We live in a post-Christian era. Among Westerners, especially, the Christian worldview is increasingly unpopular. Non-Christian worldviews are winning the public relations war, replacing Christianity’s seemingly old and repressive way of thinking with more positive, progressive, and inclusive ideologies. People suppose the Christian faith has been tried and found wanting, when in fact, to paraphrase G. K. Chesterton, they have been repeatedly told it’s wanting and therefore have never tried it.
Popular culture, despite its shallowness, has a far-reaching influence on the average person’s worldview. This entertainment-driven and self-gratification-obsessed blend of pop psychology, pop philosophy, and pop theology has become its own worldview. Never have people needed to hear the biblical worldview more—and perhaps never have they been more culturally conditioned to dismiss it.
The fact that there are fewer nominal Christians today is good. It’s better for people to deny the Christian faith outright than to profess it in weak and shallow ways. Many have become immune to Christianity by contracting a mild and unbiblical form of it. Some find, as C. S. Lewis did, that after getting far enough away from a false Christianity, they can see with fresh eyes what true Christianity is—a dynamic and persuasive competitor in the marketplace of ideas.
Everyone has a worldview, inconsistent and superficial though it might be. Non-Christians often raise concerns about evil and suffering as if they present a problem exclusively for the Christian worldview. But every worldview must attempt to account for them. As I have compared the Christian worldview to others, I have found it both comprehensive and satisfying. I believe the greatest test of any worldview is how it deals with the problem of evil and suffering. And Scripture’s redemptive story passes that test with remarkable depth and substance.
Having grown up in a non-Christian home, and still vividly remembering my unbelief as a young teenager, I’m convinced that Christianity’s explanation of why evil and suffering exist beats that of any other worldview. Its explanation of why we can expect God to forever deliver His redeemed people from evil and suffering is better still. The answers revealed in Scripture not only account for how the world is, they offer the greatest hope for where the world is headed.
The Bible confirms evil’s existence and considers all of God’s attributes as infinite. Joni Eareckson Tada writes, “God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he loves.” Evil is never good, yet God can use any evil to accomplish good and sovereign purposes.
The problem of evil lies at the very heart of the biblical account and serves as the crux of the unfolding drama of redemption. The first act of human evil moved God to bring decisive judgment while simultaneously unveiling His master plan. To complete our redemption—as well as that of the entire fallen creation—He sets in motion His strategy of incarnation, atoning death, resurrection, and ultimate return.
The Bible never sugarcoats evil. Jesus called an entire generation “evil” (Matthew 12:39, KJV). We are to pray, “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13, KJV), not simply, “Help us face tough times.” Scripture tells us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). One day the Judge will say, “Away from me, all you evildoers!” (Luke 13:27).
The Christian worldview concerning this central problem is utterly unique. When compared to other belief systems, it is singularly profound, satisfying, and comforting. In fact, in the end, I’m convinced the Christian worldview is the only one that adequately deals with evil and suffering.
Through the redemptive suffering of Christ—in which He took all human evils on Himself—and through His triumph over evil and death, God has done everything necessary to defeat evil. One day He will carry out His final redemptive work: “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 25:8).
How does your own worldview stack up against the real world around you? Does it credibly explain the way things are and offer persuasive reasons for believing in a hopeful future? Or do you need to revise or abandon it in order to embrace the biblical worldview because it better explains your condition and that of the world around you?
