"Why Is There Death and Suffering?"
This question has plagued society for many generations. Unfortunately, Christians by and large have not adequately answered this question. The question seems like it would have a complex answer, but it doesn't. In fact, the answer can be found in the first few chapters of the Bible.
The answer is this: God created a perfect world, with no death, no disease, no pain, and no suffering. Then Adam, the first human, disobeyed God, which brought a curse upon the world. That curse included death, pain, and suffering.
When God finished His Creation and said it was very good, was the world filled with death and suffering? No! God did not call death "very good".
What About Carnivorous Animals?
Genesis 1:29-31 says, "...Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." -KJV
That passage of Scripture puts it very plainly-humans and animals were vegetarian in the beginning! (Note: In Genesis 9:3, after the Great Flood, God did make it permissible for humans to eat meat.)
If you looked at the Bible alone, not bringing any human ideas to it, you would never get the idea that there was death, disease, pain, and suffering, for millions of years before Adam.
Why is there death now? In Genesis 2:16-17, God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve did not obey that simple command; they disobeyed God (that is, "sin").
The Consequences of Sin
The Bible teaches that death and suffering are consequences of sin. Romans 5:12,13 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law." -KJV
There is the answer! God created a perfect world, but Adam's sin messed everything up. God is not to blame for death and suffering; we are to blame. Adam's sin brought death and suffering into the world, and since Adam was the head of the human race, every human has inherited his sin nature.
There is Hope!
Through Jesus Christ, we are saved from sin. God sent his Son (Jesus) to die for us and be raised from the dead which paid for our sins and gave us eternal life. God is truly a God of love!
If you would like to learn more about the answer to the question of death and suffering, see this DVD from Answers in Genesis.
The answer is this: God created a perfect world, with no death, no disease, no pain, and no suffering. Then Adam, the first human, disobeyed God, which brought a curse upon the world. That curse included death, pain, and suffering.
When God finished His Creation and said it was very good, was the world filled with death and suffering? No! God did not call death "very good".
What About Carnivorous Animals?
Genesis 1:29-31 says, "...Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." -KJV
That passage of Scripture puts it very plainly-humans and animals were vegetarian in the beginning! (Note: In Genesis 9:3, after the Great Flood, God did make it permissible for humans to eat meat.)
If you looked at the Bible alone, not bringing any human ideas to it, you would never get the idea that there was death, disease, pain, and suffering, for millions of years before Adam.
Why is there death now? In Genesis 2:16-17, God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve did not obey that simple command; they disobeyed God (that is, "sin").
The Consequences of Sin
The Bible teaches that death and suffering are consequences of sin. Romans 5:12,13 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law." -KJV
There is the answer! God created a perfect world, but Adam's sin messed everything up. God is not to blame for death and suffering; we are to blame. Adam's sin brought death and suffering into the world, and since Adam was the head of the human race, every human has inherited his sin nature.
There is Hope!
Through Jesus Christ, we are saved from sin. God sent his Son (Jesus) to die for us and be raised from the dead which paid for our sins and gave us eternal life. God is truly a God of love!
If you would like to learn more about the answer to the question of death and suffering, see this DVD from Answers in Genesis.
posted by Scott Eash at 11:26 AM
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