War. Famine. Poverty. Violence. Natural Disasters. Working in humanitarian spaces puts us up close and personal with some of the worst kinds of evil and suffering. In the face of it all, we follow a God who is both all good and all powerful. How do those two realities compute? It's a quandary that has been around a long time and we've invited Southeastern University's Dr. Chris Palmer onto the show to help us think biblically and theologically when we're faced with the problem of evil. From the killing fields in Polpot's Cambodia to earthquakes in the Middle East, we wrestle the reality of pain while clinging to God's goodness and embracing the mystery.

Support the Show Through Venmo - @canopyintl

Podcast Sponsors

The M.A. in Global Development and Justice program at Jessup University prepares students to work across the nexus of justice, community development, and peacebuilding.

Learn More About The MAGDJ Online Program

Join Camino Quest for a spiritual pilgrimage with other pilgrims on the ancient and amazing Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Visit Camino Quest Online

Resources and Links from the show

Dr. Palmer's Bio at Southeastern University Online

Conversation Notes

Chris being confronted with the evil of the killing fields in Cambodia
How do we describe and define what evil is substantively
Juxtaposing suffering that takes place in the natural world with the suffering caused by human agency
The differing theodicies in seeking to understand God's justice
The imperative of prayer to have our hearts conformed to God's heart

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License

Wrestling with the Problem of Evil with Dr. Chris Palmer