Why does an all-good and all-powerful God allow evil to exist? On Saturday, February 21st, the Waco Apologetics Conference addressed one of the most pressing objections against Christianity: the problem of evil. Ratio Christi at Baylor, a Christian apologetics student organization, partnered with Columbus Avenue Baptist Church to host the conference, which was titled, “Defeating the Problem of Evil.” The conference’s keynote speaker, Scott Christensen, an associate pastor at Kerrville Bible Church, presented on free will and the greater-glory theodicy.
In his presentation, Christensen argued that one of the most popular responses to the problem of evil falls short. For context, the problem of evil argues that the existence of evil disproves or renders unlikely the existence of an all-good and all-powerful God. After all, if God really is all-powerful and all-good, why does He allow evil and suffering to persist? One popular response to that question is known as the free will defense. This counterargument posits that God has good reasons for allowing humans to have free will, but also that free will brings with it the possibility of evil. The free will defense usually requires a definition of free will known as libertarian free will. According to Christensen, libertarian free will operates under the assumptions that our choices must be autonomous to be free and that we have to be able to make an alternative choice under the same set of circumstances. Christensen denied this understanding of freedom, saying it undermines what the Bible says about God’s sovereignty, total depravity, God’s character, and divine foreknowledge.
As an alternative, Christensen turned to compatibilist free will. Christensen defined compatibilism as the idea that there is a dual explanation for every human choice. He said that, ultimately, God determines our choices. He is the primary or formal cause, and He is the remote cause of our actions. However, Christensen also said that our moral responsibility is tied to the intentions of our hearts, and that we are the immediate causes of our actions. Simultaneous with God’s ordering of our actions, we cause our choices. Christensen clarified that God never coerces anyone to act against their will, but that there are simply two explanations for our actions. To defend this idea, Christensen used the biblical story of Joseph, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, Acts 2 and 4, and Romans 1.
Christensen concluded the conference with a discussion of the greater-glory theodicy, which showed how God’s goodness can coexist with evil and suffering. An example he gave for how this works is our redemption in Christ. He used this analogy: the redemption of the world is shaped like a “J,” not a “U.” The story of the world and humanity does not start at one point, stoop down into fallenness, and become redeemed simply to end up back where it started. Rather, we are redeemed to an even greater state than humanity was in the first place. Christensen further explained that Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross is truly what magnifies God’s glory the most—that by defeating death and sin, redeeming us and saving us, God is most glorified. For that to be necessary and even possible, however, the world must be fallen, sinful, and in need of a redeemer.
“The redemption of the world is shaped like a “J,” not a “U.” … We are redeemed to an even greater state than humanity was in the first place.”
Christensen’s God-centered explanation for evil and suffering emphasizes our need to know that we are not the center of the universe. God created everything and works everything out for his greater glory. However, this does not leave us on the sidelines—rather, what most magnifies God is also what gives believers the most satisfaction, joy, and redemption. What most glorifies God is also what brings us the most good, for it glorifies God to bring his followers good and to show His love to them.
Samantha Hockaday, a Baylor seminary student from Sacramento, California, commented on the event, saying, “I enjoy getting to talk about the problem of evil… It brings a lot of hope.” She thought that Christensen’s presentation especially made clear “free will and individual agency and how we are to interpret sin after the fall.” Throughout the conference, Hockaday was reminded of how “God’s justice and God’s provision will always prevail, and that we can always have faith that he will make all things right in the end.” This is a great summary of what “Defeating the Problem of Evil” was all about. Apologetics serves as a great way to remind ourselves of God’s work and promises in our lives, and it helps both believers and nonbelievers alike to make sense of the broken world around them.
The conference also included a student symposium, in which current students with Ratio Christi presented on topics of their own. Zach Aston, a Baylor freshman from Boerne, Texas, presented his very own theodicy, integrating an explanation for why evil exists in the world with how Christ defeated evil’s power on the cross. Joshua Schultz, a Baylor senior from Fort Worth, discussed the difference between theodicies and defenses and examined Van Inwagen’s free will defense as a solution to the problem of evil.
Ganesh Venkataramanan, a 52-year-old resident of Katy, Texas, drove up to Waco just for the conference. Venkataramanan noted that his favorite aspect of the conference was the student symposium. Each student’s “depth of knowledge on deep questions” encouraged and amazed him. He commented that “I think there’s a lot of people who have a deep desire for something authentic, especially students,” and he thought that Ratio Christi’s conference succeeded in fulfilling some of that desire for depth.
The conference also explored adjacent topics through breakout sessions covering topics like divine authorship and the problem of evil, the necessity of the Trinity for the problem of evil, original sin as the roots of evil, and difficult passages in the Bible pertaining to evil. Breakout speakers included Houston Christian University apologetics chair Austin Freeman, Ratio Christi International Director Bill Scott, Baylor graduate accounting student Saul Winebrenner, Reasoning Through the Bible podcast host Glenn Smith, and more.
Ratio Christi is an apologetics organization on campus which helps students to answer the question, “Why do you believe?” Every week, Ratio Christi at Baylor hosts on-campus lectures, small-group discussions, and tabling events. Students may also enroll in Ratio Christi’s chapel section to receive chapel credit for participating.