Does God Care About Suffering?

Recently an interesting blog-debate occurred on the internet between Bart Ehrman and N.T. Wright: if God exists, and is good and all-powerful, why is there so much suffering?

Since my own research is addressing how 1 Peter uses the Old Testament to make sense of Christian suffering, naturally I was interested in the discussion. Three other factors, however, make this blog-debate interesting: (a) Ehrman is from Lawrence, Kansas, and went to Lawrence High School! [I lived in Lawrence for six years] (b) he comes from an evangelical background and has concluded that his faith was unable to overcome the problem of suffering; (c) N.T. Wright offers a thoroughly biblical (and not just a philosophical, as is often the case) response to the issue. Read his Evil and the Justice of God for a more developed proposal.

Here is a blurb about the debate:

Is Our Pain God's Problem?

Bart Ehrman

N.T. Wright

Is our pain God’s problem? If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow so much suffering? These kinds of questions—sometimes called the problem of theodicy—have long bothered believers and nonbelievers alike. These questions are especially pressing now as we face the AIDS pandemic, widespread hunger, and environmental degradation—not to mention the grief that humans can cause one another. Our two guests for this new Beliefnet Blogalogue have devoted part of their lives to addressing these issues. Bart Ehrman is James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the author of God's Problem and Misquoting Jesus, among many other titles. N.T. Wright is the Bishop of Durham for the Church of England and has taught at McGill, Oxford, and Cambridge. His books include Surprised By Hope, Evil and the Justice of God, and several other titles.

Click here for the full details of the debate.