Answering the Tough Questions (1 of 4)
The Problem of Evil and Suffering
Ken Boa
The problem of evil, I regard to be one of the most profound objections to the Christian faith. Up until quite recently, I think it was the greatest objection to the Christian faith. The problem of evil is so powerful because, in fact, it affects all of us in very, very real ways. It's only recently, as I say, that this has taken on perhaps the second most powerful objection to Christianity. In the last, fifteen or twenty years, another questions has taken first place in our culture as being the most difficult objection for people to get around, and that is the "exclusivity" of Christ claims, vis a vis, other claims, to truth, especially in a world where we are now seeing, in our culture, in Western civilization, the first generation that has been raised with the mentality that the Christian world view is perhaps only one option in the smorgasbord of alternatives, just a cafeteria. The more options that are seen to be out there, the more in fact, it cheapens each particular item. Because, after all, if you miss this plate of turkey, you can always get the chicken and the beef, and you can get this and that, so it's not that big a deal anymore. And so, we are now looking at a world view, as I've said many times before, a culture in which tolerance is elevated beyond truth as a virtue. We have to ask ourselves this question then, as we go onto that issue: What really, are the implications of these truth claims of Jesus? As we explore that, we will be looking at that after we deal with this tough question.
The problem of evil relates very directly with the problem of suffering. There is a spiritual evil, but there is also a physical evil. The physical evil, we call suffering, something that is a passive consequence of choices that have been made. As a result, I'm going to be claiming of a moral and spiritual evil. I'm going to be suggesting then that we need to look at...What is t ...
The Problem of Evil and Suffering
Ken Boa
The problem of evil, I regard to be one of the most profound objections to the Christian faith. Up until quite recently, I think it was the greatest objection to the Christian faith. The problem of evil is so powerful because, in fact, it affects all of us in very, very real ways. It's only recently, as I say, that this has taken on perhaps the second most powerful objection to Christianity. In the last, fifteen or twenty years, another questions has taken first place in our culture as being the most difficult objection for people to get around, and that is the "exclusivity" of Christ claims, vis a vis, other claims, to truth, especially in a world where we are now seeing, in our culture, in Western civilization, the first generation that has been raised with the mentality that the Christian world view is perhaps only one option in the smorgasbord of alternatives, just a cafeteria. The more options that are seen to be out there, the more in fact, it cheapens each particular item. Because, after all, if you miss this plate of turkey, you can always get the chicken and the beef, and you can get this and that, so it's not that big a deal anymore. And so, we are now looking at a world view, as I've said many times before, a culture in which tolerance is elevated beyond truth as a virtue. We have to ask ourselves this question then, as we go onto that issue: What really, are the implications of these truth claims of Jesus? As we explore that, we will be looking at that after we deal with this tough question.
The problem of evil relates very directly with the problem of suffering. There is a spiritual evil, but there is also a physical evil. The physical evil, we call suffering, something that is a passive consequence of choices that have been made. As a result, I'm going to be claiming of a moral and spiritual evil. I'm going to be suggesting then that we need to look at...What is t ...
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