Relational Theodicy

 

Relational Theodicy

 

Theodicy : a reasoned defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil or suffering. Often stated with specific examples such as:

 

(Stephen Fry): “... bone cancer in children? What’s that about? ...Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain?”

 

or

 

(David Attenborough, quoted in New Scientist 16 May 2009): “People say: ‘How you can see hummingbirds, roses, and orchids and not believe in the Lord’s splendour’? But if you’re going to look at those things, you should look at other things too. Imagine an African boy with a parasitic worm boring into his eye... I find that intolerable.”

 

or

 

(R.C Sproul in Tabletalk Magazine): "Putting a human face on evil can make it more understandable—it’s no surprise that evil people do evil things. Nature’s violence can be more troubling. How do we deal with natural disasters that do not respect persons but rather indiscriminately claim the lives of the elderly, infants, and the handicapped along with able-bodied children and adults? 'How,' many people—even many Christians—ask, 'could a good God allow such things to happen?'"

 

The argument against God's existence due to suffering given by atheists is formulated like this ...

FIRST PREMISE: God is all-powerful and benevolent.

SECOND PREMISE: An all-powerful being would be able to prevent suffering/evil.

THIRD PREMISE: A benevolent being would want to prevent suffering/evil.

FOURTH PREMISE: Suffering/evil occurs

CONCLUSION: Therefore God does not exist.

 

Such questions have been asked right back into the mists of time and the attempt to answer is called theodicy. There have been all sorts of attempts - some more speculative, others more scriptural - this is mine. I give a theodicy because i beleive that this may be the most common objection to beleif in God and as an evangelist i want a well developed argument to demolish this stronghold so many people hide behind. the answer to suffering i beleive, in its simplest form, is actually the Gospel. But the Gospel given in terms that can be related to only if the universe is in fact the way it is. So i call my amswer a 'realational theodicy'. Let me explain ...

 

As a parent and an educator i am well aware that at school and at home we create a 'safer' subset of adult life in which children can learn without lasting destructive consequences (if done right that is). For example if a child refuses to tidy up their room they might be denied dessert as a punishment. Yet if an adult fails to do their job in a productive way or keeps arriving late and leaving early then they might lose their whole career. If a child takes something that doesn't belong to them, then when caught, they might be banished to their room with no television for the night. Yet if an adult steals something significant , like someone else's car, they might face time in prison. And so on. Relative to adult life, childhood, if well managed by parents and teachers, is a sandbox for playing roles and learning lessons. What if, relative to the eternal Kingdom of Heaven or the unending horror of Hell, this little life we lead is for each of us also a sandbox, a 'safer' subset schooling us for what is yet to come. Think about it: the loss of television privileges or dessert seems devastating to the child at the time, but these consequences are trifles compared to the loss of a career or a long stay in prison - as well we adults know - or do we? what if all the terrible things that happen in this life: calamity, disease, death itself - are actually, relative to eternal consequence, far, far safer.

 

So what do we learn about in our sandbox life? Time, distance, power, blessing, consequence and more. Let's consider time for a moment. All measurement is relative to a standard. there is a place inFrance where they keep the perfect metre and the perfect kilogram etc. All other metres and kilograms are related to these agreed standards. Time too is relative or relational and not just in terms of a standard of measurement such as seconds or Planck time units or galactic years. Our personal understanding of how long an hour, a day, a year and even a lifetime is experiential. Emmotion and circumstance may make time seem to stretch or shrink but over all we, through direct and continual experience, come to value the duration of time; we come to understand how quickly or slowly it passes. And so when we sing John Newton's famous hymn lyrics: "when we've been there ten thousand years bright shing as the sun" - we are actually overwhealmed by the thought of such a long existence! Our emotions are then even further heightened by Newton's next lines: "we've no less days to sing God's prayers than when we'd first begun".  Newton well knows that if people really think about what he is saying here they will first extrapolate that 10 000 years is more than 100 lifetimes and then realise that, as eternity stretches ever onwards, even this seemingly vast amount of time is actually really no time at all in comparisson to the infinte - though, in order to begin to appreciate duration in relation to etrnity it is necessary to first understand a lifetime - in the sandbox. A similar discussion could be had about distance or power.

 

Now stand as a parent or teacher, outside the sandbox as it were, and try to explain truly adult concepts to the small child within. Imagine trying to explain taxes or mortgages or criminal law to the little one whose whole world is plastic spades, buckets and soft styerilized play sand. You could do it but you probably won't have any succes if you use words such as "deductions", "escrow" or "culpability". Adult languages and examples will just not do. Instead you must relate. You must come down to their level, use their language and experience. You must simplify and add detail only when the main idea has been grasped. teachers everywhere are well aware of this concept. Relating in these terms is often how God himself speaks to us in scripture. John Calvin in his Institutes wrote: "For who is so devoid of intellect as not to understand that God, in so speaking, lisps with us as nurses are wont to do with little children? Such modes of expression, therefore, do not so much express what kind of a being God is, as accommodate the knowledge of him to our feebleness. In doing so, he must, of course, stoop far below his proper height." For example when scripture mentions God's arm (Deuteronomy 33:27) or nostrils (Psalm 18:8) it is not actually suggesting that God has arms or nostrils. John 4:24 says that “God is Spirit.”  God is omnipresent, so would his nose be everywhere as well? Of course not. We however do have arms and nostrils - we experience smell and understand the joy of smelling a good meal being cooked; and we have arms and know the value of a strong arm that protects and works hard. In the sandbox of life we have the nose and arm and their qualities and thus can relate in some way to what is being told to us in scripture about something which goes far beyond arm or nose, but at least represents a starting point for our reckoning.

 

Now let's consider that if this is indeed God's mode of operation for teaching us - child-like as we are in our sandbox world - then what could suffering be teaching us? what does suffering relate to and, if the sandbox is a "safer" subset of what is to come, then even the worst suffering we can experience in the sand box is still far gentler than that which lies in wait for many of us in eternity. a scary thought indeed - but not one without a silver lining as we shall see.

 

But first let us not only ask why there is suffering in the world but also: why is their pleasure? along with wondering about the curse we must also ask: why the blessing? Why does scripture say in Matthew 5:45: "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."? Why do we live in a world where there are golden and purple sunsets as well as vast and terrible hurricanes? Why do we get to enjoy the giggle of a happy baby and shudder at the recorded tirades of adolf hitler? Why do we have the incredible function of the eye and the horror of medically untreatable blindness? Job said: "...The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." If we must ask why the Lord takes away, we must also ask why he gives.

 

Imagine for a moment an alternate universe where there is no suffering - since this is the primary complaint of the sceptic: that a universe with suffering in it could not have been made by a benevolent all mighty God. Imagine a world where people never hurt eachother and nature is completely benign -  a utopia. No volcanoes, floods, droughts, disease or poisonous snakes, no wars,  crimes or broken families and so on. But also in this universe people are still ignoring God, still refusing to thank him for life and provision, still sinfully desiring to be the gods of their own lives. As an aside one could argue that such a universe would be impossible since people could not help but harm eachother if they have such great freedom, but let's assume in this scenario that somehow such things do not happen and there is no suffering at all. Now here comes a prophet and he calls people together and tells them that God is angry with them for refusing to acknowledge him and that he is going to judge them and punish them in a place of eternal torment. In a world without suffering why would the people beleive that God is angry? Without calamity how would they understand the concept of "punish"? If they ask the prophet to describe hell - how will he relate it to them?

 

Or imagine the opposite universe: a place of utter ceasless horror where there is no percievable blessing - a distopia. A place where there is nothing but continuous disaster. where there is such consumate suffering that even the blessing of life itself is viewed as a curse. Now here comes the prophet and he calls the beleagured people together to tell them about God. how would they believe that God is loving or merciful? how would they understand any description of Heaven? How could they concieve of grace?

 

In our actual universe we, by God's wisdom and blessing, have both suffering and joy to relate to. Our sandbox has been 'stocked' with everything we need to understand the prophet's warnings and encouragements, to understand the curse and the blessing.

 

For example in the book of Revelation it says in 21:4 4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away". How could we understand these words unless we lived in a universe where we directly or indirectly experience death, mourning, crying or pain? In other words the future blessed absence of these things can only be understood if they are first presently or historically tanglible.

 

Scripture describes a great feast in the Kingdom of Heaven to come (Isaiah 25:6-8; Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 14:15 and 22:16-18; Revelation 19:6-9). Eating a sumptuous feast in the company of people we love is something the vast majority of people can relate to. It is a wonderful feeling - a celebration. A good fulfilling meal in a beautiful place with great company is pretty much the happiest way for a perspn to spend time. Our common experience of feasting makes the reality of the future concept being described by the authors of scripture just about imaginable.  the feasts we have on earth during our lifetimes:Christmas, weddings, Thanks-giving, significant birthdays and so on, are all types of the Kingdom of Heaven. Types or typical of what is to come. This necessitates a brief discussion of Christian typology.

 

Paul in Romans 5.14 calls Adam "a type of the one who was to come"; in other words a type of Christ. Christian Typology refers to the study of symbols in history that relate to later persons (most particularly Christ) or events or places. For example the flood in the story of Noah could be related to Baptism (1 Peter 3:20–21) which was a later development in history. Noah's Ark itself can be related to the rapture of the church (Luke 17:27). The People of Israel as they wandered in the desert living in tents and waiting for the time of the crossing into the promised land can be related to all beleivers everywhere waiting in a sinful world for the second coming of Christ (Hebrews 11:13-14 and 1 Peter 2:11). All the blood letting and sacrifice of the old testament points to the ultimate blood letting on the cross (Hebrews 10). Many many more examples can be made but take the point - scripture confirms that God often speaks to us through symbol or type. We can relate to symbols and types because they are drawn from our life experiences. Jesus spoke in parables for this very reason. the community he spoke to knew very well about the stupidity of sheep, the difficulty of sowing seeds, the problem of weeds, the fustrating loss of a coin and the way yeast works through dough. Now, consider carefully, can it be true that suffering and the temporary allowance of the existence of evil may indeed be typical? Are the calamities of this world given as types of hell? and again the blessing also are typical. as we have seen the feasts we experience on earth are typical of what is to come in paradise. and the thing to remember about types is that they are not exact correlations but hazy representations of something more substantial. Ad am is not the same as Christ but is in some ways a type of christ - as was David. Scripture outlines this concept beutifully in 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." Types are like imperfect replections in the beaten copper mirrors of biblical times. Remeber this later when we think about the fires of hell.

 

Let's have a closer look at a verse:Isaiah 40:31 "... but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." How can one hope in the Lord unless one needs to hope in Him? by which i mean, if we lived in a place of utter perfection and fulfillment already  -  a utopia - then hope would be unnecessary. How can we understand renewing our strength if we never lost it? Who among us has never faced a moment of utter exhaustion in some way or other? In a utopian universe we would never need to rely on God to renew our strength. Let's move further in to the verse. Who has ever watched a bird soaring on high and not wished to have that power and freedom, to gaze down on the glory of earth and ride the invisible rivers and whirlpools of the sky? Who has ever run and not grown weary or walked long distanced without losing energy? this one verse is full of relatable types and so it gains its meaning with greater clarity because it reaches into our experiences and imaginations and stimulates deeper understanding of concepts that are far to grand to be explained any other way.

 

I could likewise expound  about towers of refuge (Psalm 61:3), sweet flowing springs (John 4:14), good sheppherds (John 10:11) and lands flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8). I could also talk of wind tossed waves (Ephesians 4:14), clouds without water (Jude 1:12) and weeds plucked and bundled for the fire (Matthew 13:30).

The point is simply again that scripture tells us that the answer to why their is suffering has to do with communication  - information given through types and symbols that we can relate to - and cannot, dare not, ignore. For if the blessings we find in life tell us that God is loving, kind, good, patient, creative, generous and so on, what does the existence of suffering tell us about Him?

 

Can we understand that the same God who made the dawn chorus - all the glory and spelndour of the birds singing as the sun rises - is also the God who makes a person so deaf that they are unable to hear it (Exodus 4:11)? The same God who invented fire and made it so useful to us also made it so very dangerous and destructive (James 3:5b)? Let's talk about fire. It is a very rare adult who can say they have never once been burned in some way. I think it is safe to say we have all touched something hot with our hands and suffered for that brief exquisite kiss. Recently on a camping trip i burned my thumb. I was in such relentless pain for hours afterwards that it literally consumed me. I could not enjoy my beautiful surroundings nor the lovely company. All i could think about and focus on was my thumb. the pain was like an anchor tugging me back to its reality and precluding everything else. At the time the pain seemed unending and almost blinding. All i wanted to do was quench it in water and be left alone to my misery. I am sure you can relate.

 

When Jesus described hell as a place where the whole body is burned in an unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43; Matthew 3:12 and 5:30) - he really knew that his audience then and now would strongly relate to the pain of burning because they had all had similar experiences. Understand carefully now that this Man of God - the messiah who is telling us about hell is also the creator of the universe. He created the nervous system that can feel fire and the brain that can percieve and be wracked by it. Is it impossible to assume that, at least in part, the reason why he did this was so that when he warned us of the horror of Hell he would be able to relate it to something that was almost as bad - that is, to a full body burn that cannot be soothed, consumes all of the attention and never relents? If he made hell and he made burning and he chooses to relate them then we can learn at least two things here: hell is at least as bad as a full body burn and that the reason pain exists is to make this point very very clear to us. The warning is given relatable substance - as an act of mercy - because the reality that follows the temporary burning pain in sandbox of  life is in fact far worse (because burns heal - hell doesn't stop - ever)

 

Let's explore Jesus' teaching on hell further. Why do we fear the dark? Mainly because it contains the unknown and because it makes us far more helpless. Being in the dark limits our options. We can relate to trying to run away from something in the daylight being a lot easier than trying to escape pursuit in the dark - even if this was only childhood games of tag. the dark limits our ability to choose and is possibly but unknowably full of dangers - whether they be waiting criminals or simply the low sharp edge of a tea table perfectly poised to hurt an unwary shin. Being in the dark can also be very lonly - in the dark our fear makes keep quite and prevents us from seeing a friendly reassuring face. How many times have i heard people brazenly state that they would prefer to go to hell because all the best rockstars are there - or some such similar nonesense. Little do they know that while hell will indeed be crowded it will also be a lonly self consumed existence. do they imagine that someone in agony will want to talk to them? do they imagine that in their own torment they will want to listen? Hell is described by the one who made it as a place of darkness. Matthew 8:12 "... will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (See also Matthew 22:13 and 25:30 and also Jude 1:13). Not just sandbox darkness but "outer darkness" or literally the outermost - the darkest darkness. A place of fear and ignorance and lonliness. A place that makes people weep and/or gnash their teeth in helpless fury. Is it possible to beleive that the one who created the concept of light and dark and our ability to perceive these things did at least in some way make them so that we could relate them to these important characteristics of hell - the darkness in the sandbox giving us an ironic but safe glimpse of eternal blind fear, lonliness and helplessness?

 

Hell is a place where there is no sleep, no rest (Revelation 14:11 and  Isaiah 48:22). Anyone who has agonised through a sleepless night can relate to that, right? Did God create insomnia? Of course he did. Hell is not only surface pain but somehow it is suffering on every level including internal pain. Jesus taught: Mark 9:48 "...where their worm does not die". What is this mysterious worm? It is literally a gnawing worm - like a maggot. Ever had a stomache bug?  intestinal pain of any kind is deeply unpleasant and again quite consuming. when you are ill in the gut you can think of little else. You become trapped between your sick bed and the toilet. you lose your appetite and may even wish you could die. We can relate to the idea of having something eating us up inside. Did God create intestinal problems? Of course he did.

 

Scripture is full of examples of God's benevolence - a benevolence we don't deserve - but is also sprinkled with examples of God's righteous readiness to judge and punish. Written down we have accounts like the fall in eden, the great flood, the curse of Babel, the plagues of Egypt, Nadab and Abihu, Uzzah, Ananias and sapphira - all given as stern evidence that God will act in sovereign anger whenever it pleases him. Natural disaster, sickness, old age and death all add relatable weight to scripture. We literally don't just have to learn from distant history because, in our very own lives, we have been burnt, stumbled in the dark, suffered insomnia and had stomoch flue - we have suffered loss, empathised with others and come somewhat to terms with our own mortality. the great warning is not just printed in a book but emblazoned accross the story of each of our lifes. In unmissable lessons we learn that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11) and will move in unending judgement and condemnation on a scale far beyond our "safe" little sandbox. C. S. Lewis had it dead right when he said: "... it is because God loves us that he gives us the gift of suffering. Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Suffering is a gift because it tells us something is wrong and gives us specific relatable means to understand the consequence of not fixing it. What is wrong is that we have alienated ourselves from God, sought to be our own gods even though we are so limited in resource and intelligence, we live selfish unthankful lives and we hurt eachother continually. and as we have seen the scripture warns us that there is coming a place of punishment that takes every ounce of suffering that is possible in this world - that we can begin to relate to - and intensifies it and make it unending.

 

Pain is part of a healthy body. Hanson's disease - leprocy - has as one of its symptoms the loss of feeling. A body that cannot percieve pain is in great danger because when it is being damaged it does not take steps to prevent further damage. This is why Lepers are often missing body parts. it is terrible to be burned by a hot plate in the kitchen. what do you do the moment the pain comes? you jerk your hand away from the plate and seek medical attention or cool running water - you take care of the problem. but imagine you couldn't feel the pain and just left your hand on the hot plate until it cooked it to the bone? Again, i am relating because even humans use relational methods to communicate - because they are in fact very effective.

 

So pain is not always a bad thing. Sickess drives us to seek a cure. Lonliness drives us to seek companionship. War may drive us to seek peace. Death drives us to live. Parents out of love may allow their child to suffer a painful course of treatment to save their life or limbs. A couple may deprive themselves of holidays and freetime and work multiple jobs to save up enough to get on the property ladder. An athlete may endure years of excruciating training to become the best at their skill. a musician might practice for hours every day until they have blisters in order to excell at their instrument. Examples can be multiplied - the sand box is full of them, thanks be to God.

 

in conclusion then: suffering and evil are tolerated in this world by God because he is using these things to drive us to repentance and salvation through his Son by first making it quite clear to us that the most dangerous thing we face is not the calamities of this little world, but the wrath of the eternal, thrice Holy Creator God of the universe.

Hebrews 10:31  "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

 

God is warning us about hell in more than words. He has given us the gift of percieving and experiencing unpleasant things which tell us something of the judgement that is coming

Proverbs 1:7  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

 

It is right to fear God and then, as the men of pentecost did, call out and say:"what must we do?" (Acts 2:37)

 

to which the reply has always been:

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself." (v38)

 

So my theodicy is in fact the gospel - the answer to why their is suffering ... is love - relateable, multidimensional, experiential, eternal, sacrificial - love.

Or to put it another way without suffering there is no true relateable understanding of condemnation and damnation, no deepseated understanding of the need of a saviour or the cross or of Christ.

Suffering and love are together at the start of eternity - suffering and love are central to the gospel. Suffering communicates what words and blessing cannot.