Sue Stottmeister was jogging through a park in Rockville, Maryland two weeks ago as she always did before picking up her children from school. But on this day she would not complete her run. Instead, the Sunday school teacher was attacked and brutally beaten.
When police found her, she had been lying in the snow for five hours. She died on the way to the hospital, leaving a grieving family and a shaken community.
Whenever something like this happens, people often wonder: Why does God allow evil to exist if he’s able to stop it? It’s a question that has caused many to doubt God’s existence — or his goodness, or his power. The problem of evil bothered journalist Lee Strobel so much that he researched and wrote a book to answer this and other hard questions about God.
Strobel was an atheist when he decided to examine the historical evidence for and against the existence of God. His journey led to his conversion and a vibrant faith in Christ. But Lee still struggled with questions that seemed to have no logical answer — such as why a loving God would allow someone to murder a devoted Christian mother like Sue Stottmeister.
For the answer to the question of evil, Lee interviewed Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft of Boston College. Kreeft gave Strobel the traditional teaching regarding why evil is abroad in the world. Humans cannot enjoy both free will and a world free from sin. “Once God chose to create human beings with free will,” Kreeft said, “it was up to them … as to whether there was sin or not.” God created “the possibility of evil, but it was humans who actualized that potentiality.”
Kreeft then offered Strobel a second explanation for the reality of evil. He suggested that God might tolerate certain short-range evils in order to achieve long-range goods that humans cannot foresee.
Imagine, he said, a bear in a trap, and a hunter who wants to liberate him. The hunter tries and fails to win the bear’s confidence, so he has no choice but to shoot the bear full of tranquilizers. The terrified bear thinks the hunter is trying to kill him. He doesn’t understand that the hunter is acting out of compassion.
“I believe,” Kreeft said, “God does the same thing to us sometimes, and we can’t comprehend why he does it any more than the bear can understand the motivations of the hunter.” We simply have to trust God.
Finally, Kreeft concludes, people don’t get away with evil acts, even though they may seem to. God will one day settle the accounts; evildoers will be punished for the suffering they’ve caused.
In the meantime, we must remember that God weeps with those who weep — that his own son was acquainted with sorrows and grief. And he will help us to bear the agony of the world’s evil.
As Corrie ten Boom wrote of her time in a Nazi concentration camp, “No matter how deep our darkness, [God] is deeper still.”
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For further reference:
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000.
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Version from April 18, 2007
“Death, Where Is Thy Sting?: The Virginia Tech Massacre” by Charles Colson
Who among us is not grieving with the families of those who died at Virginia Tech this week? We mourn with them and pray for the families of the victims and for the victims who survived.
Investigators are still seeking answers as to why this terrible crime was committed. And many of those watching events unfold are likely asking this very question on a spiritual level. That is, why did God allow this slaughter to happen? If He had the power to stop it, why didn’t He?
It is a question that has caused many to doubt God’s existence — or His goodness, or His power. It did with a friend of mine, a journalist named Lee Strobel.
Lee was an atheist when he decided to examine the historical evidence regarding the existence of God. His journey led to a vibrant faith in Christ. But Lee still struggled with the questions that seemed to have no logical answer — such as why a loving God would allow someone to murder thirty-two people at a Virginia university.
Lee interviewed Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft, who gave Strobel the traditional teaching regarding why evil is abroad in the world: Humans cannot enjoy both free will and a world free from sin. “Once God chose to create human beings with free will,” Kreeft said, “it was up to them … as to whether there was sin or not.”
True, but Kreeft then offered a second explanation for the reality of evil. He suggested that God might tolerate certain short-range evils in order to achieve a long-range good that humans cannot foresee.
Imagine, he said, a bear in a trap and a hunter who wants to liberate him. The hunter cannot win the bear’s confidence, so he has no choice but to shoot the bear full of tranquilizers. The terrified bear thinks the hunter is trying to kill him. He does not understand that the hunter is acting out of compassion.
“I believe,” Kreeft said, “God does the same thing to us sometimes, and we can’t comprehend why He does it any more than the bear can understand the motivations of the hunter. We simply have to trust God.”
Finally, Kreeft concluded, people do not get away with evil acts, even though they may seem to. God will one day settle the accounts. Evildoers will be punished for the suffering they have caused; the righteous will be rewarded.
But let’s look at the alternative explanation: the question of why God would allow such suffering — does that mean that God does not exist? If He doesn’t exist, there is still suffering, but there is no chance for redemption.
And we must remember today that God weeps with those who weep. God comforts those who mourn through His Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls “the Comforter.” We pray that this Comforter would bring peace and reassurance and the knowledge that God loves them to those who are suffering the sudden loss of loved ones this week.
Events like this, as with September 11, are sobering. Life is short and fragile. So as we mourn for the Virginia Tech families, let’s remember how suddenly our own souls may be required of us. Are we prepared, today, to face our God?
Ultimately, of course, death does not have the final word. On the cross, Christ triumphed over death; He will give eternal life to all who have faith in Him. In the end, as it is written in Revelation, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
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Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.