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| Lichterkette: Germany-Pixabay |
2003 The Problem of Evil: Anglican and Baptist Perspectives: MPhil thesis, Bangor University
MPhil 2003
Statement twenty-nine: The twenty-ninth statement stated: God is fully able to understand the suffering of people and all living creatures. For this statement, 100% of Anglicans agreed; 98% of Baptists agreed with 2% in disagreement. I think that the statement is true as an infinite creator should be fully able to understand finite creation. There is nothing that these creatures can reason that God cannot fully understand.
From
2010 Theodicy and Practical Theology: PhD thesis, the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter
Real suffering should not be denied for the sake of any theological system, as the logical and reasonable nature of a good theodicy does not take away the seriousness of suffering. Only God alone can ultimately free his creation from suffering, but a theodicy may explain to some degree, how God works within his creation that contains evil and suffering.
November 29 2019
My British, MPhil/PhD theses developed work on the problem of evil and theodicy. I prayerfully and studiously took a Reformed position, but researched and documented other viewpoints as well (see website archives).
My Reformed theodicy work provides a British, University accepted solution to problems of evil, but does not, obviously, solve all practical problems of evil and problems of suffering. Embracing the infinite, eternal, omnipotent God as creator that has revealed self in Scripture, specifically through the atoning and resurrection work, via Jesus Christ, applied to the regenerated (John 3, Titus 3) believer; I reason God does understand human suffering and ultimately remedies it. At death, the believer, in spirit form, enters Paradise, followed by the eventual resurrection of same believers (1 Corinthians 15) and the establishment of the culminated new (restoration) creation via Revelation 21-22.
A dying Jesus Christ, promised another man dying on a cross near him, that via his (perhaps new) faith, that day, the man would be with Jesus Christ in Paradise. The Apostle Paul visited Paradise during his earthly ministry.
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| Strong, page 1035 |
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| Strong, page 72. |
Now from my philosophical/theological perspective I do not take this plain literally, as in some place in the clouds, or above the clouds, or even beyond the solar system or beyond the physical Universe, as in a place that can be physically found via space/travel.
The Bible teaches that Paradise is a place where post-mortem, spirits in Christ go after death, and Old Testament/Hebrew Bible saints went to spiritually after death. The Bible teaches this using figurative literal language. Therefore, I would conclude Paradise is a place of the non-physical spiritual realm.
January 16 2013
BAUER, W (1979) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Translated by Eric H. Wahlstrom, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
STRONG, J. (1890)(1986) Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Pickering, Ontario, Welch Publishing Company.
