As a defender of the Christian worldview I come across numerous intellectual challenges. When these are addressed logically, though in many cases, it is found that the skeptic has rejected God (and Christ) due to an experience that they cannot reconcile with God's being all-powerful and all-loving. This is the classic problem of evil. Its not the logical version but the emotional version. The inability to reconcile a particularly painful experience with God's claimed nature (as reveal in the Bible) causes these people to hate God and, perhaps, even doubt that He even exists. Philosopher Dr. Ravi Zacharias reminds Christian apologists:
"You must always come to the level of the questioner because more than answering a question, you are always answering a questioner. Somebody is behind that question. And if you answer the question without answering the questioner, you may come through as being very knowledgeable, but you've not been very persuasive to the one who's looking for the answer." (Link)
While it is easy to address the logical problem of evil (the question) it is often more difficult to answer the emotional problem of evil (the questioner). As the questioner goes without an answer, their confusion can grow into hatred and even skepticism (since they do not have even an answer to the logical problem).
In the latest two episodes of the Love and Respect Podcast, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs addresses the questioner in a way that I feel would be quite useful for the defender of the Christian faith. I encourage all apologists to listen to these episodes, and if you are struggling with some experience that does not seem compatible with the Christian God, I invite you, also, to listen with an open mind and open heart.
Here are the links for the podcast feeds if you wish to subscribe:
