I spent the weekend pondering/praying through some of the issues raised during last week's debate between N.T. Wright and Bart Ehrman on "The Problem of Evil."

Given the time restraints and the format imposed by the organizers, Wright and Ehrman could really do no more than to give their overarching views on the issue. I was hoping to see more interaction, more dialogue than debate.

Nevertheless, this is such a huge topic, perhaps the hugest of all topics, maybe we were all expecting more than could have been delivered in a single evening (or in a single lifetime). But enough points were raised, enough new angles offered, to keep me busy, spiritually and intellectually, for the greater part of the weekend.

Here's what I came away with, in no particular order other than the order in which these pop to mind. I'll start with my most controversial discovery:

1. Some professing atheists are more Christ-like than many professing Christians.

2. We tend to pose "The Problem of Evil" in ways very different from how God does.

3. We humans are some arrogant sons of b___es.

4. I have greatly underestimated the significance of the concept of human stewardship over creation.

5. I have greatly misunderstood God.

6. We humans have, by and large, lost the ability to unite the concepts of "love" and "power," if we ever had it to begin with.

7. Even though Jesus Christ is the Truth, and even though I believe in/trust in/have faith in Him, I'm gonna be in for some serious surprises.

8. Tsunamis and child murderers have more in common than we tend to think.

9. Theories of human evolution simply can't explain why an atheist like Bart Ehrman grieves over human suffering.

10. The "answer" to "The Problem of Evil" is not found in a theological maxim or in a philosophical formulation: it is found getting his feet muddy at Gethsemane and his hands bloody at Calvary.

Grace and Peace,
Raffi