We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
The Suffering of God
This seems like a good follow-up post from what Greg posted yesterday. Charisma posted this reflection on the problem of evil and the suffering of God. It’s a great summary of our thinking about what accounts for the kind of world we see where tragedies like Newtown occur.
From the article:
C. S. Lewis sagely observed, “Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself … Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata–of creatures that work like machines–would hardly be worth creating.”
Put another way, love cannot be coerced; it must be freely chosen.
Related Reading
God’s Aikido Way of Defeating Evil
Greg continues his thoughts on the atonement with this installment highlighting the way God uses the evil intentions and actions of his enemies to bring about good. And because this strategy is based in love, the demons who encountered Christ could not possibly imagine what he was up to. They ended up participating in their…
Podcast: Is It God Withdrawing OR Is It a Scheme of Satan?
Sometimes evil is attributed to God withdrawing. Sometimes it is attributed to a scheme of Satan. We are called to respond to each differently. So, must we be able to discern which is the case in any given situation? http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0189.mp3
Lord Willing? Part 2
In Part 2 of Greg’s interview of Jessica Kelley about her book Lord Willing?, they discuss the theology that helped Jessica through her son Henry’s illness and death. You can find Part 1 of the interview here, and part 3 here.
Speaking of Doubt
Xava du via Compfight As long as we’re on the topic of faith and doubt, here’s an excellent piece by Richard Beck on The Gifts and Benefits of Doubt. Are you struggling with doubt and feeling like a spiritual loser for it? We think you’ll appreciate Beck’s insight on this. From the article: The assumption…
Podcast: How Will God Fix the Mess We Made of Creation?
Greg considers the relationship between human redemption and the redemption of creation.How will God keep his promises to creation? http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0082.mp3
The Witness of Graffiti (Rocks Crying Out)
Ibrahim Iujaz via Compfight On this eve of Easter, we wanted to share something that fit the mood of the time between the crucifixion and the resurrection. D.L. Mayfield wrote this striking piece on the longing for the Kingdom of God in the midst of overwhelming brokenness. We thought it was the perfect reflection for…