August 4, 2026
Everything Happens for a Reason
Does everything happen for a reason? This article reflects on suffering, human choice, evil, and Romans 8:28 without blaming God for every tragedy.
Articles for tag: Problem Of Evil
September 1, 2022
Why Doesn’t God Stop School Shootings?
A tragic event like the unthinkable massacre of schoolchildren generates an understandable emotional response. The faith community often responds with the words “thoughts and prayers,” which incenses secularists who consider them to be “do-nothing” sentiments. But God uses the thoughts, prayers, and actions of dedicated Christ followers to change troubled young men into godly leaders. I know, because he used them to change me.
February 7, 2022
Feb. 13 | Application
Has life disappointed you? Have others disappointed you? How about the church . . . or God?
June 8, 2020
Application for June 14: The Cross Examination
By David Faust The prosecuting attorney approached the bench with a confident stride. He had done his homework. Eager for the trial to begin, he came armed with a long list of grievances against the defendant. It was time for opening statements. The prosecutor paused for dramatic effect and then began. “This trial will be an unusual one because, Your Honor, the one on trial today . . . is you!” A murmur filled the crowded courtroom. The Judge himself was on trial? Who dared to bring charges against the court’s presiding officer? Questions for God The prosecutor began to
The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (6)
By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Tim Mitchell Tim Mitchell graduated from Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Missouri, in 2006. He serves as preaching minister of Bucklin Christian Church in Bucklin, Missouri, where he lives with his wife, Jenna, and their daughters, Diana and Zelda. Tim”s Best Sermon: The best funeral sermon I”ve ever heard is by Dr. E.V. Hill, longtime preacher of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California, who died in 2003. You can listen to the
April 22, 2013
Restoring God”s Justice
By Jason Rodenbeck Friday night I watched celebration on the news. The second Boston Marathon bomber had been captured. A city was finally resting after a horrific nightmare. And an angry (and increasingly frightened) nation breathed a sigh of relief. Why “frightened?” Whether because there are more of them or we are just hearing about more of them, tragedies like this one seem more prevalent and closer to home than ever. Even in a country where we generally feel safe and secure, we feel a growing uneasiness as the world seems to spin out of control. There is evil everywhere
How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?
By Jeff Vines Editor”s note: Five years ago we published a series of articles by Jeff Vines that dealt with three difficult questions that are often stumbling blocks for Christians as well as nonbelievers. The articles described a long conversation Jeff had with a circle of skeptics he met in an Australian restaurant. With the current discussion about the reality of Hell, we felt it helpful to reprint the third article in this series. To get all three articles (the first are “How Can We Believe in God with So Much Evil in the World?” and “How Can You Say
August 27, 2006
How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?
Jeff Vines answers a skeptic’s hardest question: How could a loving God send anyone to Hell? He explains Jesus’ use of gehenna and argues the deepest horror of Hell is separation from God.
August 20, 2006
Why Do I Live in a World Filled With Pain?
By Tim Harlow I fulfilled a long-standing promise to my wife and took her to Hawaii for our 20th anniversary. We had never been to Hawaii together, and I have to tell you it is everything we expected. It is the Garden of Eden, as best I could imagine. It was like some kind of dream””perfect weather, tropical fruit, and hula people. But we had to come back to Chicago in February. There was something about the 100-degree shift in temperature (it was 15 below zero wind chill when we landed) that caused me to ask myself, How did this
August 20, 2006
How Can You Claim That God Is Good and Loving . . . ? (Part 2)
Conversations With Skeptics features Jeff Vines responding to three major questions about evil, suffering, and Hell. Includes download details and a short sample excerpt from the first article.
August 13, 2006
The Problem of Evil
Why God allows evil is explored through Jesus’ parable of the weeds among the wheat, pointing to an enemy at work, human choice, and the call to choose, serve, and trust God until the harvest.
August 13, 2006
How Can We Believe in God with So Much Evil in the World? (Part 1)
Jeff Vines recounts a tense dinner in Brisbane where skeptics challenge his faith with hard questions about evil, suffering, and hell—an excerpt from the resource “A Conversation With Skeptics.”
