Why Do Babies Die of Cancer If God Exists

 September 16, 2024

Monday

People who deny there is a God make some of the most ridiculous arguments. Take for example the "God can't exist because bad things happen" argument. One of the favorite examples of this is: Why do babies die of cancer if God exists? The argument stems from the idea that God must be good by their standard and prevent anything bad from happening. (Many of these same people support abortion, but let's leave that alone for now.) They surmise that the child is completely innocent and does not deserve to die so young. Life is good, then, right?

We say that this is a fallen world. This means that it falls short of God's glory because man invited sin into it. The corruption from this sin permeated all of creation. This does not mean that all of creation is bad. It means that all of creation has been affected by sin. Thus, bad things happen in the world that God created.

God set in motion the physical laws in this world. His interventions in these physical laws are called miracles. They are not the normal operation of the world. The physical laws generally prevail. Yet, even those laws have been corrupted. Bad things happen naturally. They are tragedies brought about by a corrupt world.

On the other hand, there is always a remnant of God's goodness in all of His creation. Thus, most people cry out for justice because mankind was created in the image of God. This means that the values of His character are present in mankind. God is love. Most people want to love and be loved. God is just. Most people want justice for themselves and others. God is giving. Most people who give have found it is more blessed to give than receive. Each of these values have been corrupted to some extent. Thus, we do not always love, want justice or give.

One of the dangers that face people is becoming self-righteous. People declare themselves and their corrupted values to be more righteous than others and their values. Some people will even determine themselves to be more righteous than God. Therefore, they can claim that He is not good because He didn't stop all the bad things from happening. If they had the power, they certainly would have. The question they should be asking is: Why are they still alive if a holy God exists? They have never seen themselves as fallen and a part of the evil that goes on in the world.

This is, also, a misunderstanding of holiness altogether. There is no such thing as "holier than thou." Holiness is a complete condition. It is completely separated from sin and evil. People can be better in their actions than others but they cannot be holy in their actions. We have all needed a Savior to pay the price for our sins to attain holiness. It does not stem from our actions but in the sacrifice from Christ. A person who believes in his own self-righteousness is determining his righteousness by his own understanding of righteousness. Thus, nothing is ever better that what a person has experienced for himself. I can only be self-righteous if I have never experienced anything better than my own self-righteousness.

Finally, the argument also presupposes that the questioner knows everything. (I suppose we can blame Google for this.) A simplistic example of this is in the child who has broken his arm. Setting the bone will be painful. The child can only see than an adult is hurting him. That must be bad. The moment determines the reasonableness and morality of the action. While I cannot think of any good coming from a child dying from cancer, I also must admit that I cannot truly see the big picture. I depend upon the values in God's character even in these tragedies. I know He loves that child. I know He carries that child into His arms. Yet, the pain the parents experience at the point of losing the child cannot be translated into words. I pray that they are reunited in heaven someday. Then, the joy can exceed the pain.