In Theory

God, according to the Bible, has done, or demanded that be done, many things that most of us would normally consider evil. So why should we expect him to support fairness or provide protection to anyone? Everything actually happens by chance. Like it or not, life is just a big crapshoot. There is no divine justice. Bad things can happen to anyone.

Jerry Parks

Member, Humanist Association of Orange County

Let’s be honest. The only reason we can discuss this question theologically is because we do not have a kid in pediatric ICU or a parent on a respirator. Theology goes out the front door in the face of tragedy.

Christianity has theological answers, of course. The answers always include the element of human choice. There would not have been, for example, as much damage in New Orleans’ 9th Ward if people weren’t living there (human choice) or the dikes of the Ward were made as strong as in other places (human injustice). But such answers do not bring hope or houses to the 9th Ward. When you are suffering, do the reasons why you are suffering matter?

I think the best answer brings no comfort to those who are not suffering, but tangible help to those who are suffering. When Jesus dies on the Cross, he is making the statement that God is with those who suffer, that God’s own heart is filled with grief, and God will suffer personal loss in order to reduce the pain and suffering of others. God cries with us. God rages with us. God hurts with us. And one day, God promises that suffering will be redeemed. God promises this on His Son’s empty grace.

Pastor Mark Wiley

Mesa Verde United Methodist Church

Costa Mesa

Evildoers do not always receive their just punishment, and good people may suffer horrendous misfortunes. This is the mystery of unmerited pain and undeserved suffering. When Job confronts this challenge, God appears to him with an indictment of Job’s ignorance: Because Job knows so little about the physical, natural world that Job can see and experience, how can he presume to fathom the mystery of God’s eternal plan, in which light and darkness, pleasure and agony, intermingle? Job was never told the reason he suffered, but, ultimately, he learned that he did not need that information or knowledge. In being visited by the all-powerful and all-wise Creator, Job became convinced that though he could not discern the reason did not mean there was no reason.