Problem of Evil
Divine Wisdom
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Calvinism, Evil, Open Theism, Problem of Evil, Suffering, The Work of the People, Theodicy
Topics: The Problem of Evil
Why doesn’t God end it all and stop the slaughter? Why does God allow suffering and evil to go on so long? Here, Greg offers two possible answers to these questions. Option A is that all evil somehow is…
Why Compatibilistic Freedom Does Not Make Sense
Category: General
Tags: Determinism, Evil, Free Will, Problem of Evil, Satan and the Problem of Evil
Compatibilism is the view that free will is compatible with determinism. In this view, freedom is defined as the ability to do what you want, though what you want is determined by factors outside of…
“Natural” Evil? 7 Arguments Implicating Satan
Category: General
Tags: Creation, God at War, Natural Evil, Problem of Evil, Satan, Theodicy, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Creation Care, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
Image by Jmos® via Flickr We believe that God is the Creator of nature, but nature simply does not seem to point to a God of love. Parasites, viruses, bacteria, diseases and cancer kill millions and torment…
Why Did God Allow Evil?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Evil, Free Will, Love, Problem of Evil, Satan and the Problem of Evil
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
Is it possible to force people to love? Powerful people may be able to force others to do just about anything. Through psychological or physical torture, they may succeed in forcing them to curse their…
Evil, St. Augustine, & the “Secret” Higher Harmony
Category: General
Tags: Augustine, Blueprint Worldview, Free Will, God at War, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: The Problem of Evil
The problem of evil constitutes the single most difficult challenge to Christian theism. Volumes upon volumes have been written with the express purpose of rationally reconciling the belief in an all-good and all-powerful God with…
Why? The Question That Cannot Be Answered
Category: General
Tags: Complexity, Mystery, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Topics: The Problem of Evil
Yesterday Greg sent out the following flurry of tweets: To provide some background to these tweets, the following illustration will prove helpful: They mystery of evil and an eight-second interval Let’s assume that there is…
Why We Can’t Know Why Bad Things Happen
Category: General
Tags: Chaos Theory, Is God to Blame?, Problem of Evil, Suffering, The Butterfly Effect, Variables
Topics: The Problem of Evil
Science has demonstrated that the slightest variation in a sufficiently complex process at one point may cause remarkable variations in that process at another point. It’s called chaos theory. The flap of a butterfly wing…
Is Suffering Part of God’s Secret Plan?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Compassion, Faith, Is God to Blame?, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Theodicy, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
In the Christian tradition since Augustine, the most common explanation for the apparent arbitrariness of life and God’s interaction with humanity has been God’s mysterious will—his “secret plan,” as Calvin says. Whether or not a…
God Does Not Always Get What He Wants
Category: General
Tags: Choice, Free Will, God's Will, Love, Problem of Evil, Salvation
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will
One of the ways the Bible makes it clear that humans have free will and that God doesn’t predetermine human decisions is found in the responses God has toward human choices. Scripture consistently depicts God…
The Risk of Love & the Source of Evil
Category: General
Tags: Free Will, Love, Problem of Evil
On Sunday Greg tweeted the following: Love IS a tremendous risk. But if humans ever concluded the risk was not worth it, we likely become extinct rather quickly. … Yes, love is risky. It costs…
Theo Graff Podcast: Featuring Jessica Kelley
Category: General
Tags: Jessica Kelley, Problem of Evil, Suffering, T.C. Moore, THEO GRAFF PODCAST, Theodicy, Warfare Worldview
We have a special treat for you today. T. C. Moore is a great friend of ReKnew and he’s recently started a “Jesus-centered, hip hop flavored, geeky, theological, kingdom exploration” called the THEO GRAFF PODCAST. He’s…
How To Talk about Theology
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Cruciform Theology, Debate, Problem of Evil, Social Media, Theology
Topics: Theological Method
Social media is full of theological debate. Theological arguments that formerly took months or even years to get in print, now only takes the time to write a post or 140 characters and click “publish.”…
The Lessons of Job
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Doubt, Pain, Problem of Evil, Suffering, The Book of Job, Theodicy
Breno Peck via Compfight In his book Benefit of the Doubt, Greg argues that the lessons of the book of Job reassure us that God does not lie behind suffering, but he rather is a…
If God Can’t Control, How Can I Trust Him?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Prayer, Problem of Evil
Topics: Open Theism, Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Question: If God can’t always answer our prayers for healing, for example (and I completely understand why—free will etc), then HOW can he promise to bring good out of the bad things that happen? Surely…
Did God Cause the Polar Vortex?
Category: General
Tags: Natural Evil, Nature, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
When is this polar vortex thing going to end? It’s March, and even in Minnesota we expect to see temperatures warmer than this. With all of the sleet and cold in the south, it seems…
In Darkest Times, God is Present
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Free Will, God's Presence, Problem of Evil, Sermons
“However much evil was there, it would have been far worse if God was not there pushing back on it.” There is never a time when God is not present, no matter how bad the…
What To Do with the Bible’s Talk of Satan
Category: Q&A
Tags: Free Will, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict, The Problem of Evil
Recently, Roger Olson raised the question on his blog about why Satan is ignored in modern theology. He observed how Greg’s theology takes an “obvious, ‘up front,’ blatant belief in a very personal, very real,…
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled…”
Category: General
Tags: Calvinism, Greg Boyd, Problem of Evil, Roger Olson, Satan, Satan and the Problem of Evil, Theodicy
“…was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” ~Verbal Kint, The Usual Suspects Roger Olson reflected a few days ago on the curious absence of any discussion of Satan in modern theology. He even speculated: I…
Why God Sometimes “Can’t”
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Free Will, freedom, God, Prayer, Problem of Evil, Sickness, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Open Theism, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
Greg continues his thoughts on sickness and spiritual warfare by addressing the question of why God “can’t” intervene in some circumstances of illness.
The Warfare Worldview: What Would You Tell the Younger You?
Category: General
Tags: Henry, Jessica Kelley, Picture of God, Problem of Evil, Warfare Worldview
Aftab Uzzaman via Compfight Jessica Kelley has been fleshing out the Warfare Worldview on her blog in a series of posts using the lens of the death of her child, Henry. Jessica is a beautiful writer,…