Trying to Answer Dan Foster’s ‘Unanswered Whys’
Rethinking God’s Power
Dan Foster has written vulnerably and eloquently about his wife’s cancer, the pure hell she’s endured, and the resulting challenges to his faith.
His recent essay in the Backyard Church, “Cancer Exists — What Does that Say about God?” posits four possible explanations for pointless pain and suffering:
- Cancer exists, so God doesn’t.
- Cancer exists, God exists, but WON’T do anything about cancer.
- Cancer exists, God exists, but CAN’T do anything about cancer.
- Cancer exists, God exists, and has a reason we do not know.
Bravely, Dan does not proclaim any answers. Instead, he ends his essay with humility, pointing out that humans have wrestled with these theological and philosophical questions for millennia.
I’ve written several times in the Backyard Church about Open and Relational Theism, or what I’ve come to call “God Can’t” theology. I believe Open and Relational Theology answers the “unanswered whys” of cancer and other suffering that God ought to be able to prevent or stop.
Dan’s essay gave me pause, however.
