If God is such a good and all-powerful God, why does he allow the innocent to suffer? (con’t)
If God is such a good and all-powerful God, why does he allow the innocent to suffer? (con’t)
I could skip over all the underlying questions and write down the conclusion which I’ve come to think of as true, but then this would skip over the process of how we Methodists go about discerning our beliefs—through scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. The good old Wesley Quadrilateral.
Let’s tackle some of those underlying questions.
Does God exist? Is God all-good? Is God all-powerful?
Here is how I go about answering the questions above.
Scripture is clear. God is good. God is powerful. Here are a few of my go-to verses:
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God….
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Exodus 34:6 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin…”
1 John 4:8 “….God is love.”
Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Psalm 8:3 ”When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place …”
Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Tradition is also clear. God is all-powerful and all-good. Two basic statements of Christian faith were adopted 1968, when the Methodists and Evangelical United Brethren Church formed what is the United Methodist Church. You can find these in the Book of Discipline or at http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/foundational-documents.
Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, Article 1
(Given by John Wesley in 1784)
“There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church
(adopted in 1962 by the General Conference of the Methodist Church)
Article I — God
“We believe in the one true, holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of men, to the glory of his name. We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.”
Reason: My reasoning for the existence is God is simple and based on my experience of reality.
I recognize God in the complexity, diversity and beauty of the universe–material and immaterial.
It’s that recognition in itself of God—whether in a sunset, the moment of a child’s birth, the moment of seeming coincidence– that indicates the existence of God to me. That deep knowledge, that “Oh, it’s You!” convinces me that God is there.
As to whether God is an all-good and loving God, again I rely mainly on what I have experienced.
Experience:
When I was in my twenties, I had an experience that convinced me-without a doubt—of not only God’s existence, but that God is pure love and God is pure goodness. I was sitting in a Bible class where the teacher was talking about the different names of God. There was nothing emotional about the subject; the teacher was merely reading through the scriptures. I was interested in the subject, but the class was like all other classes I’ve ever attended.
Suddenly and without warning, God was there. Just as I could recognize the person sitting across from me as Carol, I recognized this incredible presence as God. The air was new (can’t describe it any other way). The feeling that I had in this Presence was as if everything I ever longed for, dreamed of, hoped for had come true. The Presence was pure love and goodness. I looked across the table at Carol and her eyes were huge. I mouthed to her, “Do you feel this?” She nodded. It was at this point the teacher paused in his teaching and said: “A funny thing happens when I teach this particular class and I can’t explain it. God comes to visit.” (There was no way he could have known what I was feeling.) Then he just went on to teach the rest of the lesson.
So all of this put together–scripture, tradition, reason, experience–convinces me of an all-powerful and all-good God.