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... it in their mind and heart. This is hard to explain to a non-believer. Reject the existence of a loving God and you " re stuck trying to explain kindness, goodness, love and humanity, unselfishness and gentleness. Where did they come from? Wipe out all evil and where would we stand?
Would not humanity be destroyed? We ourselves are the problem of evil. And if a simple wipe out of evil were the answer, we would have no hope. Christianity doesn't offer a knock-down solution at a philosophical level, but the Bible does give ground to stand on as one tries to live in a world where suffering is real.
God did not create evil and pain, as we read in the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. It wasn't part of his plan. The world he made was utterly good until humanity turned against him, but God does not attempt to control our minds. If he did we could never truly love him or anyone else because it wouldn't have been our choice.
There is a war between the forces of good and evil - we all suffer from that same war in our head on an everyday basis. Although God did not create evil and suffering, and although he does not will it, nevertheless he can and does use it. The presence of evil in the world has led many to strive for good. The presence of suffering in the world has produced qualities of character that would have been impossible without it - courage, endurance, self-sacrifice, compassion God uses pain in a profound way to draw us to him when normally we will not listen.
In our pleasures he whispers. In our suffering he shouts. He took personal responsibility for all our wickedness. It cost him unspeakable suffering.
It cost him hell. If you jump off a bridge you should not get too upset with God when you hit the bottom. Alcoholics can expect to have problems getting their brains to function properly in old age, people who smoke can expect to have lung problems, etc. If we abuse ourselves, we cannot be angry with our Creator for not stepping in and helping us avoid the consequences of these things. It would be unreasonable to expect God to stop us from hitting the bottom when we jump off a bridge.
Man, as he did from the very beginning, still has the responsibility to take care of the world. Much of the suffering and tragedy man experiences is because he has not discharged this responsibility. In California, there is an area where there are a tremendous number of cracks, and geologists have warned the builders in that area that this is a place where they need to be extremely careful not to build tall buildings etc. Yet at this time a hospital, of sixteen stories tall and no earthquake provisions of any real consequence in it, is under construction. Who will get the blame when an earthquake rolls through that area, knocking down the brand new hospital and perhaps killing ten million people, including everybody in the hospital? Who is going to get the blame?
Well, I will guarantee you that there will be those people who will say, "If there was a God that wouldn't have happened." There are some; for example, who suggest to us that pain is something that should not occur if there is a God. And yet, physical pain and other types of pain are absolutely necessary if we are to survive in a physical way. Pain is our warning signal, our alarm when something is wrong. If it weren't for physical pain we would all be dead by the time we were 10 years old from numerous possible accidents.
This same type of thing is true in the emotional sense. What kind of man would it be who could not experience guilt and sympathy and compassion and who could not relate to the needs of fellow human beings? What if one were to marry such a person? Would he be able to relate to your needs? Would he relate to your feelings? Would he have compassion for what you need in life?
And when you fail, would he be sympathetic and understanding? If God had created a society where there was no emotional pain, there would be no intimacy, no communication or meaningful relationships. A Christian ought to be able to look at life much more positively because of death. As an atheist, a person has to look at life with all of its problems, with all of its suffering, with all of the pain, with all of the terrible things that one has to endure as the absolute best that he is ever going to experience. And yet a Christian can look at life with all of its joy, with all of its beauty, with all of the wonderful things that we all enjoy as the absolute worst that he is ever going to have to endure. Christianity unashamedly looks beyond this life for the final solution to the mystery of evil and suffering.
Christians don't waste their time going out of their minds trying to account for it all. The critics of most of the proofs for the existence of God tend to be the mathematicians, the physicians, and those who are so totally concerned with the material world, sometimes without even realizing it, that they need a proof - a touchable, measurable proof - for anything and everything. God is neither touchable nor measurable. He does not aim to be. He does not need to be. If he were easy to prove, less people would try to find him and even less would genuinely worship him - for it would be so easy and not true.
If science could prove God, it would then try to prove something greater, as science by definition does not stop. But there is nothing greater than God, by definition. Science with its fancy measurements and formulas claims to be something more than philosophy, and people trust numbers, not people. That is where the problem lies. The problem doesn't lie with God.
The arguments from historical fact are additional proof that there is a God, and He is not silent. That Christ existed cannot he doubted by any rational person. His miracles and other works are documented, not only in biblical literature, but in profane, secular history as well. The empty tomb stands as a silent but powerful witness that God does exist (Acts 2: 24; Romans 10: 9) and that Christ is His Son. The Bible exists; therefore, it must be explained. The men who wrote it were either deceivers, deluded, or telling the truth.
What do the evidences say? The internal and external evidences are enough to tell the story of God's existence, and the fact that He has spoken to us from His inspired word. Additional evidences are available at every turn. Little wonder Paul stated that "in him we live, and move, and have our being... " (Acts 17: 28). Moses's tenement still stands as inspired testimony to the fact of the existence of God: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1: 1).
Enough said! ! I am a very firm believer that God exists and this class has opened my eyes to the faith that I had lost in him. Bibliography:
Free research essays on topics related to: physical pain, existence of god, proof, relate, compassion
Research essay sample on Existence Of God Physical Pain
