evil

Ehrman’s Problem 20: Everything But the Kitchen Sink

In my last post I pointed out that Ehrman begged the question for his major argument as to why the apocalyptic argument didn’t help us answer why God allows suffering. In this post I will address his next two arguments. I titled this post, “Everything But the Kitchen Sink,” because, frankly, his arguments appear rather …

Ehrman’s Problem 20: Everything But the Kitchen Sink Read More »

Ehrman’s Problem 13—Spanking the Strawman… again

Chapter five of Bart Ehrman’s book, God’s Problem, is entitled “The Mystery of the Greater Good: Redemptive Suffering.” In it Ehrman writes, “Sometimes, for some biblical authors, suffering has a positive aspect to it. Sometimes God brings good out of evil, a good that would not have been possible if the evil had not existed. …

Ehrman’s Problem 13—Spanking the Strawman… again Read More »

Ehrman’s Problem 9: He Minimizes the Horror of Sin

My first two posts on Ehrman’s discussion of the “classical view” of suffering—that God punishes people for their sins—were mostly about clearing up ambiguities and misapplications. In this blog we come to some unambiguous examples of God punishing people for their sins which Ehrman protests. For example, Ehrman is dismayed about the destruction of the …

Ehrman’s Problem 9: He Minimizes the Horror of Sin Read More »

Ehrman’s Problem 8: The Strawman

Ehrman points out that the “classical view” of suffering—that God is punishing people for their sins—does have some merit: “The prophets, in short, were concerned about issues of real life—poverty, homelessness, injustice, oppression, the uneven distribution of wealth, the apathetic attitudes of those who have it good toward those who are poor, helpless, and outcast. …

Ehrman’s Problem 8: The Strawman Read More »

Ehrman’s Problem 3: God Could Have Made Us So We’d Always Do Right

Bart Ehrman asks why God didn’t give humans “the intelligence they need to exercise it [free will] so that we can all live happily and peaceably together? You can’t argue that he wasn’t able to do so, if you want to argue that he is all powerful.” (13) This objection is Ehrman’s slant on the …

Ehrman’s Problem 3: God Could Have Made Us So We’d Always Do Right Read More »

Ehrman’s Problem: He Misreads the Bible and Impugns God’s Fairness

Bart Ehrman, in his book, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer, tries to make the case that neither Christians nor the Bible can answer why God, if He were to exist, would allow “the cesspool of misery and suffering” that many people endure. Ehrman says that he …

Ehrman’s Problem: He Misreads the Bible and Impugns God’s Fairness Read More »