Big Questions: The Theodicy Odyssey, Part One

Whether Christian or not, religious or not, "spiritual" or not, at some point everybody wrestles with the problem of evil, and why bad things happen in life.  Is there something called "justice," is it all random? Is there any guarantee that good wins in the end, and does some force, govern everything that happens in the world?  Followers of Jesus ask the same questions, of course, but have the challenge of making sense of evil in the world while also believing that there is a God who is both all-good, and all-powerful, and yet who allows all sorts of things to happen that seem to fly in the face of God's good will.  How are we going to face the challenges of life and make sense of where God is when terrible things happen, whether to us, or to people we care about, or halfway around the world? To explore these questions, pastors Steve and Erica are starting a new series that looks at some of the big persistent questions that Christians have to wreslte with, and in this first part, the conversation is a lot like opening a big can of worms.  Taking a look at different angles and different ways of asking the question, these two friends in Christ start looking at how followers of Jesus can look together at the brokenness of the world and the reality of our suffering and try and make sense of God's presence there. Listen in, and help us think through the Big Questions.