God's Problem

In times of questioning and despair, people often quote the Bible to provide answers. Surprisingly, though, the Bible does not have one answer but many ""answers"" that often contradict one another. Consider these competing explanations for suffering put forth by various biblical writers:

The prophets: suffering is a punishment for sin The book of Job, which offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; and suffering is beyond comprehension, since we are just human beings and God, after all, is God Ecclesiastes: suffering is the nature of things, so just accept it All apocalyptic texts in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament: God will eventually make right all that is wrong with the world For renowned Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman's inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity.

In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith—or no faith—to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.

Filip

2023-07-25

It walks through the problem of evil from a Christian standpoint very well. I felt that Bart could look on more views related to apocalyptisism (unsure of spelling). For example, I know of a Christian sect that talks about how the rebellion in Eden questioned Gods right to rule, Gods sovereignty, and that God from that point on, left people at large be, to see if they could govern themselves. As Adam and Eve seemed to have wanted. He permits this to make sure that when he reclaims control, the questioned that arose is answers for eternity. I used to believe this, but don’t anymore. But this view is something that still convinces people to this day.