Why is this such an important question in a discussion about God’s goodness and the problem of pain? Let’s put it this way. What kind of God would Yahweh be if He kicked Satan out of Heaven (remember, Eden was Heaven on earth) prior to creating mankind only to let the devil back in toContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 8. When was Satan Kicked out of Heaven?”
Author Archives: Chris Brubaker
The Problem of Pain: 7. What’s Up with the Talking Snake? Part 2
The huge red dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world… Revelation 12:3, 9 NET Strange, isn’t it? To my mind, a dragon and a serpent aren’t the same. Maybe you could say that a dragon has a serpentine-like body or that they’re both reptilian, but that’s aboutContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 7. What’s Up with the Talking Snake? Part 2”
The Problem of Pain: 6. What’s Up with the Talking Snake?
Before we look at the serpent himself, understanding what kind of place the Garden of Eden actually was will help us understand why other talking creatures were around in the first place. Maybe you’ve read the end of Genesis 3 before and wondered why the cherubim (plural) show up with no prior explanation. …at theContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 6. What’s Up with the Talking Snake?”
The Problem of Pain: 5. Why Would God “put hostility?”
If hostility generates pain and suffering, why would a good God “put hostility” (Gen. 3:15) between the serpent and the woman and between their offspring? Well, considering that the serpent is Satan (Rev. 12:9), would you really want a relationship with the devil that doesn’t include hostility? Think about it. What would it mean forContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 5. Why Would God “put hostility?””
The Problem of Pain: 4. Hostility Between Two Seeds
For a good portion of my life as a Christian, if you asked me to categorize supernatural beings in a hierarchical form and divide them into good guys and bad guys, it would have looked something like this: God Satan Angels Demons The problem with my viewpoint (among other things) was that it treated SatanContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 4. Hostility Between Two Seeds”
The Problem of Pain: 3. Sin, the Slavemaster
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news [lit. “preach the Gospel”] to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free… Luke 4:18 NRSV, quoting Isaiah 61:1 We’ve establishedContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 3. Sin, the Slavemaster”
The Problem of Pain: 2. Sin: Act, or Actor?
What is sin? Maybe you’ve heard it said that sin is “missing the mark.” That makes it sounds like I was practicing archery and just missed the bullseye. Because it’s hard to hit the bullseye, right? Who could blame you for not being perfect? And if it’s so hard, why does sin bother God soContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 2. Sin: Act, or Actor?”
The Problem of Pain
I heard a sermon on this subject today. More specifically, it was on the age-old question of, “Why does a good God allow suffering?” The pastor hit on some of the things you might expect, like how the human rebellion in Genesis 3 brought sin and death into the world, as well as how thingsContinue reading “The Problem of Pain”
Epic Gospel 