What Scripture says
Scripture gives no single answer, but several threads:
- A fallen world. Suffering entered with human rebellion (Genesis 3:16–19), and “the creation was subjected to futility” (Romans 8:20, ESV).
- Free will. Much suffering comes from human choices, from Cain killing Abel (Genesis 4) onward.
- Growth. “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3–4). “For the moment all discipline seems painful… but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).
- God’s purposes. “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28), though Paul doesn’t say all things are good.
- Mystery. Job is never told why he suffered. God answers him with questions about creation (Job 38–41), and Job is humbled but comforted.
- Lament. About a third of the Psalms are laments. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1), words Jesus cried on the cross (Mark 15:34). Scripture allows God’s people to protest.
- God shares it. In Jesus, God himself suffered (Isaiah 53:3, Hebrews 4:15). Jesus wept at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:35).
- It will end. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:4). “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed” (Romans 8:18).
What the evidence says
Philosophy
Proposed answers (theodicies)
| Answer | What it says | Its limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free will | Love and goodness require real freedom, which can be misused | Doesn’t obviously cover natural disasters or disease |
| Soul-making | A world with challenges lets people grow in courage, compassion and faith | Some suffering seems to crush rather than build |
| Natural order | A stable world with consistent laws makes life possible but also allows harm (see 9.3) | Why not a world with less harm? |
| Greater good | God brings good out of evil that we may not see | Hard to accept in the face of horrors |
| Eternal perspective | Present suffering will be outweighed by eternal joy | Doesn’t explain why now |
Many Christians hold several of these together, while admitting they don’t fully explain every case.
“Why so much?”
The hardest question isn’t why there is any suffering, but why there is so much, and so much that seems pointless: children with cancer, genocide, tsunamis. Bart Ehrman, who left the faith largely over this question, argues the Bible gives contradictory answers and none is satisfying.
Christian responses:
- Limited understanding. If God exists and is infinitely wise, we shouldn’t expect to see his reasons in every case (Isaiah 55:8–9). Job’s story suggests the reasons may be hidden from the sufferer.
- The cross. Christianity doesn’t present a distant God watching suffering, but one who entered it. John Stott wrote that he could never himself believe in God if it were not for the cross.
- Hope. The resurrection promises that suffering doesn’t have the last word (see 7.9).
Comparison with other worldviews
Every worldview must deal with suffering:
- In atheism, suffering has no ultimate meaning, and there is no final justice or restoration. Some atheists note that if there is no God, there is no objective reason to call anything evil (see 1.5).
- In Buddhism, suffering arises from desire, and the goal is to escape it by ending desire.
- In Christianity, suffering is real and evil, God shares in it, and he will end it.
Where they meet
Free will, a fallen world, soul-making and God’s bigger purposes (Romans 8:28) are part of the answer. The “why this much?” question stays genuinely hard, and Scripture, through Job and the Psalms, allows lament.
What’s still open
Why God allows the amount and kind of suffering we see.
Bottom line
Free will, a fallen world, soul-making and God’s bigger purposes (Romans 8:28) are part of the answer. The “why this much?” question stays genuinely hard, and Scripture (Job, Psalms) allows lament. This is rated Debated.