Levi Stoesz

Prof. Kaltwasser
Christian Story II
November 8, 2018
Theological Analysis Paper

The Bible has been around for several generations providing guidance to Christians all

around the world. Over this period of time scripture has been studied and analyzed in numerous

ways. From this examining of the scriptures came the theology of the Church. This theology

helps the Church dig deeper into the Christian story to see what lies below the surface of the

scripture. This studying of the scriptures has led to a greater understanding of God’s word but

has also led to several theological issues. These issues have been debated by the church and

theologians for hundreds of years. One specific issue that has been pondered by theologians is:

“Why does God allow evil and suffering?”. This theological issue has left Christians perplexed,

but it can be reasonably discussed through a theological analysis. Through Paul’s second letter to

the Corinthians, John Hicks, and Thomas Aquinas, it is clear that God uses evil and suffering to

sharpen believers. Evil and suffering are complicated topics but analyzing them will help bring

clarity. To begin, let’s see what the Bible has to say about this issue.

The Bible is one big story. From Adam and Eve, to Jesus dying on the cross, the Bible

tells the story of God saving the souls of his people. Scripture helps us understand our purpose in

life, and how we are to live a life like Christ. It also helps us answer complicated theological

questions. In order to help interpret the question “Why does God allow evil and suffering?”, I

have chosen the passage 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. It reads as follows “So we do not lose heart.

Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For

this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all
measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be

seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal”. This passage highlights the issue of

suffering and can help us understand why God allows it. To further understand how this passage

interprets the theological issue of why God allows pain and suffering I will interpret what this

passage says with the help of Bible commentaries.

2 Corinthians is a letter written by Paul for the Corinthians. Paul is writing this letter to

help encourage the Church of Corinth to stay strong even when the road gets tough and narrow.

Paul knows that living a life for Christ is not an easy task, so he writes this letter to help keep the

Church of Corinth on track. In this specific passage Paul is the discussing the issue of suffering.

By reading over these verses it becomes clear that Paul is telling the Corinthians not to lose faith

through these “slight momentary afflictions”. He states that while our outer, physical natures are

rotting away, our inner, spiritual natures are being renewed every day. Paul is saying that while

the evil and suffering of the world might wear down your outer nature, our inner nature is being

strengthened and renewed by these sufferings. In his commentary on 2 Corinthians, Paul Barnett

writes “… Paul in his ‘outer person’ is withering away; nonetheless, like all who belong to

Christ, in his ‘inner person’ he is subject to incessant renewal in prospect of the hope of glory in

the coming age” (pg. 249). Barnett writes this to express that Paul, like the Corinthians, was

enduring a great amount of suffering. This suffering may affect their fleeting bodies, but it

prepares their inner nature for a coming glory. This verse leads to glory that comes from our

earthly suffering.

Paul points to an eternal glory that outweighs any suffering that they might be going

through. Barnett explains the connection between the present afflictions and eternal glory. He

writes “Paul connects the suffering in this age and the glory of the coming age. The suffering
prepares the glory for us” (Barnett, pg. 250). Barnett is expressing that our momentary struggles

with suffering are preparing us for a future glory. These momentary struggles with suffering may

appear to be an evil thing from God, but that is because we are only looking at the present effects

of it.

In the next part of the passage following the momentary afflictions, Paul writes “…for

what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal (v. 18)”. Paul is saying that we

need to focus on the consequences of suffering that are unseen not seen. This verse suggests that

we place our focus on what is coming in the future and not what we are enduring in the present.

Barnett furthers this by saying, “Thus, we do not focus on the present time, including its

suffering…rather we fix our gaze…on the glorious hope that will be realized in the age to come”

(Barnett, pg. 251). Suffering is an earthly problem that can lead to a greater glory. We should not

focus on the present that includes things such as evil and suffering, but rather focus on the eternal

life with Christ that these trials are preparing us for. When dealing with the question of why God

allows pain and suffering, we can see that scripture tells us that this suffering is preparing us for

an eternal glory. Scripture also says that we should not focus on the present effects of suffering,

but rather look to what is coming. Now that we have seen what God’s word has to say about

suffering and evil, let’s take a look at how John Hick attempts to solve this theological issue.

John Hick was an English theologian and philosopher of religion. He lived from 1922-

2012 and was best known for his book on theodicy titled Evil and the God of Love. In this Book,

Hick attempts to interpret the theological question; why does God allow evil and suffering? Hick

believes that God created humans and then gave them their own personal freedom. This freedom

entails the humans to do as they wish with their lives. He believes that through our life we can

choose to perfect our lives and become Children of God. He writes “[Life] cannot be perfected
by divine fiat, but only through the uncompelled responses and willing co-operation of human

individuals in their action. Men may become perfected…but they cannot be created ready-made”

(Larrimore, pg. 357). He is saying that God allows pain and suffering because he wants us to

have our own freedom. God cannot create us as “Good” or Children of God, but he gives us

freedom to achieves this on our own. Hick writes in his book “Man is in the process of becoming

perfected… not by a natural and inevitable evolution, but through a hazardous adventure in

individual freedom” (Larrimore, pg. 357). This process can make us Children of God, but it also

allows for evil and suffering. However, this evil and suffering is not as bad as people think it is.

Hick believes that evil and suffering can strengthen our faith in the Lord. He expresses

that a person who has achieved “goodness” by overcoming temptations and making righteous

choices, is more valuable than a person who has achieved “goodness” through a state of

innocence or virtue. In other words, those who have to endure evil and suffering have a more

valuable faith, then those who faith is just given to. Hick believes that God uses evil and

suffering as a tool to help strengthen our belief in him over the process of our lives. He further

expands on this by saying “I suggest…that human goodness slowly built up through personal

histories of moral effort has value in the eyes of the Creator… which justifies the long travail…”

(Larrimore, pg. 357). The goodness we gain by overcoming numerous accounts of evil and

suffering, justify God allowing evil and suffering in the world. According to the theology of John

Hick, God allows evil and suffering because when we overcome it, our faith and relationship

with the Lord is more meaningful and valuable. Now that I have analyzed why God allows evil

and suffering through the theology of John Hick, I will analyze this theological issue from a

viewpoint of another theologian.

 Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican philosopher born in Italy who lived from

1225-1274. Aquinas was a very influential theologian in relation to scholasticism. He lived over

a half a millennium before John Hick, but much like Hick, Aquinas also dealt with theological

issue of God allowing evil and suffering in the world. In his Book Summa Theologica, Aquinas

provides his views on this topic. He gives evidence to why he believes there is evil and suffering

in the world. Aquinas writes that in order for there to be perfection and a realization of good in

the world, there must be inequality. The good in the world cannot be realized if there is no

inequality in things. He then illustrates that in order to have this inequality there must be two

grades of goodness. He writes as follows, “One grade of goodness is that of the good which

cannot fail. Another grade of good is that of the good which can fail in goodness, and this is the

grade to be found in existence itself…” (Larrimore, pg. 97). Aquinas believes that human

existence is meant to fail at being good, and that we are corruptible beings.

Aquinas continues this by expressing that the perfection of the universe requires that

there be both corruptible and incorruptible beings. Certain beings must be able to fail or else

perfection in the world is unattainable. Aquinas addresses this by saying, “… the universe

requires that there should be some which can fail in goodness…Now it is in this that evil consists

in that fact that a thing fails in goodness” (Larrimore, pg. 97). The world needs there to be

corruptible beings, and the failures of these beings leads to evil and suffering in the world.

Aquinas believes that there is evil in the world because the perfection of the Universe requires it.

Along discussing why there is evil in the world, Aquinas also takes time to explain why it is a

good thing we have evil in our world.

Aquinas believes that evil in the world is actually a good thing to have. He begins

explaining this by writing, “The whole itself, which is the universe of creatures, is all the better
and more perfect if some things in it can fail in goodness, and do sometimes fail, God not

preventing this” (Larrimore, pg. 97). He is saying that when people fail, and evil is present in the

world, the world and the beings in it are better off. Aquinas truly believes that when God does

not prevent evil in the world, it is a beneficial thing for beings. He adds on to this by expressing

that God is a powerful enough being to turn this evil into something good. The evil in the world

is not a negative subject, because God has the power to turn it into good for his kingdom.

Aquinas argues that if evil was abolished, many good things would be lost with it. He writes,

“Hence many good things would taken away if God permitted no evil to exist; for fire would not

be generated if air was not corrupted…” (Larrimore, pg. 98). Evil is a good thing to have in the

world because it allows God to work in us, which results in a good that is greater than the evil

that is present. Aquinas would say that God allows evil and suffering in the world because they

allow for good in the world to be realized, and because they play a crucial role in producing good

in the world. The world needs inequalities in it for it to become perfected, and this leads to the

presence of evil. Evil is then used as a tool by God to make good which would be lost if God did

not allow evil in the world. Now that I have explored the view of scripture and multiple

theologians regarding God allowing evil and suffering in the world, I will argue how I believe

we as Christians should handle this issue.

It is very difficult to come to a conclusion that solves why God allows evil and suffering

in the world. This is nearly impossible. It is much more realistic to narrow down responses on

how Christians are to think about this issue. Many people believe that evil and suffering can only

be used for wicked agendas, but this is not the case. I believe that God uses evil and suffering as

a tool to sharpen us and makes us more faithful followers. I agree with the certain aspects of both

John Hick’s and Thomas Aquinas’ views. John Hick explains how God wants us to have our
own personal freedom and this means he has to allow evil. I think this is a valid point. God

allows each human to have their own freedom, and from this it is possible that evil becomes

present. God allows evil because he gives us our own free will. Aquinas states that the world and

the creatures in it are corruptible and able to fail. This ability to fail is why we have evil in the

world, but God is so powerful he can use the evil for his own good. God uses the evil to forge his

own people into faithful followers. I believe Christians should not view God allowing evil and

suffering as a bad thing. I think Christians ought to view evil and suffering as an instrument that

God uses help strengthen our faith. This is how I believe Christians should handle this issue, but

not everyone agrees.

Some people might argue against my views by saying asking why God can’t just make a

perfect world, without evil and suffering, for us to live in. This is a valid argument because if

God created a perfect world there would be no problems and everyone would go to Heaven. The

problem with this argument is that salvation would just be giving to us, and we would not have a

free will to accept it or deny it. God wants us to have our own free will so that when we choose

to have eternal life with him, it is our own decision and something we truly want. I believe this

makes salvation more meaningful. Along with this, if the world was perfect our faith would be

weak due to the lack of trials. Trials caused by evil and suffering help God’s people become

stronger. When a person is in midst of a hardship they can choose to persevere or quit. If that

person chooses to keep their head up and overcome this trial, God will use it to strengthen their

faith. In the end I believe Christians should change their views on evil and suffering. God does

use evil and suffering to punish his people, but rather he uses them to prosper his people. I

conclude that God allows evil and suffering in the world because he wants us to have our own

free will and because they can enhance our faith.

 Works Cited

Barnett, Paul W. The Second Epistle to The Corinthians. Wm. B Eerdmans, 1997.

Larrimore, Mark J. The Problem of Evil: A Reader. Blackwell, 2001.