WHY GOD ALLOWS EVIL AND SUFFERING
by Sine Nomine
A Christian author explores the persistent theological problem of the ubiquity of pain and suffering.
The notion that God is all-powerful and all-loving while the world is full of evil and arbitrary suffering is a difficult problem, and it’s perhaps the biggest barrier to belief for religious skeptics: “If God’s goodness or power is called into question,” writes the unnamed author (“Sine Nomine,” or “without a name”) of this treatise, “Christianity itself is too.” Based on a foundation rooted in orthodox Christian theology and biblical analysis, this book offers a “new solution” to this theological enigma. The author rejects common tropes used by contemporary Christians who suggest that pain is a character-building tool or intertwined with free will. Instead, this work argues that “love is the principal end for which God allows suffering.” The book is divided into two sections: Part I (“Redefining an Ancient Problem”) explores how the core characteristics of Christianity’s God (a being who is characterized as “all-powerful,” “all-loving,” “all-just,” and “all-wise”) are compatible with the existence of pain. The book’s second part (“Creation, Fall, and Timeless Being”) highlights the first three chapters of Genesis as a key to understanding God’s love and how evil and suffering became part of the post-Eden human experience.
Skeptics may still be unconvinced by the book’s conclusions, such as its argument that God allows humans “to suffer the consequences” of Adam and Eve’s original sin in order to give them “the opportunity to continue to experience love.” However, this is a thoughtfully argued work that freely admits that a faith that enables one to “experience love with God” may be seen by many people as “too childlike.” Most impressive are the fairness with which the book treats atheists and other religious skeptics and its refusal to reduce their arguments to straw men. The book’s introduction, for instance, acknowledges the failure of many contemporary Christians to adequately respond to the critiques of prominent agnostic scholar Bart Ehrman. The book’s author possesses a firm grasp on classical Christian thinkers and philosophers; indeed, much of the book’s so-called “new solution” is a misnomer, as the author returns to classical thinkers such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas and early modern philosophers such as René Descartes and Søren Kierkegaard as well as observations on the nature of suffering that are central to the Book of Job. The story of Job, per the author, highlights the truism that even the most morally upright and good-natured people are vulnerable to immense suffering. At just over 100 pages, including reference material, this concise book boasts more than 200 endnotes that draw on myriad Christian thought across the denominational spectrum. That said, the book favors a Roman Catholic perspective and repeats numerous arguments found directly in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. As such, its discussions of some topics (“Specifically, does having sex with more people lead to greater happiness?”) reflect conservative sensibilities, though it generally avoids hot-button cultural issues.A nuanced approach to a knotty question from a traditionalist Christian perspective.