�鶹Լ��

There are various Christian responses to dealing with the problem of evil and suffering. Some Christians believe it is pointless trying to understand why evil and suffering exist, as God’s will is beyond human understanding. Others take a theoretical approach to tackling the problem and try to make sense of it using reason. Some Christians believe the presence of evil is an opportunity to respond in a practical and compassionate way.

Biblical response

The biblical response suggests that people cannot understand why God allows evil and suffering to exist. Suffering is a part of human existence and enables Christians to demonstrate their commitment to God.

The biblical response uses the Book of Job, which is found in the Old Testament. Job was a devout and sinless man who led a good life. Satan convinced God that the only reason for this was that Job had a pleasant life, suggesting this made it easy for Job to be faithful to God. God decided to see whether this was the case and allowed Satan to test Job. Satan did this in several ways, for example killing Job’s sons and daughters, and making Job sick. Although Job began to question God’s goodness, he defended God to his friends, and when God heard this he blessed Job.

Additionally, the Psalms show that suffering is intended to be a part of life and that joy and suffering cannot exist without each other. They also show that suffering can bring Christians closer to God.

Theoretical response

The theoretical response argues that evil and suffering are not God’s fault. Moral evil is caused by humans’ misuse of the free will given to them by God.

Additionally, evil and suffering in this life are part of God’s long-term plan, and people who suffer will be rewarded with eternal paradise. This is known as the vale of soul-making response. The world exists as a place for humans to develop their soul by being tested.

Practical response

The practical response is to show compassion to people who are suffering, offer those people help and trust that God will deliver an answer to the problem. An example of this is intercessionary prayers, which are prayers asking for God’s help for people in need.

Jesus also taught that evil is something that can be fought, for example by feeding the hungry and healing the sick. Christians can therefore follow the example of Jesus by working hard to tackle evil and suffering. For example, they can do this by setting up food banks, donating money to charity and becoming doctors and nurses.