Doubts & Questions
“Evil and suffering prove God doesn’t exist.”
The existence of evil and suffering does not disprove God - if anything, it raises deeper questions: Why do we recognize suffering as wrong? Why do we react with moral outrage? If the world were purely random, suffering would just be part of nature - no different from a predator hunting its prey. But when we call something evil, we are appealing to an objective moral standard. Where does that standard come from?
Saying that a transcendent anchor for morality doesn’t exist doesn’t help the critic’s case - it merely invalidates it. What are they aiming at? If there’s no God, then suffering is just an unfortunate accident of natural selection, and morality is nothing more than a human illusion. In that case, why should suffering even matter? Either:
They are frustrated with evil and suffering and blame God for it - which means they actually believe He exists but don’t like Him.
They accept that suffering is just what “survival of the fittest” looks like - the weak suffer, the strong thrive. But if that’s true, why object to suffering at all? It’s just nature playing out. If this is their position, it’s far more troubling than the existence of God.
So what’s the end game of this question? If atheism is true, then suffering is meaningless - just atoms colliding. But if Christianity is true, then suffering is real, it matters, and it has a purpose.
Christianity teaches that God created a world where love and choice exist - but real love requires free will, and free will allows for the possibility of evil. This explains why suffering exists, but it doesn’t mean God is indifferent. Far from it - He personally entered into suffering through Jesus.
Jesus did not stay distant from human pain - He stepped into it, lived through it, and ultimately took the worst suffering upon Himself on the cross. Christianity does not ignore suffering - it provides the only real hope beyond it. Unlike atheism, which must either ignore suffering or justify it as natural selection, Christianity acknowledges it, grieves it, and promises ultimate justice and restoration.
If we recognize that evil is real, then the question isn’t, “Why does God allow suffering?” but “What is He doing about it?” And the answer? He has already begun the work of undoing it in Christ.