A couple of weekends ago something tragic happened in Boise, Idaho. An angry man tore through a three-year-old's birthday party with a knife. He killed the birthday girl and injured many others, mostly children of varying ages.
There are many reports on what happened and everything I have read concurs that the man had been asked to leave due to his behavior days before. So far they have stated that this does not appear to have been a hate crime, more a "revenge" sort of thing.
At least, that's what's being painted right now. Perhaps more will come out during the upcoming trial and things.
I realize that this is one incident, that tragedy happens everywhere and all the time.
We have shootings in our schools. Children are neglected and abused across the globe and no matter how hard we try to fight against it, we keep seeing it happen.
How can we believe in a good, loving God when faced with this on a daily basis?
If God loves us all so much, why does He let it continue? Why doesn't He stop it?
Theodicy is a theological term. It literally means "justifying God" and it deals with defending the existence of an Almighty, loving, and good God that permits evil.
Going through the news these days tends to be an exercise in theodicy. Faith flags under all the hate, all the pain we see there.
And when it's not in the news, when it's in our own lives, we become Jacob wrestling with God. (Genesis 32:22-32) We want to know why. No matter how faithful we try to be, we still want to know why.
There are many defenses that have been given through the ages. We are reminded that for us to have free will, the ability to choose God, there must also be another choice we can make. And that choice has been given to all mankind, not merely the ones who agree with us.
But there are other tragedies that have nothing to do with choice. We have children with cancer. We have illnesses that attack anyone at any time. Choice has nothing to do with that. Where does our faith stand here?
When I was in school, this section of theology class was particularly important to me. These were questions that kept me from returning to church for many years. I could not find an acceptable answer on my own, and I think that's why God led me to go to school in the first place.
The Bible doesn't seem to address the defense of God against evil, not in plain words. Yes, we brought sin into the world through a choice. Yes, we propagate that sin every day with the choices we make. Sin brings death. The cycle of suffering continues.
But if God is the creator of all things, that means God created sin as well. He created that choice.
And that brings us back to the main question; why?
While I still have no clear answer to give, my eyes are drawn to the Cross. Because at the Cross, Jesus suffered. Evil nailed Him there, but love chose to share our suffering. Love chose to connect with our pain.
Sacrificial lambs were not tortured. They weren't whipped and mocked. They were killed, and that blood satisfied the debt.
That tells me that the Cross was a deliberate choice. A way for me to remember that even in my darkest hour, Christ identifies with me so that I can identify with Him.
There are many reports on what happened and everything I have read concurs that the man had been asked to leave due to his behavior days before. So far they have stated that this does not appear to have been a hate crime, more a "revenge" sort of thing.
At least, that's what's being painted right now. Perhaps more will come out during the upcoming trial and things.
I realize that this is one incident, that tragedy happens everywhere and all the time.
We have shootings in our schools. Children are neglected and abused across the globe and no matter how hard we try to fight against it, we keep seeing it happen.
How can we believe in a good, loving God when faced with this on a daily basis?
If God loves us all so much, why does He let it continue? Why doesn't He stop it?
Theodicy is a theological term. It literally means "justifying God" and it deals with defending the existence of an Almighty, loving, and good God that permits evil.
Going through the news these days tends to be an exercise in theodicy. Faith flags under all the hate, all the pain we see there.
And when it's not in the news, when it's in our own lives, we become Jacob wrestling with God. (Genesis 32:22-32) We want to know why. No matter how faithful we try to be, we still want to know why.
There are many defenses that have been given through the ages. We are reminded that for us to have free will, the ability to choose God, there must also be another choice we can make. And that choice has been given to all mankind, not merely the ones who agree with us.
But there are other tragedies that have nothing to do with choice. We have children with cancer. We have illnesses that attack anyone at any time. Choice has nothing to do with that. Where does our faith stand here?
When I was in school, this section of theology class was particularly important to me. These were questions that kept me from returning to church for many years. I could not find an acceptable answer on my own, and I think that's why God led me to go to school in the first place.
The Bible doesn't seem to address the defense of God against evil, not in plain words. Yes, we brought sin into the world through a choice. Yes, we propagate that sin every day with the choices we make. Sin brings death. The cycle of suffering continues.
But if God is the creator of all things, that means God created sin as well. He created that choice.
And that brings us back to the main question; why?
While I still have no clear answer to give, my eyes are drawn to the Cross. Because at the Cross, Jesus suffered. Evil nailed Him there, but love chose to share our suffering. Love chose to connect with our pain.
Sacrificial lambs were not tortured. They weren't whipped and mocked. They were killed, and that blood satisfied the debt.
That tells me that the Cross was a deliberate choice. A way for me to remember that even in my darkest hour, Christ identifies with me so that I can identify with Him.
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