Apologetics & Illness

[Paul of Tarsus]

Unless you live under a rock, then you're all aware that illness is a big factor in our lives. Even if you're very lucky and live free of illness, you probably know somebody who struggles with sickness. How can illness be explained within the context of Christianity? Why would a God allow sickness?

As far as I know, neither Jesus nor any of his apostles were ever said to be sick. None of them are described as blind, deaf, or lame. They did believe that various infirmities are caused by demons, and the cure was to cast the demons out. According to the gospel, these healing activities attracted great multitudes of people seeking delivery from their afflictions. So obviously illness was a major factor in the lives of those who were contemporaneous with Jesus.

One thing I've noticed about sickness is that it does not discriminate based on faith. It doesn't care what your beliefs are. That's why, for example, people gathering to worship is strongly discouraged due to the risk of Covid 19.

[nobspeople]

[Replying to Paul of Tarsus in post #15]

I don't see how anybody can say people created diseases.

My understanding wasn't that people created diseases, but their sin allowed diseases to come about. Not that this is much better but still....

Mortality rates would have been much higher too greatly reducing the numbers of the sick.

That seems likely, in general, to me.

From a theological perspective, you would think that Christians would be safe as they gather to worship.

By some Christian thinking, those that got sick must have displeased God in some way

[Difflugia]

Nope, All the Bibles I quoted agree that God didn't really create woe. He creates (as in, still does) "evil." [Note the word isn't "created," past tense, but "create," present tense.]

To expand on this a bit, the verb form (Qal active participle) is used as an adjective ("I am the evil-creating One" or "I am He that creates evil").

I also explained that the word translated in the KJV as "evil" refers to calamity or woe just as Paul of Tarsus has said in this thread.

It's the same word used to describe the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" in Genesis 2:9 and the "evil" that consumes man's heart continually in Genesis 6:5.

I could offer one of the "traditional canned" Christian responses, but I'm hoping to come up with something that better addresses the issues.

What do you find unsatisfying about the "traditional canned" responses?

[brunumb]

My understanding wasn't that people created diseases, but their sin allowed diseases to come about. Not that this is much better but still....

I agree, it's no better at all. Allowed is something of a 'weasel' word where you can have something happen but offer absolutely no explanation of how it happened or what was involved. For example, exactly how did sin allow diseases to come about? If they did not exist before Adam and Eve sinned, then the logical conclusion is that God created them as an act of retribution.

[Paul of Tarsus]

As I explained elsewhere, evil, whether natural or moral, is not a created entity like a rock or a tree.

Evil can be defined as an antisocial attitude or mode of human behavior; it's something that tends to counteract what is best for innocent people. So yes, evil isn't really like a rock or a tree. Rocks and trees generally do no harm to innocent people. Deadly viruses, on the other hand, are more difficult to explain if you posit a God.

I explained that Genesis tells us that everything God created was good and that his creation of man was VERY good.

To say that what God did was "good" is a very obvious result to expect from him.

I explained that the disobedience of Adam and Eve brought sin and evil into the world.

Would you say it's necessary to be a Young-Earth-Creationist to accept the Fall? At the very least one needs to believe in Eve and Adam.

I also explained that the word translated in the KJV as "evil" refers to calamity or woe just as Paul of Tarsus has said in this thread.

I don't know if it makes that much difference which word is used to translate Isaiah 45:7. Whatever God is doing in that passage, I don't want to be around when it happens.

I also explained that God had to deal harshly with the nation of Israel because he planned to implement salvation through it in the person of Jesus. Therefore, when they strayed, he had to take action to bring them back to him and, as related in Isaiah, he used natural disasters that exist in this fallen world. However, now that his plan has been implemented through Christ's birth, death and resurrection, God does not deal that way with people any more.

But people are still harmed in natural disasters. It seems that God may or may not have a reason for such disasters.

God is responsible for good. We are the authors of evil along with the devil and his fallen angels/demons.

So God automatically gets the credit for good, and we humans are blamed for authoring evil. How do you explain all the good that people do? Most of us don't make a practice of doing evil.

You can't blame God for our failures.

If God created us imperfect, then I can't see how he's not to blame for our failures.

He never wanted us to know evil. That's why he told Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but they didn't trust that he loved them and, therefore, disobeyed. They had free will. Their choice led to the existence of evil in the world.

Maybe they were just curious.

[JehovahsWitness]

How can illness be explained within the context of Christianity?

Biblically illness happens because of humans inherited sinful condition. It is a byproduct of human imperfection.

Why would a God allow sickness?

Because it is not yet His time to reverse the effects of Adamic sin.



FURTHER READING : Bible Questions Answered SUFFERING
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... suffering/

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JW

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

SIN , SICKNESS and .... DEATH

[Tcg]

Would you say it's necessary to be a Young-Earth-Creationist to accept the Fall? At the very least one needs to believe in Eve and Adam.

No. There are apologists who accept the fact of evolution and try to stretch the idea of a fall into their reasoning. They take a rather convoluted approach and say that Adam and Eve weren't the first humans, but they were chosen as representatives of the human race.

As well, there are Old-Earth-Creationists who take a similar approach. It takes a bit of mental gymnastics, but perhaps less than accepting the Adam and Eve tale as a literal event.


Tcg

[Tcg]

Because it is not yet His time to reverse the effects of Adamic sin.

Actually, what we see is a world that operates exactly as it would if there were no God. One could create a series of explanations for why this is so or simply accept the much more likely conclusion that the world functions as if there weren't a God because there isn't one.

Life on earth is difficult for humans for the same reason it is difficult for all species; the earth doesn't exist for the benefit of any given species including humans. Of course it is much more comforting to pretend a God of some sort exists and considers humans his most special of creations. Seeking comfort, however, isn't a great goal if one prefers to know truth.


Tcg

[nobspeople]

My understanding wasn't that people created diseases, but their sin allowed diseases to come about. Not that this is much better but still....

I agree, it's no better at all. Allowed is something of a 'weasel' word where you can have something happen but offer absolutely no explanation of how it happened or what was involved. For example, exactly how did sin allow diseases to come about? If they did not exist before Adam and Eve sinned, then the logical conclusion is that God created them as an act of retribution.

To me, if God is THE supreme being that created everything, is all knowing and powerful blah blah blah ultimately, ALL responsibility ends up in his lap. He either created or allowed it to be created. Either way, if you're an ultimate being ultimately, you're responsible for all the actions of your creations, good and bad.
Having any other way is nothing more than an excuse.

[Paul of Tarsus]

How can illness be explained within the context of Christianity?

Biblically illness happens because of humans inherited sinful condition. It is a byproduct of human imperfection.

Many of the Bible writers didn't seem to know that illness is actually caused by disease. The spread of disease has nothing directly to do with a person's morality.

Why would a God allow sickness?

Because it is not yet His time to reverse the effects of Adamic sin.

So if you come down with the flu, then you attribute it to Adam's sin?

[nobspeople]

[Replying to Paul of Tarsus in post #30]

So if you come down with the flu, then you attribute it to Adam's sin?

Not trying to speak for anyone else, but YES, this is what I was taught, in a sense.
Basically, everything "bad" was a direct result of humanity's sin. Which never made sense then and still doesn't, logically. But this is what's taught in many Christian churches.