R. Page Fulgham was born in Alabama but grew up in a suburb of Atlanta. He received a BA in religion from Baylor University. Graduate study at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas culminated in master of divinity and doctor of theology degrees with an emphasis in philosophy of religion. Fulgham has served as senior minister in churches in Texas and Georgia and as an adjunct professor of religion at Mercer University of Atlanta. This is his first book.

How did you come to write a book on evil and suffering? What were you hoping to achieve with your new book, Evil & the Garden of Good: Exploring the Mystery of Suffering?

I have been thinking about, studying, and collecting resources for over 50 years on the subject of evil and suffering. In my high school days, a fellow student beat his mother to death with a baseball bat! I could not understand the senselessness of either that evil deed or the Holocaust. Suffering has always been on my mind and heart, especially in the years I spent as pastor, watching many parishioners tramp through horrible moments of agony for themselves or family members. The unexplainable and often meaningless myriad of health issues, physical and mental, weighed heavily on me. The question most often asked was, “Why doesn’t God do something?” I wrote this book for myself in hopes of finding some answers and then putting them in words people in the pew or street could appreciate. This is not primarily an academic work, but I hope I wrote with theological integrity. I confess, there is not much new in the book that has not been said before in over 12,000 books written on the subject, many of which only complicate the issue for most people. Using biblical resources as well as current literature on the subject, my purpose is to enable readers to clarify for themselves a path toward understanding the mystery of suffering. I attempt to challenge traditional and simplistic answers like, “It must be God’s will.”

What are some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the concept of evil and suffering? Can suffering exist without evil? What is it about suffering that creates such mystery for humanity?

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about the concept of evil and suffering is that God is a kind of heavenly butler to serve our personal needs and wishes. If God does not answer my prayers for healing or help, does that mean that God does not care or cannot grant my wishes? The purpose of prayer is to change us, not God. We sometimes hide behind the approach that there must be a purpose for our suffering but we may not know in this life. I do think there is truth in the belief that our struggles in this life can make us better people and help us to conform to the likeness of God, as Irenaeus suggests, which is not completed until we hear the rest of the story. Another misconception is that nature is evil. Actually, nature is just nature and is neutral from the moral perspective. We cannot pray away tornadoes or typhoons; we can only prepare as best we can for the events of nature.

I think that suffering does exist without evil intent. As difficult as cancer or pandemics are, there is no evil intent per se. All natural events occur from natural causes, not because God initiates them to punish, redeem, or get our attention. Sometimes certain events shock us to change our direction or attitude, which from the faith view is interpreted as divine intention. And, through the struggles, we often discover answers. Moral evil, on the other hand, is caused by the evil or bad choices people make. This is true for the great despots of history as well as the crimes of desperation or passion. Moral evil is the result of misuse of human freedom.

Suffering is such a mystery for the human race because we have the desire to live perfect lives without the challenges of suffering. However, this world with all its challenges and difficulties is the best possible world for human growth and development. If there were no evil, humans would not exit. And through suffering we can become stronger as we are forced to rise above it. There is a Chinese proverb which says, “Suffering can bitter or better us.” Because we do not understand, we are mystified by much of the suffering in the world. Our faith journey leads us to understanding. [Read more…]