Rev. David Holwick * Evening study
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 26, 2006
Isaiah 45:7
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I. The universal problem of pain.
A. Charles Templeton says it is major reason he rejected God.
Templeton used to be an evangelist alongside Billy Graham,
but in later years he became a militant skeptic of
Christianity.
B. How can God allow babies to die of starvation?
C. Strobel also struggled with this question.
II. Why we suffer, according to Professor John Kreeft.
A. Finite humans cannot comprehend God's plans for us.
1) Like a hunter freeing a trapped bear.
a) Bear does not understand and struggles, but the hunter
intends good to come of it.
2) Objection - why do we have to be finite like this?
a) How can God blame us for our inadequate comprehension?
B. God feels our pain through Jesus on the cross.
1) God takes our pain upon himself.
a) Our response to pain should be to empathize with and
love the sufferer.
2) Objection - wouldn't it be easier for God to just send rain?
a) How does dead baby benefit from empathy for its mother?
3) Counter objection - God provides food but we don't share it.
a) But why should God be limited by our sinfulness?
b) If God can do miracles, can't he send rain?
III. Why there is evil to begin with.
A. Free will requires choices, and evil is a possible consequence.
1) A world without suffering is more like hell than heaven.
a) Twilight Zone episode with dead robber on a puffy cloud
where he gets everything he wants.
b) Boredom sets in, he would rather be on earth or in hell
than here. He actually IS in hell.
B. Counter argument #1 - what is heaven like, then?
1) If heaven does not require suffering, why does earth?
C. Counter argument #2 - some verses in the Bible make God the
creator or sender of evil:
"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create
evil: I the LORD do all these things." (Isaiah 45:7, KJV)
"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil
spirit from the Lord tormented him." (1 Samuel 16:14, NIV)
1) Counter-counter argument:
a) God does not tempt people.
"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt
anyone." (James 1:13, NIV)
b) "Evil" in Isaiah 45:7 is better translated "disaster."
IV. Our recognition of evil points to God.
A. Without God there can be no absolute definition of evil or good.
1) But God must be "hidden" so we will choose him freely.
B. Counter argument - humans could "invent" evil as a factor in
biological/evolutionary survival.
1) Also, different cultures arrive at different absolutes.
V. Atheism is elitist.
A. The vast majority of humans have believed in a Supreme Being.
B. Counter argument - most have also believed in a flat earth.
1) Also, most have not believed in the God of the Bible.
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This evening series was adapted from Lee Strobel's book "The Case For Faith."
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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