Friday, September 29, 2023

"the problem of evil" (moral relativism, atheism, and Christianity)

Enjoyed Greg Koukl's talk last night at IU Southeast on "the problem of evil"-- as most poignantly illustrated by Bertrand Russell questioning how one can talk about God when kneeling at the bed of a dying child. My favorite nuggets:

-What does the self-styled "moral relativist" say? There's no such thing as evil. So, nothing other than inconsistency or hand-waving.

-What does the self-styled "atheist" offer? Not much if anything. Where do laws/standards come from? How do they explain the problem of evil? #CricketsOrCrap

What does Christianity offer? Quite a bit.
a.) God created institutions to reduce evil (family, govt, church)
b.) promise/hope of future justice
c.) God's patience with our contributions to evil
d.) God empowers C's to deal w/ their own evil thru Holy Spirit
e.) God's overarching emphasis on redemption
f.) and of course, especially, the Cross.

Certainly a tough question-- and more importantly, tough to experience-- but it's not a good look to chuck philosophical rocks when you got nuthin to offer.