How does the existence of evil fit into the idea of an all-powerful and omnibenevolent Christian God? That was the topic of a talk that French philosopher Guillaume Bignon gave at the Haines Presbyterian Church Monday evening.
Bignon, who is married to Katherine, daughter of Dr. Stanley Jones, came to Haines to attend a family wedding. Guillaume, Katherine and their five young children are visiting from Virginia and will be in Haines for about three and a half weeks. While this was not his first visit to Haines, it was his first time speaking at the church.
He began his talk with an account of his personal conversion journey, one that is also detailed in “Confessions of a French Atheist,” a book published last summer.
According to Bignon, this question of why evil exists if one believes in a Christian God is the number one question asked by religious skeptics. His response was a mixture of intellectual and emotional arguments that broached the topics of free will, probability, and how to grapple with suffering.
His main argument, as a Christian, was that God allows evil because there is a greater purpose. “We are not claiming to know what that purpose is,” said Bignon.
Being confident in having a purpose, despite not knowing what that is, is sufficient for lifting the emotional burden of suffering, said Bignon.
Over thirty people were in attendance at the talk, most of whom were members of the church. After the talk, audience members asked questions ranging from how evidence of the Big Bang fits in with Christianity, and whether or not God can be characterized as manipulative if He lets people suffer only for believers to strengthen their trust in Him.