Summary

In this three-part series, Aaron is going to confront the question of if God is good, then why did he allow the coronavirus? In Part 3, we will look at how the Christian worldview answers the problem of evil. Aaron discusses the biblical worldview’s answer to the origin of evil, God’s love in spite of the world’s tragedy, and the comfort that the gospel gives us. Check out the show notes below for highlights and resources. Show Notes The Christian worldview tells us that God’s good creation was corrupted by humanity’s rebellion in Genesis 3. God’s love required the possibility of corruption entering the creation. Because of God’s infinite love and wisdom, he knew that free creatures would be better than determined ones. The love and goodness of God provide us with the best foundation for discovering meaning and hope in suffering. “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” -- 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (CSB) “And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” -- Romans 5:3-5 (CSB) “[Our ignorance to God’s reasons for suffering] does not mean the Bible advises intellectual capitulation, because God does invite us to “reason together” with him (Isaiah 1:18 KJV) and to give a reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15). It is reasonable to suppose that the ways of an all-powerful and all-knowing God will sometimes be mysterious to us.” -- Douglas Groothuis, Walking Through Twilight We can have such confidence in the love and goodness of God because he suffered under tragedy and malevolence. “Therefore, a Christian is not so much a person who has solved the problem of pain, suffering and the coronavirus, but one who has come to love and trust a God who has himself suffered.” John Lennox, Where Is God In a Coronavirus World? “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” Charles Spurgeon Resources I am greatly indebted to John Lennox’s Where is God in a Coronavirus World? “Where is God in a Coronavirus World? John Lennox, Michael Ramsden | #RZIMLIVE | RZIM” Ravi Zacharias International Ministries on YouTube “How Do We Make Sense of the Coronavirus? // Ask Pastor John” Desiring God on YouTube For a great book on a Christian view of tragedy and lament, see Douglas Groothuis’ memoir Walking Through Twilight: A Wife’s Illness--A Philosopher’s Lament. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/filterpodcast/message