1tamara2 (pixabay)
by Leonard V Johnson
This question is surely asked the world over. Around the world, there are untold
devastations ── and throughout mankind’s history, there have been great
devastations. One such cataclysm is the destruction of the city of Neapolis on July
21 in 365 AD, a natural disaster that also damaged Alexandria in Egypt and Greece’s
island of Crete. A massive tsunami was caused by an earthquake. The city of Neapolis
was of high significance in the ancient Roman world. The city prospered in the olden
days as it was the chief hub where salt fish and garum were manufactured. It was
regarded as a highly influential commercial port. It facilitated trade in the city and
helped it to gain riches and wealth. 1 Very little has been recorded about the city
because the citizens of Neapolis sided with Carthage rather than Rome during the
Third Punic War in 149–146 BC, which ultimately destroyed the rival civilization
and brought its territory under Roman control. 2 The Apostle Paul had stopped in
Neapolis at least three separate times during his journeys. Once, in 51 AD, on his
way to Philippi – Acts 16:11-12.
Does the LORD God lack the power to prevent our suffering? And, what about the
vile evil throughout the world? The untold violence, the genocide, the suffering of
humanity has been happening since the beginning with Adam and Eve.
Is it because ── as modern social anthropologists and those of folklore say, “that
man just simply progressed from a belief in magic as a means of controlling his
environment to a religious belief, which propitiated their gods and spirits”? 3 In other
words, like the majority of the native Hawaiians, they believe that the eruptions of Kilauea
are from the volcano deity Pelehonuamea.
“Because,” as they reason amongst themselves, “if God is love and all goodness, He
wouldn’t let humanity suffer, would He?” Surely, even from the very beginning, the
LORD God’s (the Elohim, the family of God – which at this time consists of God
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ) credibility was at stake ── and continues to
be in this world of “enlightenment.” This modern present evil age has become weary of religious ministers that are witnessing unto the Lord Jesus and who explain why
it is that the LORD God allows suffering ── the LORD God, who is love and who
is all good, and who is all powerful, and who could indeed stop it. And yet, doesn’t.
In the early 1900s, mankind was coming up with new terminology ── especially in
the southern part of the United States, called fundamentalism. I came face to face
with this fundamentalist belief when a friend of mine was teaching that upon the
crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus, He went down into hell and preached to the
spirits – cf. 1 Peter 3:19. Maybe not even realizing himself that he was unknowingly
teaching that Jesus did not die. Questioning His divinity. One of the key elements of
our faith ── “For IF we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, …” – 1
Thessalonians 4:14. Indicating that there were those (as there are today) who believe
that he did not die. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself saying ‘I indeed did!’ – cf.
Revelation 1:18. In other words, they are denying any deity to our Lord Jesus Christ.
As many of them claim, “He was not divine, He had not existed before His human
birth. He was only human.”
Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher, who argued that
“reality consists of processes rather than material objects, and that processes are best
defined by their relations with other processes, thus rejecting the theory that reality
is fundamentally constructed by bits of matter that exist independently of one
another.” 4 Truly, if that went over your head ── you’re not alone. Historically,
Whitehead's work has been most influential in the field of American progressive
theology. Process Theology typically stresses God’s relational nature. Rather than
seeing God as impassive or emotionless, process theologians view God as “the
fellow sufferer who understands,” and as the being who is supremely affected by
temporal events. 5 The LORD God, they say, is entirely loving. And they will admit
that there is a way, you know, that does seem right to a man. Yet, the LORD God
says to us, “ … But its end is the way of death.” – Proverbs 14:12. Sadly, people use
human reasoning. This Process Theology has been formulated in a wide variety of
ways. Charles Robert Mesle, for example, the author of Process Theology: A Basic Introduction. In this book, he outlines three attributes of a process theology. There is
a relational character to the divine, such as:
- God experiences both the joy and suffering of humanity.
- God is not omnipotent in the classical sense.
- God exercises relational power and not unilateral control. 6
They paint the LORD God as all-loving, but “not unilateral in control.” And, when
you look around the world, we see many religious organizations saying, “God loves
you!” They want you to know that God loves you, yet He lacks any real power.
Note: they ‘have a form of godliness but deny its power’ – cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5. And,
of course, they really say nothing about an afterlife. They say nothing of the true
purpose of life. They say nothing concerning the kingdom of God, the gospel that
our Lord Jesus Christ brought and preached.
But, under a microscope ── let’s examine this question. Why do we suffer?
What is the real reason why the LORD God has not stopped our violence and human
sufferings? I would like to repeat what a great man would often say time and time
again: Not one religion, including this so-called Christianity, knows who and what God is. Is He a Trinity? Is God one being – or three? Not only do they not understand, but they also don’t understand the LORD God’s purpose. Does God have a purpose?
Thinking about these questions – asking these questions – excites me and places me
back among my first love (Revelation 2:4)! Like what Sir Winston Churchill came
to understand, is God working out a purpose here below?
Not one religion knows what and why man is. Even the famous Got Questions does
not rightly know! “The short answer to the question ‘why did God create us?’ is ‘for
His pleasure.’” And they list all their doctorates and degrees for our comfort. Why is
there humanity? What is the purpose, if any? And, you would certainly think that
Got Questions would surely know ── having such a gaggle of theologians. Notice
what the LORD God says in Isaiah chapter 40.
Beginning in verse 17 – “’ All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are
counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18) To whom then will you liken
God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
Verse 22) It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, …’”
And I’ve heard Minister Guy LaMar mention several people who confront him about
their fact that the Earth is flat! Well… here are the LORD God’s own words! The
Earth is a sphere.
“’ It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out
like a tent to dwell in. … 25) To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I
be equal?’ says the Holy One. 26) Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created
these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By
the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.”
God speaking of His might, His greatness, His power. So, surely, referring to the
sufficiency of the physical forces with which He has endowed the universe, to
prevent any disorder in their motions. You know, the Moon has a Metonic cycle. The
METONIC CYCLE is the Moon’s 19-year cycle where the Moon returns to exactly
the same place (at the same longitude and against the same constellation) in the sky
with the same phase. Our planet’s climate is remarkably stable and has remained in
a narrow, liveable range for almost 4 billion years. And it’s the awesome power of
God that is causing this! Yes, His great power!
One question that comes to us as a child is ── Where did God come from? And,
I’ve studied evolution, such as reading On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
His proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is
now generally accepted and considered a fundamental scientific concept. And it was
that teaching that got me in trouble in Junior High as I raised my hand in Biology
class and objected strenuously. I having known the living words of the Eternal One ──
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2) He was in the beginning with God. 3) ALL THINGS were made through
Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4) IN HIM was life and the
life was the light of men.” – John 1:1-4.
Breaking this passage down ── In the beginning was one great being called “the
Word” – or Spokesman. And the Word was with another great being, God. And the
Word was also God. Right here – two separate beings! It’s like my last name,
Johnson. I’m a Johnson, but my father was also a Johnson. In essence, God is likened
to a surname. A hereditary name common to all members of a family. Notice that in
the Book of Ephesians, we see the exact same thing ──
“ … from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things
through Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 3:9.
Another passage says that “He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood
fast.” – Psalm 33:9.
The power that emanated from the Word created all things, instructed by God the
Father – the power of the Holy Spirit leaped forth and created all things.
Truly, coming to understand that God is a family is very significant! It begins to open
and explain the LORD God’s ultimate Plan for all mankind. And this great
knowledge comes to us from the opening of the Holy Bible ──
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1.
And, verse 26, we see, again, two separate beings. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make
man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …’”
In verses 24 & 25, and on down in verse 26 ── the likes of Charles Darwin and
those of his ilk, completely ignored God’s living word. Because we see that God the
Father and the Word created man after the God kind, not after the animal kind.
So, God is reproducing Himself!
And when we rightly understand that, we begin to understand why the LORD God
is allowing all the untold sufferings around the world – today.
Again, a great man - a man of God - would always teach us that the LORD God
cannot create godly character by fiat. And, rightly so. Godly character must be built
and developed over time. So, the LORD God created us out of physical matter. And
it is matter that we are made of ── not snips and snails and puppy dogs’ tails, no
sugar and spice and everything nice! It’s MATTER.
We read back in the Book of Isaiah again, this time chapter 64 ──
“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; …”
And we are the children of God, if we’ve been converted and are true Christians.
“And all we are the work of Your hand.” – vs. 8. We are but the clay, and the LORD
God is the Potter. And, I’ve spoken of this before: On television, when I was sixteen
years old, a Claymation film entitled The Adventures of Mark Twain. In the film was
a very creepy scene in which a mysterious stranger (representing Satan the Devil, in
place of the Lord GOD) lets the children make some people out of clay for a little
village. The mysterious stranger gives these clay figures “life,” and they begin to
fight amongst themselves. The mysterious stranger reaches down as these little clay
people are fighting amongst themselves and squashes them with his hand.
Indeed, the LORD God will ── if we place ourselves within God’s hands, if we
surrender to God ── take hold of us and mold and shape us in Godly character of
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. God is love, and God will place His love in us ── a love that we were
not born with. It’s called agape in Greek. We were not born with this kind of love,
but it is a gift of God through His Spirit.
Now, what about those in this world who reason amongst themselves that this is
God’s world? Our Lord Jesus Christ emphatically stated, ’ My kingdom is not of
this world.’ The LORD God is allowing mankind to make our own mistakes, our
own decisions. The LORD God said, ‘Whatever you sow, that you shall reap.’ It’s
all throughout God’s living word. The LORD God told Adam, and He told ancient Israel
── saying, if you sin, you will reap the consequences. The LORD God allows
human suffering and pain for His good purpose. There is a reason why the
LORD God allows these things. And just like with the angels, He has given man a
mind to think, to reason. He has blessed mankind with unimaginable knowledge ──
the type of knowledge and mind that can create AI. And, a mind that can take
knowledge to learn God’s Way, so that he can develop Godly character. So that a man
or a woman can become a God. So that a man or a woman can become part of the
very family of God – a literal born child of God.
Sadly ── and in conclusion, I do want to just say ── we are told in Jeremiah chapter
50, the LORD God’s lamenting the fact that the shepherds, the ministers, have led
His people astray and have deceived them ──
Verse 6 – “’ My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray;
They have turned them away on the mountains. …’”
And this is exactly what has happened! This world has been deceived, and its
ministers don’t seem to rightly understand why the LORD God is allowing the untold
sufferings. The LORD God is allowing it to properly teach us lessons. □
1) Dimri, B., Neapolis: Secrets of the Lost City of the Romans, Historic Mysteries, 12 Jan 2023.
2) Archaeology World Team, A Lost Roman City Has Been Found 1,700 Years After a Tsunami Sank It, 23 Nov
2020
3) Frazer, George James, Sir, The Illustrated Golden Bough: A Study In Magic and Religion, © 1996, pp. 6.
4) Wikipedia contributors. "Alfred North Whitehead." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 10 Jun. 2025. Web. 19
Jul. 2025.
5) ibid.
6) Wikipedia contributors. "C. Robert Mesle." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 28 Mar. 2024. Web.
19 Jul. 2025.
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