Powerful AND Good

In reference to the recent events in Japan, I heard someone voice this question, "Is God all powerful, but doesn't care about the people of Japan, or does he care about the people, but isn't all powerful?". The question is framed in such a way to force the person answering to chose one of the options. But are these the only two options. Actually, the question poses a false dilemma.

Agnostics and atheists have long argued that if there is a god, these are the only two options available. In a world without god you are left with random events that have no purpose. They just occur. Every situation is a matter of presence and timing. Good things happen to you because you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. Bad things happen to you because you just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. There is not providential hand orchestrating the events of your life. There is no logic or reason behind anything that happens, good or bad.

When you assume there is a god, things tend to look purposeful. Apply that logic to the situation in Japan. The devastation and loss of life is staggering. It all seems so pointless. Why would God allow such senseless, wholesale destruction? If God is behind these events, it suggests there is a purpose for them. We cannot think of one reason that such would be the case, and there in lies the dilemma. We are stuck with a powerful god, who can create the world and fill it with destructive forces, but who is unconcerned with his creation. Or we are left with a god who cares deeply for his creation, but has no ability to act on that concern.

On the face of it, it looks as if we are left with no other options. However, as I already pointed out, it is a false dilemma. The Bible declares God to be both all-powerful and benevolent. Whether we look through a microscope or a telescope, it is evident that God is powerful. He brought this world into existence, and the evidence of design confirms it. While there are some evidences in nature that God is good, like the rain falling on the just and unjust, we need the Bible to see his love most clearly. The Scriptures declare that the cross is the greatest demonstration of God's love. In the cross, God was reconciling fallen humanity to himself.

The dilemma arises out of a basic misunderstanding of God and humanity. We assume that God, in order to be good, must always prevent "bad" things from happening. Anything to do with pain, suffering, and discomfort are always lumped in the category of evil. Next, we assume that humanity is, for the most part, good. Unless an individual or society actively seeks to inflict pain or suffering on another, we assume the best. However, humanity is morally corrupt from birth to death.

When it comes to humanity and circumstances, we judge things as "good" and "bad" in relative terms. Without a clear, objective standard, it is impossible to speak authoritatively on what is good and bad. Even when we can objectively define something as "bad" or "evil" that doesn't mean that some greater, objective good can't come from it. True moral evil exists, but that doesn't mean that moral good doesn't. In fact, it is hard to argue that something is truly evil apart from have a concept of good.

Catastrophes don't leave us torn between a god who is powerful, but unkind, or a god who is kind, but not powerful. They drive us to rethink our categories. Maybe the box we've put God in isn't the right size. His ways are beyond our ways. His wisdom is greater than us, as is his knowledge. He not only sees the cause, but the effects as well. Humanity wants a god that easily managed. He is allowed out to help us in our times of need (which are few and far between), and to do good to us, but he isn't allowed to do anything that we can't fathom.

We shake our fists at the thought of his judgment. We are uncomfortable with his holiness. The God of the Bible is so unlike us it is frightening. He can't be controlled. There is no manipulating him. He is free to bless or curse at will. His every action is right and true. He is the only truly autonomous Being in the universe, and that offends human sensibilities.

The question posed at the beginning of this post is a trick. It seeks to lure the one answering into acknowledging a false god. A god who is powerful, but unkind, is not worthy of our service. A god who is kind, but powerless isn't worth following either. We have to reject the false dilemma, and answer with confidence, "The God who is, is both powerful and good." We don't have to know the reason he permitted something. We just need to know that he is absolutely trustworthy.