Clinging to the Truth

Grenz, Guretzki and Nordling defined evil as “any act or event that is contrary to the good and holy purposes of God” (1999). People have struggled with the problem of evil for a long time. Writers in the Old Testament questioned how a just God could allow wicked people to prosper (Jeremiah 12:1-2, Psalm 73:3-9, Habakkuk 1:3-4). Philosophers argue that it is illogical that a God who is omnipotent, omniscient and perfectly good, can co-exist with evil (Mackie, 1955). A much more personal question is asked in the counseling room, “Why did God allow evil to happen to me?” The question may be in the form of “Why did God allow a drunk driver to kill my loved one?”, “How could a good God allow my child to be sexually abused? “or “Where was God when the tornado destroyed my home?”