theodicy

I keep hearing about the release of a new book, God's Problem, by Bart D. Ehrman. He's been interviewed on NPR, and since it's the Easter season, many people have been discussing it. From my limited understanding, the author questions an existence of God because of the presence of suffering in the world.

I read Ben Witherington's blog and I like what he says concerning this issue:

"In one sense of course, Bart Ehrman's views are understandable. If you are raised to believe that a good sovereign God before the beginning of time pre-determined all things that have happen in this world, then indeed you have a severe problem of logic when it comes to both sin and suffering, both misery and mayhem. But in fact the God of fatalism with all things predetermined is not the God of the Bible. That is the God of Islam, but not Christianity at its best.

The Bible teaches that most of human suffering is of our own making, not predestined by God. There is this little doctrine called the Fall, and also the matter of humans being created with wills of their own. Both the Fall and at least the power of contrary choice in fallen persons more than adequately explains most of the wickedness we see in the world--- it is, as Tennyson used to say 'a case of man's inhumanity to man'."

This is such a crucial topic...one that Christians need to carefully think about, study, and discuss. I think I might add this book to my list of must-reads. Anyone want to start a book group?