.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here. (49 min)

Enjoy.
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