Discussion Questions

David Bercot says the early Christians believed the problem of evil “begins with a proper understanding” of God, angels, and humankind as created in God’s image; what specific misunderstandings about any of those three does he imply make modern Christians unable to make sense of evil? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says we can’t understand evil unless we understand God, angels, and humans as made in God’s image. What wrong ideas about any of those three does he think keep modern Christians confused about evil?

Bercot highlights Clement of Alexandria’s claim that “God is not involuntarily good,” contrasting God with fire being “involuntarily hot”; what do you think Bercot is trying to protect about God’s character by insisting God does good “voluntarily,” and what feels risky or objectionable about saying God has “the power to choose good or evil”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why does Bercot stress that God does good by choice, not automatically like fire is hot? What seems dangerous or wrong to you about saying God could choose good or evil?

In his “meat cleaver murderer” illustration about his wife Deborah, Bercot distinguishes between “not within her power” and “so contrary to her nature she couldn’t possibly do it”; how does that distinction reshape the way you read scriptures like “God cannot lie,” and where do you still feel the logic strains? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says there’s a difference between “not able to do something” and “so unlike someone’s nature they would never do it.” How does that change how you read verses like “God cannot lie,” and where does the idea still feel shaky?

Bercot argues God did not want “a planet of robots,” and even uses the “earthworms” and “uninhabited island of plants” scenarios to show why a world without moral agency wouldn’t be a paradise; what does that imply about what God values most in creatures made in His image, and how does that challenge any preference you might have for God to prevent evil by overriding choices? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God didn’t want “robots” and a world without real choices wouldn’t be paradise, what does that say God values most in humans made in His image? How does that challenge your wish for God to stop evil by stopping people’s choices?

Bercot says bluntly, “It isn’t God who created evil. It’s we ourselves… and… angels like Satan,” and he quotes James 1:14 and Methodius about evil arising from failing to keep the law with free will; what kinds of suffering or tragedies are hardest for you to place under that explanation, and why? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says people and fallen angels cause evil, not God. What kinds of suffering or tragedy are hardest for you to fit into that idea, and why?

When Bercot says God wants in eternity “those who choose to serve Him… and so He tests mankind,” often through temptations “brought about directly by Satan or by other humans,” what picture of God’s intentions in allowing your daily pressures emerges—and how does it differ from thinking of life mainly as comfort, blessing, or self-fulfillment? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God allows daily pressures as a test of who will serve Him, what does that say about His purpose for your life right now? How is that different from seeing life mainly as comfort, blessings, or self-fulfillment?

Bercot claims Western Christianity since “around the year 400” has been deeply shaped by Augustine, and he names Luther’s *Bondage of the Will* and “total depravity” as a reason Calvinists “won’t like” this lesson; what is most personally threatening about Bercot’s insistence that even after the fall humans still have real (though diminished) freedom to obey, not just the capacity to sin? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why does Bercot’s claim—that even after the fall we still have some real ability to obey God, not just to sin—feel threatening to some Christians? What about it challenges you personally?

Bercot says early Christians viewed Adam and Eve as more like “children” in maturity and experience, not on the level of Jesus’ human maturity, and that after the fall they retained a “divine spark” and free will “not in perfect form”; how does that “less high before / less low after” view change the way you think about your own responsibility, your expectations of holiness, and your need for grace? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Adam and Eve were less mature at first and still kept some “divine spark” and imperfect free will after the fall, how does that change how you see your responsibility and your need for grace? How does it shape what you expect from yourself in holiness?

Bercot argues Augustine’s model would mean “God was defeated,” Satan “won,” and God would have to “arbitrarily choose people” for life or damnation; what assumptions about sovereignty, foreknowledge, election, and assurance are being confronted here, and where do you find yourself resisting the early Christian idea that God’s purpose depends on real human response? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says Augustine’s view can make it seem like Satan “won” and God must pick people for salvation or damnation without their real response. Which beliefs about God’s control, foreknowledge, choosing (election), and assurance does this challenge, and where do you resist the idea that God’s plan depends on human response?

Bercot’s principles include that (a) stamping out evil early would have meant stamping out future generations, (b) God wants “mankind itself to triumph over Satan,” and (c) earthly life is “full-time enrollment in the school of God,” where God can even use “disease, accident, and death” as “medicine of salvation”; what concrete habits of heart (complaining, fear, bitterness, passivity, entitlement) does this worldview expose in you, and what would need to change in how you respond to the next injustice or hardship you face? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If life is God’s “school” and He can use even sickness, accidents, and death to shape us, what bad heart habits does that uncover in you (like complaining, fear, bitterness, passivity, or entitlement)? What would you change in how you respond the next time you face injustice or hardship?