Dear Counselor:  I cannot understand why God allowed the tragedy in Littleton and the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.  If He is so good, why did He allow even Christians to be killed.  This is a senseless tragedy and it has shaken my faith...

Dear Friend,  Please consider the wisdom of this article.  May it help your faith and comfort your heart.  Lynette J. Hoy

The dilemma of evil and suffering. 
We are gripped with the age-old question of why there is so much suffering and evil in the world today after 2 students terrorized many, murdered 15, and shot and bombed other Columbine High School students in Littleton Colorado on April 20th. Then, on September 11, 2001, Terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and crashed them into the World trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. These kinds of evil deeds, destructive and senseless actions give us all pause.  There are no pat answers which can sufficiently explain these horrific events. 
In the Bible we read about many kinds of calamities and evil perpetrated by men against other men. 
The Lord recognizes the evil in men: Gen 6:5
 "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." (NIV)
Judg 3:7 "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs." (NIV)

There were many evil Kings in the Bible.  Manasseh was one of them:  2 Chr 33:6
"He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger". (NIV)

David wrote about the evil deeds of men: 
Ps 38:20  "Those who repay my good with evil slander me when I pursue what is good".  (NIV)
Ps 71:4 "Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men.+ (NIV)

Sorting through the dilemma.
In Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask about the Christian Faith by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart we read an insightful answer to the dilemma of evil & suffering in the world: 
“Sometimes the problem of evil is put to the Christian in the form of a complex question, “If God is good, then He must not be powerful enough to deal with all the evil and injustice in the world since it is still going on. If He is powerful enough to stop wrongdoing, then He Himself must be an evil God since He’s not doing anything about it even though He has the capability. So which is it” Is He a bad God or a God that’s not all powerful?”  Though many writers in the Bible complained about suffering and evil....the Scriptures make it plain that God did not create the world in the state in which it is now, but evil came as a result of the selfishness of man.  The Bible says that God is a God of love and He desired to create a person and eventually a race that would love Him. But genuine love cannot exist unless freely given through free choice and will and thus man was given the choice to accept God’s love or to reject it.  The choice made the possibility of evil become very real.  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they did not choose something God created, but, by their choice, they brought evil into the world.  God is neither evil nor did He create evil. Man brought evil upon himself by selfishly choosing his own way apart from God’s way.”

So blaming God for suffering and evil in the world is like saying "You shouldn't have given us a choice Lord.  You should have made us love you and forced us to obey you."  But that would not have been real love.  Would you want to force someone to love you?  When you walk(ed) down the aisle, and say (said) "I do", what would it feel like if you were told you had no choice but to love the person and marry him/her or else?  God has been very fair and righteous to give us a choice about loving Him.  We, unfortunately, made the decision to go our own way rebelling against God.  So now we have to live with the consequences of  choosing sin instead of Him. Our rebellion and broken relationship with God has brought a tremendous amount of evil and suffering in the world. 
Still we wonder how this type of senseless evil could occur.  And why do God's innocent children suffer? 
There were some very strong Christians who died in the Columbine school shootings, who we would say were martyred for their faith. Here is an excerpt from the Denver Rocky Mountain News:
Martyr for her faith 
"Youthful Christian confesses her belief to rampaging gunman, then pays with her life"  By Carla Crowder  Staff Writer   April 23, 1999 

"A Columbine killer pointed his gun at Cassie Bernall and asked her the life-or-death question: "Do you believe in God?"  She paused. The gun was still there. "Yes, I believe in God," she said.  That was the last thing this 17-year-old Christian would ever say.  The gunman asked her "Why?" She had no time to answer before she was shot to death.  Bernall entered the Columbine High School library to study during lunch. She left a martyr.  Though lots of fellow Columbine students already were strong, vocal Christians, Bernall's confession in the face of death has inspired them to keep the faith no matter how bad it gets.  "She did something that one of the thieves did when Jesus was on the cross. She admitted she believed in Jesus Christ before she died," said Joshua Lapp, a 16-year-old Columbine sophomore and member of St. Philip Lutheran Church. 
"She died for her faith. That's why she died and that's how she lived her whole life. She was a martyr for Jesus," said Crystal Woodman, a Columbine junior." 

Somehow we are struck again with the realization that life is not fair, that life is short and that at any time we could be thrust into eternity.
How can we deal with the uncertainty and unfairness of life?  How can we help others to deal with this? 
C.S. Lewis’ books The Problem of Pain  and Mere Christianity  has had a profound impact on many lives helping people understand the cause of evil and suffering and why God allows it. 
Lewis estimates that 4/5 of human suffering is caused by human beings being wicked to one another. 
In The Problem of Pain, Lewis wrote: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
“The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and pose an obstacle to our return to God... Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”  C.S. Lewis
Lewis teaches us that we must remember- this world is not our home, we are just passing through.  There is another world we are going to.  And Christians are not exempt from suffering in this world.  But if you are unsure about your standing with God then it is of crucial importance to make certain you know where you are headed for eternity. Jesus talked about hell more than heaven.  He said some very profound things about both which need to be taken seriously. If you question His authority to say the following, then read more about His claims to be God and the evidence for Christianity in the articles on Faith 101  and Faith 102. 
Jesus said in John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
John 11:25-26
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."" (NIV)

In light of this trauma how shall we live?  Let us be certain about our destiny by trusting solely in Christ for our salvation, not in works or anything else. St. Paul writes in Eph 2:8-9  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast." (NIV)
Let us live fervently for Christ ready to be martyred for our faith as Cassie did.    Let us find comfort in Christ when these things occur.  For Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, & you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)
Let us trust that God has a plan and purpose for us when suffering and evil abound in the world and personally touch us. 
Let us abide in Christ to know His power and strength for living in everything we experience for Paul writes in Phil 4:13
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (NIV)
Let us not be afraid to grieve the losses in life. Read the articles on grief and grief recovery.  Let us grow close to our Father in heaven to experience His presence saying with the Psalmist in Ps 23:4
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (NIV)
Let us keep our hope in heaven because this world is not our home and Jesus has said in John 14:1-6
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" (NIV)

Check out our Resources page for more recommendations on books.  May you discover God's presence, power and love more deeply through the trials you have suffered!      Lynette Hoy, NCC, LCPC