Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.

The big story about The Dark Knight, says Greg Wright, is not Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker: it’s that the film may well prove a bellwether for the outcome of the Presidential election this fall. “At the core of The Dark Knight,” he says “is Harvey Dent’s observation that you ‘either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain.’” Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday we looked at the old and important question of the existence of God. But there’s one other question that everyone inevitably asks in the course of their spiritual exploration: if God is good, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? How can we reconcile the existence of a loving God and the presence of violence, disease, and suffering? Are we supposed to believe that God just sit back and lets all these awful things happen, without lifting a finger to prevent it?

There’s no easy answer to this question, although theologians have grappled with it for thousands of years. Yet Christianity and the Bible do have something to say about this—while it’s not likely that we’ll ever completely understand the “problem of evil,” the Bible does help us put evil and suffering into perspective. It also gives us reason to hope that there is meaning to be found behind it all; that suffering isn’t meaningless, nor will it last forever. Here are some short essays from around the Gospel.com community that provide some insight into the seeming paradox of a good God and a suffering world:

• How can a good God permit evil in the world? at Delve into Jesus.
• Suffering and the Hope of Healing (PDF) by Dale Fincher—a look at sickness and the hope that Jesus offers to those who suffer. See part 2 of the same essay.
• Is there a purpose behind my problems? Or is all our suffering random and meaningless?
• War, Genocide, Trauma… Gospel? How can we believe in a loving God or his Gospel when there’s so much evil in the world?
• How can a good God allow evil and suffering? Faith Facts’ take on the question.
• The Secret of Suffering—can suffering ever be a good thing? Perhaps the way we respond to pain in our lives is more important than the pain itself. An interview with a woman who lives with constant suffering, but who has a very unexpected take on it.

You won’t find a pat answer to the question of evil in the above essays, but you will be challenged to look at suffering and evil from a different perspective.

Does God exist? Is there scientific evidence for the existence of a Creator? What reasons, if any, are there to believe that the God of the Bible is real?

The question of the existence of God is perhaps the most basic challenge that any Christian must face, and even believers can find it difficult to respond when asked to offer objective, scientific evidence for God’s existence. It’s such a common and important question that many of the apologetics ministries in the Gospel.com community have published material addressing it. Here’s how several community members answer the question of God’s existence:

• Is there rational evidence for the existence of God? from FaithFacts.
• Why believe in God’s existence if it can’t be proven scientifically? from RBC Ministries.
• Is there any evidence that God exists? from the Scibel science ministry.
• If God exists, why doesn’t he reveal himself? from Delve Into Jesus.
• Is there really a God? from Answers in Genesis.

The question of God’s existence has challenged theologians and philosophers for thousands of years, and there’s no quick and easy answer—but if it’s a question that’s bothered you (and who hasn’t wondered about this?), these essays can help you find the answer.