In today's episode, a Christian and an atheist grapple with a timeless question: if God is good and all-powerful, why is there so much suffering?
You'll hear from Sean McDowell, Professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, and Paul Rinzler, Professor Emeritus at Cal Poly. In this conversation, they explore whether a divine plan can account for apparently random suffering, reckon with the implications of moral evil, and share their perspectives on finding hope amid suffering.
This forum was held at Cal Poly in April 2026. Thank you to the student planning team who made this event possible. You can find a link to the full forum in the podcast description.
If a fighter pilot is confused and going so fast that they lose what is up and down, they follow their instruments—what is true—to guide them. I think about my faith the same way.
If God is going to make us as beings who can love Him and love others, we have to have the option to not love Him and not love others. Otherwise, we’re coerced. So if there's something valuable in relationships in which we have to choose to be faithful to people, that requires free will.
When we talk about evil in the world and suffering, in part, we're saying something's broken. Things are not the way they should be or they are the way they shouldn't be. Both of those imply a standard or purpose or way the world should be.
