It would be one thing if God simply walked away from humanity when we spoiled his creation. Paul’s letter to the Romans shows us that in fact God had to give us over the consequences of our rebellion – but that he has done so only to a degree. Giving us over fully to the consequences of disobedience would be exaclty what we deserve. Hell is the cosmic trash-heap earth and all it’s broken reality could have wound up in. But he’s stopped short of that. He’s got something else in mind. But where does he start. This place is enough of a mess as is!

His strategy, in a word, is called Incarnation. Incarnation in a word means God showed his face at the scene of the cosmic disaster we refer to as The Fall (mankind’s plunge into self-willed rebellion). His ultimate solution? Go to ground zero and risk everything to clean it up. We’d all struggle with a God who simply sat in heaven and let our sin scarred planet rot under its own self-destructive impulses. Instead, God came here in the form of a vulnerable human being. In word, that’s the incarnation. And its a strategy he expects his followers to employ as well!

This week at Gathering we’ll turn the corner on our conversation about suffering and evil to look at how Jesus is God’s answer to the problem. John Parsons, director of the Omaha Street School will be our guest presenter. John’s a guy who understands God’s incarnational pain-relief strategy. Come give him listen, grab a lunch and join the conversation.

“Until the evil man finds evil unmistakably present in his existence, in the form of pain, he is enclosed in illusion. . . . No doubt Pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul.”
The Problem of Pain p. 95

Some may ask “Just what is the Problem of Pain?” Here’s a classic formulation of the problem of pain you’d find in any philosophy 101 class. It’s a good starting point.

1 – God exists.
2 – God is omnipotent (all-powerful).
3 – God is omniscient (all-knowing).
4 – God is omnibenevolent (all-loving).
5 – God created the world.
6 – If 1-5 are true, the world should not contain evil.
7 – The world contains evil, therefore God does not exist, or does not possess one or more of the above attributes.

Source: J. L. Mackie – Evil and Omnipotence, 1955

Seems pretty air-tight at a first glance. What do you think? If you’re a Christian reading this and you don’t have an answer to it, you’d better watch your words in a conversation about evil and suffering. Do us all a favor. Think it through before you glibly quote Romans 8:28 to someone in the middle of a painful experience. There is way out of the logical trap, but it’s not what you’d think at first.

We’ve just launched a new series in Gathering here at CCC dealing with the Problem of Evil – and it got me thinking what a universal solidarity humanity shares through the experience of suffering. Everyone has a personal connection to suffering. Everyone! We’d better figure out why.

Researching the topic for our first session yesterday I stumbled over this guy on YouTube. He stopped me in my tracks! Something about the combination of his appearance and his keen mind drew me in. I wanted to sit down and talk with the guy to get where he’s coming from.

Check out The Big Fat Thorn and give me your thoughts.

I’d like to respond to what he’s saying and I’d like to hear from you. Does he have a point? Are we consigned to the conclusion that God cannot be the standard by which we discern the difference between good and evil? Is God the ultimate cause of evil?