Does the Holocaust Disprove God’s Existence?

On By Jovan PayesIn Biola University, Disteleology, Essays, Graduate Work, Holocaust, Moral Argument, Problem of Evil, Talbot School of Theology

In the Spring of 2002, I enrolled in a Humanities course called, “Holocaust Films.” We watched hours of first-account documentaries and interviews of survivors. The horrors captured on film of charred human remains, human pyramids in the gas chambers, and the emaciated bodies of the survivors will haunt me forever.

Despite these images, my faith in God has never wavered; however, the same cannot be said for others who argue that the moral evils of the Holocaust prove that God does not exist.

I will briefly respond to this common argument by demonstrating, first, that this argument is self-defeating. Second, I will also show that the existence of God still holds, and then finally, propose that God’s people approach suffering with faith and empathy.

The Argument is Self-Defeating

First, it is important to establish that the logic of this argument is self-defeating. The argument is that the moral evil of the Holocaust disproves (is incompatible with) the existence of God; however, objective moral conclusions like this are ultimately dependent on the existence of God for it to have real meaning. In other words, the conclusion (God does not exist) denies the source of moral objectivity which makes this argument hypothetically possible. The argument implodes on itself and illustrates the inconsistency of the atheistic worldview.

What does it matter morally if the Holocaust happened if God does not exist? For the French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) we are only left with two options regarding moral values. They are either “expressions of personal taste” or “byproducts of sociobiological evolution and conditioning.”[1] In this view, moral subjectivity is the currency of the realm which makes it impossible to provide an objective moral criticism that would condemn Adolf Hitler’s actions during the Holocaust and commend Mother Teresa’s altruistic ministry. In the end, “all that remains is subjective, personal opinion.”[2]

The atheistic worldview cannot provide ultimate meaning or significance, the ultimate value, or the ultimate purpose. They live in an indifferent universe in which objective moral affirmations are inconsistent with their worldview.

God Exist, So Does Evil

Second, the present argument against God’s existence offers an unequivocal example of evil in the world, but it does not invalidate nor outweigh the preponderance of evidence for the existence of God. The argument presumes that God should have intervened so that such a horror would not have happened, but since the genocide of the Holocaust occurred God must not exist. This falls back on a traditional argument that attacks the attributes of God, namely, his power, his knowledge, and his love.

In short, since evil exists and is real, God cannot be omnipotent, omniscient, or omnibenevolent. These attributes should demand God to intervene but since he has not, God must not exist.

Norman Geisler and Ronald Brooks point out that the argument suppresses the assumption that God is not doing anything at all about evil, but such an assumption cannot be proven. Instead, Geisler and Brooks argue that even though evil is not yet defeated, it does not mean that it will never be defeated.[3] For example, Christian theism provides the cross of Christ as the greatest of good acts possible that will outweigh all the evil that has ever been (1 Cor 15:54–55; 2 Pet 3:11–13).[4]

The work and resurrection of Jesus Christ is evidence that God exists and is acting until all is resolved.

Additionally, the cumulative evidence from natural theology provides sufficient reason to believe that God exists.[5] The following arguments support God’s existence.

  • The cosmological argument affirms the application of the law of causality to our finite universe which states that “every limited thing is caused by something other than itself.”
  • The teleological argument affirms the application of design and information in the natural world demands an intelligent designer.
  • The moral argument affirms that the universal sense within humanity that there are moral things that ought to be, versus what ought not to be, implies a moral lawgiver.
  • From these arguments, the ontological argument demonstrates that this God necessarily exists to bring into existence the finite created world.

Evil certainly exists but as these arguments demonstrate so does God.

Faith and Empathy

Third, no amount of logical explanation can account for a world in which God exists and suffering occurs that makes suffering any less painful or evil. For that matter, who wants an explanatory discourse while in the throes of inconsolable pain? Even when searching for God or meaning, evil feels so overwhelming that God feels distant or dead in its presence.[6] How people respond to suffering and evil “determines whether the experience is one of blessing or blight.”[7]

The Bible provides a path forward: we need a strong understanding of who God is and we need a strong demonstration of human empathy.

The book of Job recounts the story of a righteous sufferer (his children killed, livestock taken, servants killed, and struck with an illness) who is accused of hidden wrongdoing by his “friends” (“miserable comforters,” 16:2) who plead for Job to repent of his sin(s) (1:1–3:26; 4:1–31:40). Job proclaims his innocence from any crime that would demand such punishments. He also demands God’s presence to solve this inequity. Ultimately, the Lord appears to Job and gives him a grand tour of the complexity of the cosmos which demonstrates the grandeur of God, His infinite management of the universe, and humanity’s lack of control of the wild of the earth (38:1–42:6). This moves Job to recant his arrogant charges against God’s righteousness.

Job positively illustrates God is present with us when we experience suffering that cannot be escaped (39:1–4). It also illustrates what bad company looks like (16:2), showing that God’s people would serve others better with pastoral empathy, to “weep with those who weep” (Rom 12:15). As Garrett DeWeese points out,

people “don’t need a theological lecture. They don’t need a philosophical discussion of the evidential problem. They need the emotional support.”[8]

Transcript: “Solving the Problem of Evil”

Conclusion

The existence of God may appear incompatible with evils like the Holocaust. However, in a world where God does not exist, suffering has no moral meaning or significance and renders the present argument moot. Furthermore, there is no reason to presume that God is not acting to end evil and this is seen in the work of Jesus. This God is clearly seen in the natural world around us.

Finally, logic may prove helpful for the critic and the curious, but it is faith in a sovereign God and empathy towards those who suffer that will matter to those who suffer today.

Endnotes

  1. Quoted in William Lane Craig, ““Transcript: The Absurdity of Life Without God” (Class lecture, Defending the Faith course of Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA, n.d.).
  2. Francis J. Beckwith and Gregory Koukl, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air (1998; repr., Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 20; Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks, When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013), 33.
  3. Geisler and Brooks, When Skeptics Ask, 58.
  4. DeWeese, “Transcript: Solving the Problem of Evil” (Class lecture, Defending the Faith course of Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA, n.d.).
  5. The arguments are taken from Geisler and Brooks, When Skeptics Ask, 9–19.
  6. I thought of Elie Wiesel’s thoughts, “‘Where is God now?’ And I heard a voice within me answer him, ‘Where is He? Here He is. He is hanging here on these gallows.’” Quoted in DeWeese, “Transcript.”
  7. DeWeese, “Handout: Solving the Problem of Evil” (Class lecture, Defending the Faith course of Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA, n.d.), 10.
  8. DeWeese, “Transcript.”

Bibliography

Beckwith, Francis J., and Gregory Koukl. Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air. 1998. Reprint, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005.

Craig, William Lane. “Transcript: The Absurdity of Life Without God.” Class lecture, Defending the Faith course of Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA, n.d.

DeWeese, Garrett. “Handout: Solving the Problem of Evil.” Class lecture, Defending the Faith course of Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA, n.d.

––––––. “Transcript: Solving the Problem of Evil.” Class lecture, Defending the Faith course of Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA, n.d.

Geisler, Norman L., and Ronald M. Brooks. When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences. Rev. edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013.