According to a survey of recent college graduates, the problem of evil is the issue that makes it most difficult for many of these graduates to trust in the truth of Christianity. These students' struggles mirror the struggle that biblical scholar Bart Ehrman describes in his book God's Problem: "I felt compelled to leave Christianity [because] I could no longer explain how there can be a good and all-powerful God actively involved with this world. ... For many people who inhabit this planet, life is a cesspool of misery. ... I came to a point where I simply could not believe that there is a good and kindly disposed Ruler who is in charge.”

In this episode, your intrepid cohosts tackle the claim that the existence of evil makes it illogical to believe in the existence of God. To do this, the dynamic duo spends a lot of time simplifying Alvin Plantinga's philosophical work on the problem of evil so that ordinary people can comprehend some of Plantinga’s arguments. Along the way, Garrick and Timothy discuss U2's album Pop, a series of songs that turn out to be an extended reflection on the apparent absence of God in a fallen world.

This week's Toybox Hero Tournament produces one of the most heartwarming moments ever heard on this podcast, which has been a veritable fountain of heartwarming moments over the past couple of years. Timothy reveals his longstanding adoration of red pandas and then discovers that Garrick shares the same love for these cuddly Asian mammals. This teary-eyed conjunction of affections is so touching that two heavily-armed starships from the Star Wars universe pause their attacks and let the red panda run free. Also, "Red Panda" would be an amazing name for a C-pop band. The new cover art for this season was created by Dani Wallace (daniwallace.myportfolio.com).

B and H Academic

The Problem of Evil: Jeremy Evans

Pop: album by U2

God, Freedom, and Evil: book by Alvin Plantinga

SBTS Preview Day

Urban Ministry Podcast

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Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast thanks B&H Academic for their sponsorship. Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Trent Thompson. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).