In John Updike's novel, Rabbit Run, Harry and Janice, the parents of a newborn baby, find themselves in an argument. Harry leaves in a huff and Janice proceeds to get drunk. In her drunken stupor she tries to give the baby a bath. That's when the horrible happens. Somehow, Janice manages to drown her own child in the bathtub. Harry returns a few hours later, confronted with the unthinkable truth. In the terrible shock of the moment, Harry rolls up his sleeve, pulls the stopper from the tub and groans.[1] How easy to pull the stopper, yet in all His strength, God does nothing. Through the years, I've heard the moan of Harry many times.

If God is good and God is all-powerful, then why do bad things happen? Herein lies the most perplexing problem for Christians. And it is this question at th…