Cliffe Knechtle answers the question, “Why would a loving God allow so much suffering and evil in the world?”
Why Would A Loving God Allow So Much Suffering?
People often question God’s perfect love and goodness in light of the world’s evil and suffering of humankind. The Christian apologist, Cliffe Knechtle, admitted that he ultimately doesn’t have the answer. But he looked to the Bible and responded through the lens of God’s heart and character.
“I do not know why God allowed evil and suffering,” he said. “For thousands of years, philosophers and theologians have struggled with that question. They’ve never come up with an ultimate answer, and I am not going to ultimately answer you.”
“But as a follower of Christ, I have to think.”
Then, he referred to the Book of Genesis, where everything began.
Cliffe pointed out, “In Genesis chapter one, it records that when God created this, it was good. When God created that, God saw it was good. So God did not create evil, suffering, and death. But in Genesis chapter three, we read how human beings rebel against God. And when we told God to step off, to get lost, to remove His act elsewhere, He partially honored our request. And when God stepped back, chaos, destruction, and death entered.”
“So you and I were not born into a fair world. You and I are born into an unfair world, not because God created it that way, but because the all-powerful God chose to partially limit His power by creating us free.”
He then proceeded to explain how God created humans to have free will.
“If I hold back and slap this man and turn to you and say, ‘God made me do it,’ I’m a con artist, I’m a liar. God gave me a hand for the purpose of loving and respecting this man.”
“I have free will. And you and I live in a world where there’s a tremendous amount of suffering, evil, and death. That’s a direct result of human irresponsibility.”
Cliffe’s answer sheds light on the million-dollar question. As sin entered the world, so did suffering, evil, and death as its primary consequence.
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