By far the #1 question that "thinking teenagers" (a.k.a. doubters or skeptics) ask is this one. In a nutshell, they ask:
why would a loving and kind God allow evil in the world?
shouldn't this loving God guarantee my happiness?
if God were almighty, why would He not remove evil and suffering altogether?
The skeptics, thus, reason as follows:
apparently, there is evil and suffering in the world
God isn't doing anything about it
hence, either God doesn't exist, or He is not omnipotent or all good
My thoughts are as follows:
any religion or belief system (i.e., Buddhism) that dismisses evil (as if it is just a state of mind) is illogical and does not reflect reality
any person who claims evil is relative (i.e., moral or ethical relativists) fails to acknowledge reality
Christianity is one religion that openly acknowledges the existence of evil in the world, how it all started, and what God is doing about it
there is no way for anyone to know for sure as to if God is or isn't doing anything about evil
in the big picture, we know that some natural "disasters" are just what the earth needs in order to sustain itself
the real problem may be more about personal evil (that is, choices people make), and that is best explained by the fallen nature of man
The Bible clearly states that God will ultimately do away with evil (usher in complete justice) in the end
The "best" modern book (there are classics which are more difficult to read) that deals with this topic, in my opinion, is Clay Jones' Why Does God Allow Evil? Compelling answers for life's toughest questions. What I mean by 'best' is that it's read-able, divided into manageable chapters, and there's even a "cheat sheet" at the end. :)
This book's contents include:
Why do we suffer for Adam's sin?
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Are there no good people?
What is the destiny of the unevangelized?
How can eternal punishment be fair?
Is free will worth it?
Wasn't there another way?
Will we have free will in Heaven?
Will eternity be boring?
How does eternity relate to our suffering now?
How does suffering relate to our own eternal occupation?
Here is the short summary (or what Jones calls "the short answer") as to why God allows evil:
God didn't create automatons/robots, but human beings (Adam and Eve) that have free will
One prohibition for them was to not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
They ate the fruit (a willful disobedience)
God cursed the ground (which, in turn, caused diseases, pestilence, and even natural disasters) and kicked Adam and Even out of Eden (to make sure that the Tree of Life was inaccessible to them)
All subsequent generations inherited a sinful nature
Evil (natural and man-made) is part of the fallen world
That's the short answer. However, it may not satisfy the skeptic. Well, that's why reading of Jones' book is needed, to go deeper.
One thing I learned from Sean McDowell is that the questioner is typically not a disinterested party--in fact, the question is very personal and the questioner may feel (1) he/she is suffering unjustly, and (2) that God has not answered her plea for help against evil acts/persons. So, we must not assume that the question is purely academic or theoretical.
Dealing with the problem of evil requires defining "good and evil," which requires establishing that moral relativism is an unsustainable, false, and self-defeating proposition. I will deal with moral relativism in another post.
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