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

La condition humaine au 21ème siècle

NYC.andre via Compfight

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

Hearing and Responding to God: Part 3

We decided to change the title of this series to better reflect it’s content. Hope that’s not confusing. Greg continues his thoughts here on hearing when God speaks to us and being willing to respond even when we’re not completely certain. You can view parts one and two here and here.

Molinism and Open Theism – Part I

I’ve been asked for the umpteenth time on Twitter lately about the difference between “Molinism” and “Open Theism,” and for some reason, today seemed like a good day to begin addressing this question. I’ll do this in two parts. Today I’ll outline and critique Molinism, and in a subsequent post I’ll raise yet another critique as…

Podcast: Did You Believe in Evolution When You Wrote Letters from a Skeptic?

Greg considers how to think about God’s relationship to time given that there are apparent paradoxes no matter how one things about it.    http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0319.mp3

Did the Fall Really Happen? (podcast)

Greg speculates on the nature of the fall, then talks about evidence of God in the universe.  Episode 520 http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0520.mp3

Creating God in Our Own Image

How have we created God in our own image? In this short video produced by The Work of the People, Greg reflects on various ways that humans typically think about God in terms of power, and how Jesus reframes the nature of power. The Christian revelation of God is the opposite of what we most often imagine…

Podcast: Isn’t God the Author of Suffering in the Crucifixion?

Greg considers the implications of his Cruciform Hermeneutic on his previous work in God at War.  http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0274.mp3