“How long, O Lord?” (Psalm 13:1). Scripture gives us permission to ask hard questions without pretending. What follows is a summary of common objections raised against Christian faith in the face of suffering—particularly the suffering of children—and a Christian response grounded in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. My aim is not to silence lament but to guide it toward hope.

The Objections in Brief

1. “Blessings are empty words.”
   Saying “God bless you” feels like a pious dodge when children drown, storms destroy, and prayers seem unanswered.

2. “An omnipotent God does nothing.”
   If God is all-powerful and good, why doesn’t he intervene? Divine inaction appears indistinguishable from divine absence.

3. “Satan never kills anyone; God kills many.”
   The Bible (it is claimed) never shows Satan killing, while it depicts God as the agent of many deaths—so why call the devil ‘evil’ and God ‘good’?

4. “Holy war proves God is monstrous.”
   Passages like 1 Samuel 15:3—commands to destroy—are taken as proof that biblical faith sanctifies violence.

5. “Religion indoctrinates stupidity.”
   Faith is charged with shutting down inquiry, numbing moral sensibility, and replacing reason with credulity.

A Christian Response

1) What Christians mean by “Bless you”

Biblically, blessing is not a charm against harm; it is an invocation of God’s steadfast presence and peace (Numbers 6:24–26). Jesus’ blessing does not deny the storm; it declares that sufferers are seen, named, and held (Mark 10:13–16). In catastrophe the church does not hide behind phrases—we mourn, protest, and pray. Blessing is our stubborn refusal to concede the last word to despair.

2) Does God “do nothing”?

The New Testament answers with the story of the Crucified and Risen One. God acts by entering our suffering, not observing it at a safe distance (Philippians 2:5–11). Jesus weeps at a grave (John 11:35), bears injustice, and rises bodily—the pledge that evil and death will not endure (1 Corinthians 15:20–28; Revelation 21:4). Divine power is cruciform: love that does not bypass human history but redeems it. The apparent delay of final justice is God’s patience toward a world he seeks to save (2 Peter 3:9).

3) Who wields death?

Scripture consistently names the devil as murderous and destructive (John 8:44; John 10:10). In Job, Satan instigates calamity that costs lives (Job 1:12, 18–19). Hebrews speaks of “the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil”—and Christ who breaks that power (Hebrews 2:14–15). While God is sovereign, Scripture locates death’s reign with the adversary and God’s will with life.

4) What about holy war texts?

Texts like 1 Samuel 15 occur within a unique theocratic moment and employ Ancient Near Eastern war idiom that often uses hyperbolic language to describe decisive victory. They are descriptive of a particular, unrepeatable act of judgment, not a standing charter for violence. The canon itself moves toward enemy-love (Proverbs 25:21–22) and culminates in Jesus’ command, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:43–48). Christians read all Scripture in the light of Christ, “the exact imprint of God’s nature” (Hebrews 1:1–3): the One who heals, forgives, and absorbs violence rather than mete it out.

5) Is faith anti-intellectual?

Christian discipleship commands the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2), commends reasoned persuasion (Acts 17:2–3), and calls leaders to patient, gentle instruction (2 Timothy 2:24–25). Where the church has fostered ignorance or cruelty, repentance is required. Faith seeks understanding; it is not the enemy of it.

From Theology to Practice

• Permission to lament: The Bible’s prayer book is full of protest. Use it (Psalms 13; 22; 88). Lament is covenant speech, not rebellion.

• Christ at the bedside: In grief—especially the death of children—Christians confess that Jesus is present with the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18) and that those who die in Christ are held for resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Matthew 18:14).

• Acts of mercy: Pray, yes—but also bring meals, make phone calls, sit in silence, and stand with families through coroner’s visits, funerals, and the long weeks after.

• Guard the vulnerable: Judgment texts remind us that God opposes predatory power. The church must oppose it too—in safeguarding, in advocacy, in practical aid.

• Keep thinking, keep praying: Read Scripture with the wounded Christ at the centre. Ask hard questions in community. Let reason and compassion travel together.

A Closing Reflection and Prayer

We cannot explain every storm. But we can say truly: God has faced the worst with us and for us in Jesus Christ. He is not the executioner behind every tragedy; he is the crucified Lord who will wipe every tear (Revelation 21:4). Until that day, blessing is not evasion; it is a promise that you are not alone.

God of the brokenhearted,
receive our protest and our pain.
Remember the children; shelter them in your mercy.
Heal those who remain, and make us brave to love.
Through Jesus Christ, who wept, died, and rose. Amen.

Grace and peace,
Trevor Forrester Chaplain