"There is NO good answer. Why would a little child have cancer ???????????????"
That was the most recent comment left to a video I recently watched presented by apologist and author, Lee Strobel, on why bad things happen to good people.
I don't know whether the commenter asked this question for sensationalism or out of a legitimate place of anguish of a personal and painful experience. Regardless of the reason, there are countless people and families around the world that face that very pain and other issues just as devastating. The heartache and pain is very real, and my heart goes out to those who are hurting.
So, why do bad things happen to good people?
When asking about a very specific person, at a very specific location, in a very specific time, no one can answer that. But asking as a generality is different.
First, the
question concedes that there are such things as "bad" and "good", or in other words: evil and good.
Such a distinction must be constant, because if standards are fluid and
inconsistent, there would be no legitimate reason to oppose past,
present, or future atrocities such as false imprisonment, embezzlement,
tax-evasion, larceny, rape, murder, genocide, or cannibalism.
Science
and naturalism can't account for what is good and is bad. They can only address the chemical and mechanical actions and reactions of natural entities, ie: "molecules in motion".
Humanity can't be
a consistent standard of good and evil, because those standards change
with majority popularity, force through power, difference of opinion, or cultural
changes over time or location.
By necessity, good and evil must be external and objective measurements. Christians conclude that the standard of consistent judgment between good and evil is a holy
God who is unchanging and is equally as just as He is merciful.
Second, The question itself also reveals a misunderstanding of the issue from the Christian perspective. The question assumes that bad things happening to bad people is perfectly okay, but isn't okay when happening to good people. "Bad people deserve it after all, right?" Almost always the person asking the question asks from an "Us and Them" point of view. They see themselves and their loved ones as good people while those deserving of bad things are bad people.
The hard truth is that no matter how good of lives we live by human standards and comparisons to other people, we are all marred by even a single sin. Pain and suffering are not what God intended for us. Sadly, mankind brought about pain and suffering through sin. As a result of pulling away from God, we have made a way for sickness and disease to beset us and inherited a tendency toward sin. Scripture
says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [1]
That fact is even acknowledged in our worldly culture with equivalent
sayings such as “I’m only human” and “Nobody’s perfect”.
Then why do bad things happen to children? They haven't lived long enough to do anything bad or even know what good or evil is, right?
Well, consider this: while children are often happy and sweet, we don’t have to teach them to lie, or steal, or be violent, or cheat, or hate, or be greedy, or rebel. We have to teach children to not do those things because they are wrong. We tend to favor those we judge as innocent and weak such as children. This is not a bad thing, but our compassion should be extended beyond just those. In our state of existence, pain and suffering falls on all of us to varying degrees from minor to unimaginable. Sadly, children are not immune from the ravages of our fallen world. It may be harsh to consider, but is it really any less agonizing when the same afflictions happen to 20 year olds or 40 year olds? Are not their experiences also just as painful or their lives cut short? The fear, pain, and anguish is just as real for them and their loved ones.
Our imperfection because of sin utterly fails when compared to the flawless perfection required to be in God’s holy presence and demanded by His perfect judgment. His perfect judgment must be executed, because if He let any sin go unpunished, He would not be just. Another of His attributes is His perfect steadfastness. God can not be separated from His attributes, and His attributes can not be diminished or set aside in favor of another. This means God is not only perfectly just, He is perfectly merciful too.
How then does God satisfy His irrevocable demand for justice with His desire for mercy if we are imperfect? He does it through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who lived a perfect and sinless life and died to pay the penalty of sin. For those who accept Jesus' payment for their own sins, their charges and punishment of guilt are placed on Him and His perfection and innocence is placed over them. [2]
It is a Christian belief that God's mercy extends to young children and mentally impaired individuals who do not have the ability and rationality to make the choice to follow Him. This is referred to this as those who have not reached the “age of accountability”. This isn’t a chronological age, but a maturity level and capacity in understanding the difference between right from wrong [ie: sin] and therefore capable of making their own decision to follow or reject God.
Sometimes critics will also bring up the question of remote tribes that have never heard the gospel of Jesus. The fact is that even the most remote and isolated tribal people are just as endowed with wisdom and intelligence, and are as capable of discernment and learning, as the most modernized and technological people groups. Yes, it is important and obedient for Christians to take the gospel to people around the world regardless of location, however God has not abandoned people to oblivion and ignorance. He has revealed Himself to everyone through the general revelation of creation. The wonders and mysteries of nature point to God. [3] When people genuinely seek God, God meets them and reveals Himself to them in any number of ways.
Scripture addresses this: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" [4] and "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." [5]
Many critics will use the issue of suffering to argue against the existence of God. Part of their argument is that a loving and all-powerful god wouldn't allow such suffering and heartache. Of course, this argument is based on their own perspective, and their compassion toward those suffering is commendable. But do we not use painful events at times to teach our children for their betterment? The painful lessons learned as a child are to bring about a greater good for them into later life. You may tell a child 100 times not to touch a hot stove, but the lesson is driven deeper when they blister their finger on the 101st time reaching for it.
We may have to endure suffering now so that a greater good comes about later. We may suffer one event in order to not suffer a more devastating tragedy. We may suffer through something to emerge stronger on the other side. We may suffer something through which we grow closer to God. We may suffer something that doesn’t seem to involve us directly but results in a greater good for others. The results may come about in a matter of days or perhaps not for centuries.
The story of Joseph is a prime example of that. He was sold into slavery at age 17 by his brothers, imprisoned for a number of years on false charges, and then at age 30 elevated to second in command under Pharaoh over all of Egypt in order for Israel to survive, thrive, increase, and sustain the bloodline through which Jesus would come to offer Himself to cleanse us from our sins and restore people to God. [6]
Regardless of who we are, we may not be facing the same agonies, but we are all in the same situation of experiencing anguish in our lives. Very painful things happen to people regardless of their heritage, their location, their age, their social status, their economical positions, how they live their lives, or any other factor that defines who we are. Sometimes these events are extraordinarily tragic. Sometimes they are even the result of the actions of another person.
We may not be able to answer why a little child gets cancer other than it is ultimately a reality of this fallen world. Christian parents and atheist parents alike may be dealing with their child facing this horrible illness. Even while exhausting every modern medical avenue in fighting disease, Christians ultimately trust in the long-view and sovereignty of God that whatever the immediate outcome, He can turn tragedy into a victory.
The question then isn't why do bad things happen to good people; the question is why do bad things happen in the first place. The follow up question then is: how do we endure them or pass through them?
God is concerned with our
current pains and sufferings, but He is just more concerned about the
long-game of our eternity.
As
Christians, we believe that God created mankind for relationship. Mankind
rebelled and became separated from God by sin. Sin brought about death,
illness, and disease. God (in His mysterious trinitarian nature) came and lived as Jesus Christ,
simultaneously fully God and fully man. Jesus showed great compassion to
the sick and hurting. He fed the hungry; He healed the sick; He made the
lame able to walk; He gave sight to the blind; He even raised dead. He
empathized with the pain and anguish of the hurting. Even knowing He was
about to restore life to Lazarus, He was moved to tears by the
heartache of Lazarus’ loved ones. But
Jesus' ministry was about the long-game.
Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life, was
crucified, died, and was buried. He rose again to life on the third day
in victory over sin and death. Through Jesus' victory, those who believe
in Him, accept His payment for sin as their own and follow Him, they
are reconciled to God for eternity. [7]
We are presented with that choice between an eternity of
life through Him alone or an
eternity of banishment from the presence of God. The choice is ours.
God respects the free will He gave us too much to force us into His
presence for eternity if we spend a lifetime rejecting Him.
There are some critics that accuse Christians of being ignorant, gullible, or in need of an emotional crutch. Such comments are not worthy of a legitimate and well-reasoned opposition. They are hollow, ad hominem attacks that are attestations of their own ignorance, their own conceit, their own needs, or their inability to rationally discuss the issue and support their beliefs. Those attacks amount to child-like insults against not only lay people, but against countless others such as scientists spanning every field of study, thoughtful and insightful philosophers, successful business professionals, and world leaders at every level of administration that have followed Christ over the last 2000 years.
Just as there are unbelievers from every walk of life, there are believers from every walk of life.
There is ample evidence to reasonably conclude the existence of God. There is ample evidence for the reliability of the transmission and content of the biblical texts. There is ample evidence to believe Jesus rose from the dead.
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." - C. S. Lewis
References:
[1] Romans 3:23
[2] 2 Corinthians 5:21
[3] Romans 1:20
[4] Romans 9:15
[5] James 4:8
[6] Genesis 50:20
[7] Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
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