Transcription
But I'm just curious how you would answer the question. Um, what you know, God is love, the Bible says. What kind of loving God would allow, you know, whatever the situation?
MH, two years ago, our son was killed in a motorcycle accident. Who was our son? Oh, I'm sorry. And, um, since then, there's a family member that has, I guess, sort of cemented the idea now that there's no God in all of this.
We've done everything we can to talk to this person about God having a plan, and I know one day we'll see our son again. That doesn't work, so is there any other option, any other road that you can think of that we can talk to him about since he doesn't even want to talk about God in general?
What happens if, like, they were to feel like not okay and, like, say they killed themselves and were suicidal? Is there like a promise that says that everything's going to be okay, though? How can we reconcile tragedy with a loving God?
What happens when deep personal loss shakes our faith or causes others to lose theirs entirely? In this heartfelt Q&A, Frank Turk addresses raw emotional questions about grief, suffering, and God's plan for our lives.
From the pain of losing a child to the overwhelming darkness of suicide, viewers will gain insight into navigating life's toughest moments through a Christian lens. Can faith truly answer the hardest questions? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and let's explore the depths of hope, grief, and God's sovereignty together.
Yes, yes ma'am, what's your name?
PA. Say again?
Pia.
Pia, go ahead. Sorry, I don't have a monitor up here, so it's hard for me to hear. Go ahead, Pia.
Um, for like people that are Christians, like they're supposed to feel more full and like connected to God, right? Um, what happens if, like, they were to feel like not okay and, like, say they killed themselves and were suicidal?
Are you si—I'm sorry, say that a little louder. I'm having trouble hearing you.
For like Christians, some of them like kill themselves and are like suicidal?
Yeah, is there like a promise that says like everything's going to be okay, though? Like better?
Okay, I have to ask you this: why are you asking that question?
I don't know, I just like thought of it. Huh, I just thought of it like it was just a question.
Okay, so I want to make sure you're not—I'm fine, I'm just like asking a question, I promise.
Okay, let me put it this way: the manner in which someone dies does not determine their eternal destiny. Some of you may know my good friend Mike Adams, who taught here for many years, and some of you knew and loved him. He died by suicide.
Let me tell you, it can happen to any of us. You reach a low point emotionally, and you think the world is just falling in on you.
Was it a sin? Of course it was a sin, but it's not the unpardonable sin. So you—and if anyone's watching and is considering suicide, this is not the solution.
Okay, it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You need to go and find help from somebody. Talk to somebody about this.
But I will say, the manner in which one dies does not determine their eternal destiny. What determines their eternal destiny is whether they have their sin covered because they've accepted what Christ has done and accepted the free gift of salvation.
So, um, but I say that advisedly for people out there watching: talk to somebody if you're thinking about this. It's not the solution.
Yeah, I'm just asking because, like, I know my friends know people that have committed suicide, and for like other people that are thinking about it.
Yes, I know. Um, I would, uh, I would first of all, we don't know where these people are now, okay? Unless you knew they were believers, we don't know.
Um, we don't know what happens in the last moments of death. We don't know if they weren't believers at the very last moment they threw themselves on the mercy of God and accepted Christ. We don't know.
But we just want to prevent people from doing that now, so thank you for your question, Pia. Great question.
Hi, I'm Buck. I'm sorry, go ahead.
Uh, my name's Buck, and those last two questions I really appreciate. Yours, too, were quite the setup for this one.
Um, so I think I have an answer for this, but I'm just curious how you would answer the question. Um, what you know, God is love, the Bible says. What kind of loving God would allow, you know, whatever the situation?
Mhm. Well, the question is why does God allow evil to occur, right? And, um, let's point out before we get into this that what Christianity is is the answer to the problem of evil.
You don't need Jesus if there's no sin, and if there's no sin, there's no evil. Jesus comes into this world to take evil upon himself, so the solution to the problem of evil is Christianity. That's what the story is all about.
But why does God allow a certain thing to occur and not another? We don't know necessarily, but we know why we don't know. We're inside of time, and we can only see a very small aspect of reality.
God is outside of time, and he can see the whole show. In fact, one of the things—because I've struggled with this problem, as I know most people who think about it do—why does, you know, a good God allow certain evil?
I already pointed out why it doesn't disprove God, because nothing would be evil unless it was a standard of good, and God is what we mean by the standard of good.
But why does he allow certain evils? Why does God allow a baby to die, right? A whole church prays, baby dies anyway. You say, "Why?"
In researching this, I discovered something known as the ripple effect. You know the ripple effect? It's that every event that occurs today ripples forward to affect trillions of other events.
So I don't know what's going to happen with those ripples because I'm inside of time, but God does know what's going to happen.
So maybe a baby dying today sets forth ripples into the future that bring forth a great evangelist 500 years from now who saves millions of people.
Can I trace all those ripples? No, but God can. And so that's why we can trust God, because he can bring good from evil, and he can actually bring what appears to be purposeless evil to a purposeful end.
In fact, sometimes you can see this in some of the stories in the Bible. One is of Joseph. Remember, his brothers sold him into slavery. I mentioned earlier, Judah sold his brother Joseph into slavery.
And then Joseph rises to prominence after being treated horribly in Egypt. He becomes like the number two or three administrator there, and he puts a whole bunch of grain aside.
Then the very family that sinned against him, that sold him into slavery, leave Israel to escape a famine. They come and they see Joseph, who's in power, and he's got all this food.
And as soon as Joseph recognizes them, what does he say? "You dirty rats, you're going to pay for what you did to me?" No, he doesn't say that.
He says, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good, the saving of many lives." The very people that did evil, that evil rippled forward to help them later and save their lives.
Now we can see it in that story, but it happens all the time in places we can't see it. So that's why I can trust God. When I look at inexplicable evil, I go, "God's got to—there's going to be a ripple here somewhere."
Does that make sense?
It does. Can I offer what I think is the answer that I have, and you tell me if—
Sure, go ahead.
Yeah, okay, cool. So, faults—no, I'm just kidding, go ahead.
Uh, so as you pointed out, God's purpose is for people to know him, right? So God is love; he's seeking love. If he wants people to love him, we have to have freedom of choice.
We have to be able to choose whether or not we're going to love him.
Yes, and because it's not love if we can't choose.
That's right. So he gives us that freedom of choice, and we're in a fallen world, and people can make choices that are really, really messed up.
And there's those negative ripple effects as well. You know, an innocent young driver gets smashed by drunk drivers. This innocent young driver didn't do anything.
Yes, um, you know, maybe there are a Christian seeking after the Lord and doing great, amazing things.
So what kind of a loving God would allow that? That's the answer I have.
Oh, well, free will is part of the answer. It's part of what we call a theodicy: how do you explain evil, right?
But you might say, "Well, the baby didn't do anything," right? Why does the baby die?
Now, we could trace it back to the ultimate sin of Adam, and as you say, it created a fallen world, but it wasn't a moral choice of the baby.
So the baby got cancer and died. In that case, we can still say that God can provide ripples moving forward.
Now, none of this would matter if God didn't exist ultimately, because there's nothing—there's no difference between babies living or dying, not ultimately.
Because ultimately, what's going to happen to all of us? We're just—the whole place is going to go to heat death, and nothing will remain.
So there's no ultimate purpose to life, which means there's no ultimate way to live it rightly or wrongly, right?
All right, thank you, sir.
Cool, thank you.
All right, yes ma'am, what's your name?
Hi, I'm Tracy.
Tracy, go ahead.
Um, this sort of, uh, ripples into what I was going to ask you, I guess.
Uh, about two years ago, our son was killed in a motorcycle accident. Who was our son? Oh, I'm sorry.
And, um, since then, there's a family member that has, I guess, sort of cemented the idea now that there's no God in all of this.
And we've done everything we can to talk to this person about God having a plan, and I know one day we'll see our son again.
That doesn't work, so is there any other option, any other road that you can think of that we can talk to him about since he doesn't even want to talk about God in general?
Well, he may still be—probably still is hurting, so I don't think any answer at this point is going to push him over the edge toward God.
It might take more time, but a question you might ask him is that if the God of the Bible did exist and died for you, would you trust in him?
And see, he might be resistant now, right? And that's just grief, that's just emotion.
My brother used to say he had a friend like that who was mad at God, and he finally said to him, "How can you be mad at somebody that doesn't exist?"
Right, yeah.
Um, so I think it might just be time right now, and just keep praying.
And, uh, you might plant seeds every now and then, right? Like you already have, saying that if Christianity is true, that we're going to see your brother again.
Um, you know, atheism doesn't solve the problem, right? Atheism just takes away the hope.
There's no hope if atheism is true; that's the point.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, like how do you expect to see them again if you don't?
Right now, just because Christianity gives you hope doesn't mean it's true. I'm not saying that.
I'm simply saying that if it is true, then ultimately the problem is solved. But if it's not true, there's no hope anyway, right?
So, okay. All right.
All right, thank you. God bless you.
Thank you.
This heartfelt exchange brings into sharp focus the deepest questions of life, faith, and suffering.
From grappling with the reality of suicide and loss to questioning how a loving God allows tragedy, this dialogue offers powerful opportunities for reflection and hope.
How can Christians cope with suicidal thoughts? The young questioner raises a crucial topic: how do Christians reconcile faith with the despair that can lead to suicide?
Frank Turk reminds us that the manner of one's death does not determine their eternal destiny. Instead, it is their relationship with Christ that matters.
However, he strongly emphasizes that suicide is not the solution; it's a permanent response to a temporary problem.
This points to the broader truth of the Gospel: our ultimate worth and hope are found in Christ, who invites us to seek help and community in moments of despair.
Christians are called to extend compassion to those struggling with mental health, offering them love and support.
His advice is both empathetic and strategic. He suggests that grief often clouds one's openness to God, and the journey toward faith requires patience, prayer, and gentle questioning.
Importantly, he contrasts atheism's lack of hope with Christianity's promise of eternal reunion, emphasizing that belief in Christ doesn't remove pain but redeems it with purpose and hope.
This conversation reminds us that Christianity offers the most profound response to the problem of evil.
Jesus doesn't just sympathize with our suffering; he enters into it, providing redemption in the promise of eternal restoration.
In moments of doubt and pain, Christians are called to trust in God's character and offer his hope to a world in desperate need of it.