The news coverage since the capture of Osama Bin Laden has been fascinating. And yet a number of questions remain: Did Pakistan know his whereabouts? Has the death of Osama hurt Al Qaeda or emboldened them? And yet still an important question remains that few have asked—Was Bin Laden a homicidal maniac? After all, could any normal person call for the death of over 3,000 people? He must have been insane, right?

The day after the news of his death, Bill O’Reilly twice referred to Bin Laden as a “homicidal maniac” during the opening comments of his show on Fox News. The first definition of maniac is, “an insane person, especially one who suffers from mania.” Whether or not O’Reilly meant for maniac to be understood in this way, others have said Bin Laden is “mentally imbalanced,” “insane,” and “wired wrong."

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Okay, I admit it, I was pretty happy that the centerpiece of the current reign of terror was ushered into the netherworld. That it was at the hands of a Navy Seal, a well-placed missile or by falling down the stairs would not have made a whole lot of difference to me. I am just relieved to know that there is one less misguided mind plotting horrific acts of murder.

That he was eliminated does not trouble me a whole lot. Like C.S. Lewis, I subscribe to the principle of “just desserts”.

And I know that this confession will have a lot of my tenderhearted friends in the blogesphere howling in disbelief and digging around for scriptures to quote. “How can you possibly match Christ’s demand that we “love our enemies” with the action of unloading lead into their skull?” they shall ask.

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The Japan tsunami inevitably raises profound questions about God and evil.  But in this discussion, it is important to realize every worldview, not just Christianity, must explain evil.  Christians are often on the defense with regards to this objection, yet the tables can be turned on the atheist, with his naturalistic worldview in tow.  Given naturalism, what is evil and how does the atheist make sense of it?



Famous British philosopher and atheist Bertrand Russell once commented, "No one can believe in a good God if they've sat at the bedside of a dying child."  Now, I agree that sitting at the bedside of a dying child is a heart-wrenching situation not to be treated simplistically or in a cavalier manner.  Providing pat answers and quoting Romans 8:28 over and over will not suffice.  But what of Russell'sresponse?  What can the atheist say to the dying child?  Or to the Japanese parents whose child disappeared in the flood waters?

•  "In the grand scheme of the universe your suffering is utterly meaningless--life and all that comes with it has no transcendent meaning or value."
•  "Your suffering is completely pointless since there is no purpose to any of this anyway."
•  "Fortunately, you will soon die and return to dust."
• "Take heart, you will soon pop out of existence forever and your suffering will be over."
• "Stuff like tsunamis just happen."
• "Bummer."

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Have you ever sent an email, text, or some other message you wished you could take back right after pushing “send”? A few months after college graduation I was getting my hair cut in Breckenridge, Colorado. The lady cutting my hair noticed I was reading The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Leslie Newbigin.

Figuring I might know a little about theology, she asked if I could explain why there was so much evil in the world. Since I had just taken a class on apologetics, I decided to tell her everything I knew about why God might allow evil. Every time she had a question, I had a quick retort.

From my perspective the conversation was going great. But all of a sudden she started crying and said, “This is a bunch of &$%! You have an answer for everything. It can’t be that easy.” I was completely taken aback. This made me a bit nervous, especially since she was holding scissors next to my head! 

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What are the questions you most fear being asked about your faith? Even as a trained apologist there are many tough questions I hope don’t come up in my discussions with non-believers. Some questions are simply difficult to answer. But we can’t ignore the tough questions. Such an approach is cowardly and counterproductive for the kingdom of God. We must—yes, must—be prepared with an answer for the toughest questions (1 Peter 3:15). We have nothing to fear because the truth is on our side.

I recently had the opportunity to endorse Mark Mittelberg’s upcoming book entitled, “The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (With Answers).” This book is based upon a survey Mark sponsored with Tyndale Publishers through the Barna Group of one thousand self-proclaimed Christians. They asked each person what faith questions they would feel most uncomfortable being asked by a co-worker or friend. Some questions are expected but a few might come as a surprise.

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“Did you see the movie on Lifetime about that woman?” – Zach Galifinakis

“Amish Grace” is a by the numbers made for TV movie based on the true story of a small Amish town that goes through an incomprehensibly painful experience.  The film centers on one couple within the Amish community who lose a family member and how they process their loss.  They spend the majority of the film asking themselves questions about God, forgiveness, and love through a conservative faith lens.

The film does not concern itself with the psychology of the killer or the actual act of violence he commits (nothing is actually shown, just talked about after it happens).  Instead, it is interested in how the people respond to the tragedy.  There are several methods of grieving that come into play – grief within the community, family, and the individual.  In each case, the film mainly focuses on an Amish wife (played well by Kimberly Williams Paisley – aka Steve Martin’s daughter in “Father of the Bride”) who loses her daughter, while also giving attention to the killer’s grieving wife.

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My recent debate with James Corbett on the topic, "Is God the Best Explanation for Moral Values?", has generated quite a stir. A number of people from various backgrounds and beliefs have chimed in with their thoughts, including a popular atheist blogger, a Christian science-fiction writer, a Christian postmodernist, the "Apologetics Junkie," and the Saddleback College paper (the debate was held at Saddleback College).

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Here is Part 1 of the debate between Sean McDowell and James Corbett on the question, "Is God the Best Explanation for Moral Values?" To view Part 2, click on "continue reading."

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We will be the first to admit that we don't have some kind of special insight into the mind of God and know why he allows evil and suffering. We just believe that as a holy, loving, all-powerful, all-good, all-knowing God, he does have his reasons for allowing evil--both human and natural evil--to exist in our world and inflict the suffering it does. Here are some possible purposes God may have for allowing evil and the suffering it produces. See if you identify with one of more of these.

Suffering Can Make Us Stronger

You've no doubt heard the expression, "No pain, no gain." We're not trying to trivialize the nature of pain and suffering, but there's truth in that slogan. Something about hardship, difficulty and pain can sometimes strengthen us. Suffering and setbacks can also bring us closer as families, friend and communities. Dare we say, in the wake of the earthquake in Haite and its horrible aftermath, the global community has come together in extraordianary ways to provide relief on a massive scale. There's an incredible amount of work yet to do, but there is hope that Haiti and its people will one day be stronger.

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Since the release of Understanding Intelligent Design last summer, I have had the chance to speak to thousands of Christians and non-Christians about the case for design in nature. Probably no challenge is raised more frequently than the seemingly “evil designs” in nature, such as the AIDS virus or the Great White Shark. How could a good God create such efficient killing machines? The apparent cruelty of nature was actually one of Darwin’s chief contentions with creation. He couldn’t see how the cruelty of nature could have been created by God.

For the sake of argument, let’s grant that AIDS and sharks were designed as killing machines. This raises an obvious question: How does such an admission count against intelligent design? After all, a torture chamber is clearly designed, even though it is used for an evil purpose. Evil designs are still designs.

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