Everyone should risk thinking objectively. The beliefs and views we live by should be supported by reason. After all, when we are convinced of acting in a specific way or we simply disagree with the opinions of others, we should ground our views on rationalism and evidence. While we have every right to say what we think because we feel strongly about a subject, we should not expect to win respect from others or even influence them with such a position. Sometimes their understanding and agreement are due to their own interaction with the Holy Spirit.
Being a Christian for years, we may be able to give personal testimonies as to why we are convinced that Christianity is true. But we may feel that our testimonies are insufficient in today’s world to influence others to want to become a disciple of Christ. So many of us are afraid to do witnessing in this skeptical, modern, scientific and technological world. For the people we witness to may ask us ‘why would a good God let COVID-19 happen?’ We may not have proper responses. Perhaps an honest first response might be “I don’t know.” From there we can certainly go, research and hopefully return to them with an informed response after having given the questions some prayerful thought.
But our ignorance and theirs of the mere existence of a pandemic does not mean that God doesn’t exist. Nor does it mean, that even if he does exist, he doesn’t have the power to stop the coronavirus? If he is a God of love, why would he just sit back and let his creation suffer? Not even imperfect human beings do that. Notice globally how all countries with the World Health Organization are united in the desire to end COVID-19.
Jesus argued once: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him,” (Matthew 7:11). If humans can be kind, imagine how kind God the Creator of kindness, can be. The principle here is that God definitely wants, more than our global community, to get rid of COVID-19. Now it makes no sense then that he would send such a virus.
We cannot speak to every possible kind of evil—be it moral or natural evil. However, there are basic thought processes the believer can follow when responding to non-believers in life and while witnessing. Let’s not forget one key injunction in Scripture: “Examine everything carefully and holdfast to the truth,” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). So Christians are called to be critical thinkers backed by faith and evidence. Another Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:26).
One Christian writer, J.P. Moreland, in his book titled Love Your God With All Your Mind ( Navpress, ©1997) says, “a flabby mind is …the result of .. thinking that is unyoked from the true knowledge that comes from above, from God.” The bible tells us if we want wisdom to ask God and he would give it freely (James 1:5). Christians must think. God has also given human beings free will which we use to do good or evil. Most times we discover by science and logic that humanity’s free choices cause innumerable problems: political, diseases, epidemics, pandemics and more. We damage forestry, we pollute air and water. We throw chemical wastes and keep destroying sea life, vegetation and erode protective mountains. We cause many natural disasters because of our choices.
We form bad relationships too, in our personal, public and business lives. Problems are the outcomes and we then pray “where is God when it hurts, why does a good God let bad things happen? Even one believer asked me, “Pastor did God send the coronavirus?” We all remember too well the nine plagues he sent in Egypt hundreds of years ago. So is God doing that now? Along with our shallow memories that we have a good God, let’s remember that he is impartial too.
When as believers we self-examine, study and understand why we believe Christian truth claims and see its relevance in history, the present and future times, this is the start of our beginning to risk thinking objectively. Surely experience shows we can and do learn from pain and suffering. We all suffer—theists, agnostics and atheists alike. Rather than disprove the existence of a loving, graceful and impartial God, suffering often helps us to prove God’s existence, grace and love. In suffering we are forced to help each other, to seek comfort and peace, we go to our knees in prayer, and so suffering helps to show up our imperfection, human pride and that we don’t have many answers at all. We need to call upon God. Look at the evidence of how the world is reacting now in this pandemic.