A conversation with skeptics and the problem of evil
In this sample, Jeff Vines recalls an unexpected dinner conversation in Brisbane, Australia, where a group of skeptics challenges his belief in God. The exchange raises core questions about evil, suffering, and God’s goodness.
- Vines is invited to a staff meal that quickly becomes a skeptical interrogation.
- A hotel security leader raises the challenge of evil and human suffering as an argument against God.
- The conversation introduces three questions the full resource addresses.
By Jeff Vines
This article is no longer available online, but the entire three-part series is available for purchase as a downloadable resource/pdf.
A Conversation With Skeptics
Item 02970 $2.99
Jeff Vines recalls his conversation with a circle of skeptics who challenged him in an Australian hotel restaurant. During the meeting, Vines responds to three major questions all Christians and non-Christians grapple with:
1. How can we believe in God with so much evil in the world?
2. How can you claim that God is good and loving with all the pain and suffering in the world?
3. How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?
This six-page resource originally appeared as a three-part series in CHRISTIAN STANDARD. All downloads include permission to reproduce the material up to 10 times for ministry and educational purposes.
To order this resource, CLICK HERE; To sample the first few paragraphs of article one, continue reading below . . .
I was on a speaking trip to Brisbane, Australia, when a rather aggressive hotel manager discovered I was a minister and invited me to join her staff for an evening meal.
Since eating cheap food and sitting alone in my hotel room was my unattractive alternative, I quickly accepted. Arriving at the table however, I immediately recognized something was amiss! Apparently, I was on the program as the entertainment! A circle of skeptics had assembled to take this preacher boy apart!
Only seconds passed before Dan, a burly Australian in charge of hotel security, broke the silence. As soon as he spoke I got the feeling he had been designated to get the ball rolling as soon as I arrived.
After taking a big gulp of his Australian beer, he slammed his glass down on the table, winked at his peers, then turned toward me and dropped the bomb. “So Jeff, how can you believe in God with all the evil in this world!? Have you ever heard of the Holocaust? Stalin? Lenin? War? Starving children? Wake up, man! There is no God!”
Stunned, I thought, Wow, so this is what this is all about. . . .
Taking a sip of Diet Coke I reviewed Dan’s assumption. War, death, and the devastation of people on this planet, according to Dan, cannot possibly be harmonized with the existence of a “higher being.” In short, evil exists, therefore, God does not!
When I tried to purchase the downloadable item 02970 – A Conversation With Skeptics by Jeff Vines, I received a message that the page could not be found. Is there some other way I can get copies of this resource?