The Speak Life Podcast John Lennox's MASTERCLASS On The Problem of Evil || SLP588
May 28, 2025
John Lennox, an Oxford mathematician and renowned Christian apologist, dives into the challenging topic of the problem of evil. He reframes the discussion by addressing beauty's coexistence with suffering, arguing that true theodicy starts there. Lennox contends that the Christian narrative of God experiencing human suffering provides profound insights. He critiques atheism for lacking moral frameworks to address evil's reality and responds thoughtfully to challenges from critics like Stephen Fry. Ultimately, he emphasizes that Christianity offers goodness, hope, and divine companionship.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
God Who Enters Suffering
- John Lennox reframes the problem of evil as a question about whether any God understands and enters suffering.
- He points to the Christian claim that God became human and suffered on the cross as evidence of such engagement.
Atheism Can Erase 'Evil'
- Glenn Scrivener argues Alex O'Connor lacks a robust category for evil under utilitarian atheism.
- Without a notion of good with a capital G, we lose grounds to call things truly evil.
C.S. Lewis's Moral Argument
- Glenn recounts C.S. Lewis's turnaround from atheism to theism via the reality of moral complaint.
- Lewis asked what notion of straightness justifies calling the world crooked, prompting belief in objective good.