One of the consequences of the existence of evil in our world is the price children pay for this evil. Children are innocent; they can do little to defend themselves. Yet they too suffer pain because of the evil in our world. In the last blog we learned that John Hicks believes that God allows evil and suffering in our world so we will learn to change our soul so it becomes like him. [1]
Is it just to let children suffer so we can learn this lesson? Ivan Karamazov in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov, declares that “And if the suffering of children go to swell the sum of suffering which was necessary to pay for truth, then I protest that the truth is not worth such a price”. [2]
Hicks says the problem of suffering is that “it is distributed in random and meaningless ways, with the result that suffering is often undeserved and often falls upon men [and children] in mounts exceeding anything that could be rationally intended.” [3]
That Jesus had a special place in his heart for children is without question. Jesus said: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18:5-6 ESV) So how can God allow children to experience all this suffering?
Moses Maimonides, a 12 century Jewish scholar, philosopher, and medical doctor has stated we suffer because of evil and the causes of this evil are three. The first is because we have a material existence. The second is the evil people do to each other. The third are the result of our own actions. And the second and third causes constitute the vast majority of these cases. [4]
So if we ask who is responsible for most of the suffering children experience, we will need to first look at ourselves—at both of our acts of commission and omission.
__________________________
[1] John Hicks. Evil and the God of Love. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2010, p. 257.
[2] Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Translated by Constance Garnett. The Brothers Karamazov. New York: New American Library, pp. 225-226.
[3] Hicks., p. 333.
[4] Moses Maimonides. Shlomo Pines, Translator. The Guide of the Perflexed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1963, pp.443-446.
