Why Does a Good God Allow Evil?

This is a question that everyone must ask at some time in his/her life. In the aftermath of the WAVE we are all asking it.

I have seen several preachers on TV trying to explain why God allowed 150,000 or so people die in Asia. None of them did a very good job of it. The things they said would have been good grist for a graduate class in philosophy or religion but it sounded shallow, trite and callous on TV. When Larry King asks in that husky voice, "Can you explain why a God of love would killed all those innocent babies?" you know you cannot give an adequate answer in the 60 seconds you have been allotted.

Many of the well-known Christian media hogs tried to answer him but they all failed miserably. It was a time for humility and that is a commodity little seen in the likes of the people who seek the klieg lights and 15 minutes of fame. Trying to communicate to a mostly pagan culture the concept of God's Sovereigny and Original Sin is a hard sell at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. They failed to convince even me with their prattle about everyone in this poor countries deserving death.

I did not hear him speak about this tragedy but Robert Schuller did the best job of fielding a hot grounder to third base a couple of years ago when Pat Boone's Grandson was paralyzed in a fall. Larry lowered his perfectly pitched for TV voice and asked, "Dr. Schuller, why did God allow this to happen to this boy?"

Dr. Schuller, smiled and said boldly, "Anytime a person asks God why he is not looking for an answer but for an argument." Brilliant! Fantastic. An answer worthy of Jesus to the Pharisees because it puts the pressure back on Larry where it belongs. This is an unanswerable question.

I have thought of a great corollary to his answer.

"Larry, we may not understand the immutable nature and will of God perfectly but we do know what He expects of us after a tragedy occurs. We are to love our neighbors and surely the people in Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc are out neighbors. God says, 'Roll up your sleeves and go to work! Do what you can for the survivors regardless whether they are Muslim Hindu or Christian. Send money, food and medicine. Heal the broken hearted and set the captives free.'"

Some things are just to high for us to answer. Not because there is NO answer but because in the middle of human pain the answer cannot be heard, or understood or comprehended. But at the right time God will reveal His heart to us and we will finally understand.