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Your Question:
Is God still good if He lets bad things happen to good people?
Answer:
The question of whether God is still good if He lets bad things happen to good people is one that has puzzled many of us. As a pastor, I've had to grapple with this issue many times, especially when faced with the suffering of my congregation members. It's natural to wonder why a loving God would allow such pain and hardship to occur. However, as I've come to understand, God's goodness is not necessarily about preventing bad things from happening, but about being present with us in the midst of them. In fact, the Bible teaches that God's power is not about performing miracles to avoid suffering, but about being a constant presence in our lives, even in the midst of difficulty. This perspective has helped me to see that God's goodness is not about avoiding evil, but about being with us in the midst of it, and ultimately, about bringing us to a place of greater good. This is not to say that God's goodness is somehow diminished by the presence of evil. Rather, it's that God's goodness is not necessarily about avoiding evil, but about being a loving and just God who allows us to experience the full range of human emotions, including suffering. As the Bible says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). This doesn't mean that God causes evil, but that He is able to bring good out of even the most difficult circumstances.
Sources:
job
francis andersen
christian theology
millard erickson
no doubt about it
winfried corduran
concise history christian thought
tony lane
mere christianity
c s lewis
on guard
william lane craig
systematic theology
wayne grudem
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