The Problem of Evil-1

First, let’s lead off with a question Sister Karen asked last week:

“How is it possible for the Son NOT to know when the Father has set for His return?”

How, could Jesus NOT know since the Father and the Son are One.

And we DO believe in the Trinity:

Number 2 in the AG Fundamental truths

All available online (or in-print) at AG.org/Beliefs/Statement of Fundamental Truths

(#1 is we believe the Scriptures “are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.”), #2 is that we believe:

2. THE ONE TRUE GOD - The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

c. Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit - Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Father which constitutes him the Father and not the Son; there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him the Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His name one.

d. Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead - The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person; nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as to cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence, neither Person in the Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others.

We see the principle of Jesus and the Father being ONE in:

John 1:14 (LSB) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:18 (GNB) No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father’s side, [the Son] has made [the Father] known.

Hebrews 1:1–3 (LSB) God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, 3 who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

John 12:44–45 (LSB) And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 “And he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. (John 5:23 - the Father sent the Son)

John 14:9–11 (LSB) Jesus said to him [Phillip], “Have I been with you all so long and have you not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

John 14:20 (LSB) “On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

So, through the proofs of scripture, we believe the Father and Son are ONE.

But, when Jesus came to earth as the Incarnate Son of God, He “laid aside” most of the prerogatives (privileges) of deity. This is called the Doctrine of Kenosis:

Philippians 2:5–8 (LSB) Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus, during His 33 years on earth demonstrated to us how to live as a human according to the guidance and anointing of the Holy Spirit:

Galatians 5:24–25 (LSB) Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If [Since] we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:24–25 (GNB) And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. 25 The Spirit has given us life; He must also control our lives.

Galatians 2:20 (LSB) “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Whatever knowledge Jesus had was given to Him the same way we receive it — through prayer, through the anointing of the Holy Spirit — NOT because He was the Son of God.

Matthew 24:36 (LSB) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

Mark 13:32 (LSB) “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

Jesus did NOT have the knowledge of “when” as a human being.

When human, Jesus also fulfills the type of the Groom in a Galilean wedding (only the Father knows/can say…)

But when He ascended to the Father He reacquired the prerogatives of deity:

John 17:5 (LSB) “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Yet, even in His ascension, Jesus remained/remains fully human:

Dane Ortlund (2020). Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers (pp. 103–104). Crossway.

One of the doctrines in the area of Christology that is difficult for some Christians to fully grasp is the permanent humanity of Christ. The impression often seems to be that the Son of God came down from heaven in incarnate form, spent three decades or so as a human, and then returned to heaven to revert back to his preincarnate state.

But this is Christological error, if not outright heresy. The Son of God clothed himself with humanity and will never unclothe himself. He became a man and always will be. This is the significance of the doctrine of Christ’s ascension: he went into heaven with the very body, reflecting his full humanity, that was raised out of the tomb. He is and always has been divine as well, of course. But his humanity, once taken on, will never end. In Christ, the Heidelberg Catechism says, “we have our own flesh in heaven” (Q. 49).

One implication of this truth of Christ’s permanent humanity is that when we see the feeling and passions and affections of the incarnate Christ toward sinners and sufferers as given to us in the four Gospels, we are seeing who Jesus is for us today. The Son has not retreated back into the disembodied divine state in which he existed before he took on flesh.

And that flesh that the Son took on was true, full, complete humanity. Indeed, Jesus was the most truly human person who has ever lived.

“How is it possible for the Son NOT to know when the Father has set for His return?”

Whereas, Jesus did not know in His humanity, He DOES know in His eternity.

Fire Bible Chapter 24

This verse explains that only God the Father knows the time of Christ’s return. We must understand that this statement comes from the perspective of Christ’s time on earth. Certainly now Jesus, who is himself God and has since returned to his former glory with the Father (Jn 1:1–2; 17:5), has future knowledge of his return—both before and after the tribulation

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-know-return.html

So, when Jesus said He did not know when He would return, He was actively humbling Himself and taking the form of a servant (see Philippians 2:7–8). Since no other mortal knows the time of Jesus’ return—that information is the Father’s alone (Matthew 24:36)—Jesus voluntarily restricted His knowledge on that point. It was part of Jesus’ submission to the Father (see John 5:30; 6:38; 8:28–29) and His mission to live a human life. Some things Jesus apparently chose to “give up the rights” to be privy to during His earthly ministry. The knowledge of when He would return was one of those things. Jesus, now exalted in heaven, surely knows all, including the timing of His second coming.

When I was recovering from surgery a couple of weeks ago, Brother Jay filled in for me.

He taught a lesson on the End Times called: Grappling with Radical Evil

The lesson opened with the question:

Under what circumstances in your life (or in the world) have you wondered whether God was still in charge?

More than cause people to wonder, the problem of evil causes people to walk away from God.

15 Things That Ruined Your Religious Convictions

https://becausemomsays.com/things-that-ruined-religion-for-you/

GREEDY MEGACHURCHES (Big expenses for props, equipment, etc.)

UNNECESSARY SHOWINESS (Everything writ large to impress)

LACK OF GRATITUDE (Not thankful for gifts given - ask for more.)

ENTITLEMENT (Pastoral …?)

RELIGIOUS PEOPLE (“Only God has the right to judge, yet religious people are the most judgmental people you can

meet.” “Also, if you’ve ever been to a church, they all gossip about each other.”)

ABUSE (Sex abuse tolerated/condoned in the church. A nest for predators).

EMPTY ADVICE (“The non-answers to all my questions as a kid. “You just have to have faith” is a dumb way to

respond to an inquisitive mind.”)

WE DON’T ASK QUESTIONS LIKE THAT (“When I was a kid, I asked my grandmother where God came from, and she

smacked me across the face and said, ‘We don’t ask questions like that’. I was just being curious, and her reaction shocked me.”

CONTRADICTIONS (“In school, we learnt about the Greek gods, and I was like, wait, hold on there are other gods??

“It was explained that ‘oh no it was a long time ago and they just didn’t understand how the world worked, so they made those gods up as explanations’. That led to a lot of questions about how we know God is real then.”)

RELIGIOUS COMPLEX (“Some people believe that being religious makes them better than non-religious. When I left

the church, I was persona non grata. None of the members will even look at me now.”)

RELIGIOUS LEADERS (“I never met a single priest who could tell me about heaven, but they all knew every square

inch of hell. They should. They built it.” “Religious leaders ruined religion for me.”)

MISOGYNY (“When the pastor started ranting about the evils of women, saying that Satan walks among us in the

body of every female, and men must take measures against them. I don’t think everyone in the faith is like that, but it was the one moment that ruined religion for me. Especially seeing his wife react to the sermon with such support of the message. It was one of those defining moments in my life, a very negative one.”)

CONTROL (“It became evident that many people who call themselves religious only do so to feel morally superior

to others, and then use that superiority to try to control everything.”)

POWER-HUNGRY (“Seeing how people use religion as an excuse to be bad people.”)

LACK OF EMPATHY (“I was 15. My father had been diagnosed with ALS. I had gone to a youth group, and they had a

circle of teenagers talking about things going on in their lives. When it was my turn, I shared that my father was dying. I was angry and said something like I doubted there was a God if this was happening. I got chewed out for questioning God, and the kids refused to talk to me the rest of the night. You would think I had killed someone. It was THAT strong of a reaction.”)

But again, the problem of evil is one of the top reasons people walk away from God.

But, one that Sherel mentioned on May 3rd:

Her brother, a PK (raised in church) says something like: I can’t believe in a god who allows babies to be raped, tortured and killed.

How can we believe in a God who allows evil and suffering?

So, back to that question 2 weeks ago: Is God in control?

If He is, then Why does He let or allow (synonyms) bad things to happen?

Rick pointed out: Jesus didn’t stop evil when He walked the earth although He did heal people.

Jay: God gives free-will. People choose to be mean.

Theodicy. An answer to the problem of evil that attempts to “justify the ways of God to man” by explaining God’s reasons for allowing evil. Two of the more important theodicies are the “soul-making theodicy,” which argues that God allows evil so as to make it possible for humans to develop certain desirable virtues, and the “free will theodicy,” which argues that God had to allow for the possibility of evil if he wished to give humans (and angelic beings) free will.

Evans, C. S. (2002). Pocket dictionary of apologetics & philosophy of religion (p. 114). InterVarsity Press.

Chad V. Meister & James K. Dew, Jr. in their book God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views say:

Evil abounds. Regardless of when or where we look—in the feudal systems of the Middle Ages or the cyber world of the twenty-first century, in the posh suburbs of a major city or the poor slums found across the globe, in the practice of organized crime or the peccancy in organized religion—in all times and in all places we find pain, we find suffering, we find evil. Evil is no less present, no less pernicious, and no less perplexing in the modern world than it has ever been. This poses a tenacious problem for those who believe in a God who is perfectly good and loving, all-powerful, and infinitely smart. For surely a God who is good and loving would not want there to be widespread pain and suffering in the world. And surely a God who is omniscient and omnipotent could ensure that no such world would exist. But such a world does exist. Our world.

It wasn’t asked:

Is God good?

Is God all-powerful?

Is God good? Omnibenevolent

Is God all-powerful?

The lesson led with the thoughts:

It is normal for believers to experience pressure, because they live in two worlds at once: the new age inaugurated by Jesus and the old age that persists until Jesus comes again. But in this study the apostle Paul envisions a day when the powers of evil will be “incarnated” in a widespread rebellion (an anti-kingdom) and personified in a single individual (an antichrist). As we will discover, this encounter with radical evil is the experience of every generation of Christians waiting for the end, but especially of the generation that precedes the glorious coming of Jesus again. Perhaps, as Bonhoeffer once said, when there is not an inch of space on earth left where it is safe to be a Christian, the Lord will come. The bad news precedes the best news of all.

Said: Living for Jesus isn’t easy or everyone would do it.

I have looked at several sources.

Theodicy. An answer to the problem of evil that attempts to “justify the ways of God to man” by explaining God’s reasons for allowing evil. Two of the more important theodicies are the “soul-making theodicy,” which argues that God allows evil so as to make it possible for humans to develop certain desirable virtues, and the “free will theodicy,” which argues that God had to allow for the possibility of evil if he wished to give humans (and angelic beings) free will.

Evans, C. S. (2002). Pocket dictionary of apologetics & philosophy of religion (p. 114). InterVarsity Press.

Chad V. Meister & James K. Dew, Jr. in their book God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views say:

Evil abounds. Regardless of when or where we look—in the feudal systems of the Middle Ages or the cyber world of the twenty-first century, in the posh suburbs of a major city or the poor slums found across the globe, in the practice of organized crime or the peccancy in organized religion—in all times and in all places we find pain, we find suffering, we find evil. Evil is no less present, no less pernicious, and no less perplexing in the modern world than it has ever been. This poses a tenacious problem for those who believe in a God who is perfectly good and loving, all-powerful, and infinitely smart. For surely a God who is good and loving would not want there to be widespread pain and suffering in the world. And surely a God who is omniscient and omnipotent could ensure that no such world would exist. But such a world does exist. Our world.

A Classic View: The basic answer to the problem of evil given by the classic view is that no evil takes place unless God permits it, and that God has a good reason for permitting each evil, which takes the form of a greater good that he uses the evil to bring about.

A Molinist View: God’s absolute intentions are thus often frustrated by sinful creatures, but his conditional intentions, which take into account creatures’ free actions, are always fulfilled. Even sin serves God’s conditional intentions in that it manifests his overflowing goodness in the incarnation of Christ for the purpose of rescuing humanity from sin, his power in his redeeming humanity from sin, and his justice in punishing sin.

God’s providence, then, extends to everything that happens, but it does not follow that God wills positively everything that happens. God wills positively every good creaturely decision, but evil decisions he does not will but merely permits[1]

An Open Theist View: The most distinctive tenet of open theism, and the one that has generated much of the controversy about the view, is open theism’s conception of dynamic omniscience (the term is due to John Sanders), in particular of God’s knowledge of the future. We hold that much (not all) of the future is known by God as what might happen, and as what will probably happen, but not as what will definitely take place. And this has important implications for divine providence and for the problem of evil: it means that God is a risk taker. When God decides to bring about a particular situation, one that involves his creatures in making free choices, it is impossible even for God to know with certainty how those creatures will respond; there is a genuine possibility that they will not respond in the way he intended and desired for them to do. (Of course, there is much in the Bible that indicates that this not only could but also often does happen.)

An Essential Kenosis View: Essential kenosis says God cannot totally control lesser entities or interrupt law-like regularities and thereby prevent genuine evil. In the case of less complex entities, God necessarily gives the gifts of agency and self-organization. Doing so is part of divine love, because God loves all creation. This means God cannot withdraw, override, or fail to provide the agency and self-organizing of any simpler organism or entity. The love of God is also uncontrolling among the less complex creatures and entities of our universe.

A Skeptical Theist View:

David Robertson 26 February 2016 | 4:54 PM

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/how.can.we.believe.in.a.god.who.allows.evil.and.suffering/80724.htm

It was embarrassing.

The two humanists on the panel were having a collective nightmare. As we discoursed on the nature of evidence, creation and the Bible, they were struggling more and more to make a coherent case for their atheism.

Until at last one cracked. Red faced and angry he just blurted out: "How can you believe in a God who allows suffering?"

It wasn't the subject of the evening, but this was his last desperate attempt to justify not believing in the God of the Bible.

For some it is the first and greatest hurdle.

The problem of evil, or in its more refined form, the problem of suffering, is probably the number one defeater belief.

The Problem defined

(Diagram)

God is all-powerful so could destroy evil and prevent suffering

God is good so would want to destroy evil and suffering

Evil and suffering exist so the good and all-powerful God does not exist.

It is apparently such an overwhelming logical case that anyone who does not accept it is in denial, stupid or themselves evil.

Any attempt to answer the problem is considered heartless as well as impossible – but here goes.

The Problem for the Atheist

Let us imagine that God does not exist. Would that mean that evil and suffering do not exist? Would the problem of evil go away because there would be no evil? Let's ask [atheist] Richard Dawkins, who is always helpful in explaining these things.

"In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference" (River out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life).

That is the atheist view in a nutshell. There is no evil. No good. Nothing but pitiless indifference.

And the problem gets worse. For the evolutionary naturalist (the person who believes that there is only 'stuff') there is no creation, no life after death, no ultimate foundation for morality, no ultimate meaning in life and no human free will. It's all chemistry, biology, physics and genetics.

The German atheist philosopher Frederick Nietzsche wrote a brilliant work called Beyond Good and Evil in which he stated:

"We believe that severity, violence, slavery, danger in the street and in the heart, secrecy, stoicism, the tempter's art and devilry of every kind – that everything wicked, terrible, tyrannical, predatory, and serpentine in man, serves as well for the elevation of the human species as its opposite."

In other words suffering is good because it weeds out the weak. In fact, according to atheistic evolution, anything that furthers the human species should be deemed as 'good'.

The problem of evil for the atheist is so overwhelming that they either deny its existence (evil is just a social construct), or if they wish to remain logically consistent they are compelled to become theists.

CS Lewis made the journey that many have made from atheism to theism, partly because he realised that evil was a far greater problem for the atheist.

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust...? Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too – for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist – in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless – I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality – namely my idea of justice – was full of sense. Consequently, atheism turns out to be too simple" (Mere Christianity).

But the atheist is not quite finished yet. Even allowing for the non-existence of evil they then turn it to the question of suffering and ask the simple question, why would an all-powerful, good God allow suffering?

This for me is always a pertinent question. This week alone I think of a friend who committed suicide, another one who has been taken into hospital suffering from a terrible illness, never mind the ongoing suffering that I see every day in the world.

Of course once you start to think about it you realise that some suffering is necessary. When I go to the dentist the needle in my mouth is suffering, but it is for a clear and better purpose. So the atheist immediately asks, but what about pointless suffering? Tim Keller, whose book on this subject Walking with God through Pain and Suffering is this week's recommended book, points out the problem with this. "Tucked away within the assertion that the world is filled with pointless evil is a hidden premise, namely that if evil appears pointless to me, then it must be pointless... This reasoning is, of course, fallacious. Just because you can't see or imagine a good reason why God might allow something to happen doesn't mean there can't be one."

So the problem of evil and suffering for the atheist is devastating and the solution, just suck it up and see, is inadequate for anyone.

Let's return to the Christian view and see what our perspective is. For me evil and suffering are reasons to believe the Good News, not to reject it. Because it's the only explanation and even more importantly, the only solution I know.

The Problem of Evil for the Christian

Here is a suggested biblical solution.

1. God did not create evil because it is not created

Did God create a perfect world and then get it wrong? Or did God create a perfect world that he allowed to go wrong? I love Augustine's answer to this question.

a. God created all things.

b. Evil is not a created thing – it is the absence of good.

c. God did not create evil, but permits it for the good.

2. God permitted evil but brings even greater good out of that evil

"And, in the universe, even that which is called evil, when it is regulated and put in its own place, only enhances our admiration of the good; for we enjoy and value the good more when we compare it with the evil. For the Almighty God, who, as even the heathen acknowledge, has supreme power over all things, being Himself supremely good, would never permit the existence of anything evil among His works, if he were not so omnipotent and good that he can bring good even out of evil" (Augustine's Enchiridion, ch. 11).

"For he judged it better to bring good out of evil, than not to permit any evil to exist" (Enchiridion, ch. 27).

I sometimes ask people whether, if I could create them in a world in which they experienced no pain, no suffering, no existential angst, no broken relationships, no cancer, no tears, they would want that. "Oh yes." "In that case I will create you as a chair." "Oh no, I want to be human."

And there is the rub. Maybe in order to be human there needs to be an element of free will, moral choice and love that is not just chemically pre-destined. Maybe for that to happen God created this world to be a 'vale for soul making', a physical and moral environment which allows us to live as free moral agents and to learn what we need to learn.

So God did not create evil, but permitted it. Why? For a greater purpose than if had not permitted it. The next step...

3. God alone knows the end from the beginning and how to bring good out of evil.

Sometimes we set ourselves up as though we were the judge and God had to answer to us – a complete reversal of the real situation. Consider how God answered a man who suffered more than most of us: Job.

"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great? Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? (Job 38:2-4,18,21; 40:2,8).

The infinite, eternal, omniscient Creator is far more likely to know about good and evil, and its consequences than his finite, limited, ignorant creatures.

But this is not enough. We do not want to be Job's comforters or to be comforted by Job's friends. We need to know not just the how and why of evil, but do we have a better solution than 'suck it up and see'?

God's answer to evil and suffering – The great writers, poets and thinkers have always wrestled with this subject. Dostoevsky, for example, wrote: "Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth" (Crime and Punishment).

I was in the National Portrait Gallery in London and came across this extraordinary poem by Ben Okri –

Freedom is a difficult lesson to learn, I have tasted the language of death Till it became the water of life. I have shaped a little my canvas of time I have crossed seas of fires And seen with these African eyes The one light which neither empires Nor all the might of men obscure. Man is the sickness, God the cure.

That is God's answer. He himself is the cure. Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, the Resurrection, the Healer, the Good Shepherd. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." The atheist is compelled to say it's just luck and there is no answer. The Christian says, "I fear no evil." There is the fundamental difference between the two worldviews.

The atheist says good and evil are an illusion.

The Christian faces up to reality and says there is real evil, real darkness, real despair, but there is a real Saviour, who came to free those who all their lives are held in slavery by their fear of death. The practical consequences of these beliefs are phenomenal. The atheist puts a band-aid on the problem, the Christian gets to the heart of the matter.

In The Lord of the Rings, Sam asks Gandalf if everything sad is going to come untrue. God's solution to the problem of evil is to work it all out through the life, death and resurrection of Christ and to present the untangled beautiful tapestry on the Day of Judgement. This is the whole story and the whole message of the Bible. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Next week we see just how Christ is the answer. Meanwhile I leave you with one example of how this works.

I think of a woman I met who lived in very poor circumstances. Her partner had died from a brain tumour. She had three teenage daughters. She too had a brain tumour but did not want to go into hospital. I was deeply moved by her suffering and the pain in her eyes. I said to her "Life is ugly. "Yes," she acknowledged with tears. "What would you say if I told you that even out of the greatest ugliness there can come great beauty?"

I was not offering physical healing, riches or resurrection from the dead – at least just then. She started crying. "I can't believe that it could be so". Beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the spirit of praise for the garment of heaviness. That is how we fight the ugliness of evil and the pain of suffering....we bring the beauty of Christ.

David Robertson is the moderator of the Free Church of Scotland and director of Solas CPC, Dundee.