BYU Studies Quarterly
Keywords
Mormon studies, trials, evil, injustice
Abstract
In college I lost my faith—not completely and not for long. But that moment impacted my beliefs deeply. I was standing in the back of the theater watching a scene unfold, waiting for my cue to enter. On the stage, my character's parents, farmers during a war depicted in Bertold Brecht's Mother Courage, realize that the army impressing my character into service is about to descend on their farm and then on the nearby village. Alone and defenseless, they beg God to save them. As I watched this pathetic pair plead for rescue, a though occurred to me that drove itself like a wedge into my faith: This is a prayer that has been offered up prior to the slaughter of God's children for thousands of years and often has gone unanswered by God for just so long. God must be unwilling or unable to help them. In either case, who needs such a god?
Recommended Citation
Welch, John Sutton
(2003)
"Why Bad Things Happen at All: A Search for Clarity among the Problems of Evil,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 42:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol42/iss2/4