Why God Allows Suffering – John Lennox
Get all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC – subscribe for 40% off unlimited access.
For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.
To donate to my PayPal (thank you): http://www.paypal.me/cosmicskeptic.
– VIDEO NOTES
John Lennox is a Northern Irish mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist originally from Northern Ireland. He has written many books on religion, ethics, the relationship between science and God, and has had public debates with atheists including Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.
– LINKS
Exclusive discount: Listeners to my show can get 30% Off John Lennox’s autobiography, “My Story” when shopping directly from his publishers. Visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/my-story and enter AOC30 at checkout to get 30% off.
– TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – How Pressure Can Produce the Best Work
02:29 – Does the Incarnation Make Sense?
06:22 – John’s Richard Dawkins Debate
14:39 – What Did the New Atheists Get Wrong About God?
26:21 – Science Cannot Explain Everything
31:22 – What Did the New Atheists Get Right?
35:18 – Why Does God Hide From So Many People?
44:36 – Why Does God Allow Arbitrary Suffering?
56:25 – Is Faith “Belief Without Evidence”?
1:00:33 – How Could God Punish a Mere Lack of Faith?
1:08:14 – How Christopher Hitchens Agreed with Jesus
1:13:03 – Does Christianity Cause Evil?
– CONNECT
My Website: https://www.alexoconnor.com
SOCIAL LINKS:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskeptic
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskeptic
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskeptic
TikTok: @CosmicSkeptic
The Within Reason Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/within-reason/id1458675168
– CONTACT
Business email: contact@alexoconnor.com
Brand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
——————————————
@CosmicSkeptic
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Get all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC – subscribe for 40% off unlimited access. For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.
@RGT2883i
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Ads always get progressively worse. I use to listen to ad reads by podcasters and they were 30 seconds or under and straight to the point, plus they get all that money unlike YouTube ads, now they're 90+ seconds and I skip them just like I would ant ad.
@MichaelGavaghan
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
I was heard that about a month ago a man stopped smoking ciggerettes? How is he doing? 🤔
@ArchivesofCreation
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Sounds like Alex will be a Christian one day. It’s clear the Holy Spirit is influencing him
@ArchivesofCreation
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Jesus is Lord
@RetiredLands
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
It took me literally the faith of an agnostic little mustard seed when praying with faith for the first time to be given His presence. For once I wasn’t testing Him, I just truly NEEDED to know Him or else I wouldn’t be here today. I’m now a believer. I NEVER used to think I’d ever be where I am now because of the homophobic, violent, misogynistic, contextually and judgmentally flawed understandings I had been fed about the Fruit of the Spirit of God, but that Presence… though it shocked me, is undeniable and I cannot deny this. It’s only happened to me once as agnostic at a very specific time of asking and receiving…
If you never knew sadness how would you know you were happy? Humans are given free will to know the Spirit of God or not and to reject God is to accept evil. He gave an angel the knowledge of Good and His absence and the angle decided to choose a free will absent from Gods Rule. As soon as God was who He is, evil too was created. For every Good or evil thing there is always an alternative to make it so, or else neither would exist. That’s what I’ve gathered at least. Free will is Good, But Good things can lead to Evil when you don’t have a Guide, Rule, Law. Many people today believe lawlessness is Good and not evil. But can the absence of a Guide in practicing free-will (which can and cannot be lawless) produce Good? I think without God and his laws of loving Him and your neighbor, evil will persist because we will never be as God is naturally.
@Harker777
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Lennox is all God of the Gaps – Why doesn't John prove his claims and stop using analogies.
When it's all said and done, it comes across as arrogance, to state something to be true, when you cannot possibly know. …and faith doesn't count. Facts do.
@Genepher
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Patiently waiting for Alex to one day realize that all suffering is necessary for the existence of pleasure. Also that suffering is relative in itself.
@shawnmilo3420
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
I have a question: will Dawkins go to Heaven?
@dubjeff1
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Knowing that the table will hold the glass is nothing to do with faith in the college. Its your own relationship with the physical world that you have developed all you life that tells you that this table will hold this glass. Its not based on Faith it's based on accumulated knowledge built up over a lifetime.
@vc289
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Mythical Refresh Pull!
@NeilJohnsonHXC
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
23:51 emirically verifiable and mathimatically true
@kpopbests8643
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
I really dont get him, maybe I'm stupid, but
5:00: why do you believe energy exists?
because we could measure it and make prediction about it
how do you know your God exists, can we make any measurement about it, does it answer prayers, does it heal, the question is not what is god, it's how we can know it exists
@chuongnguyen5724
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Lennox is a true gem of the Christian faith! God Bless him!
@jonlightyear2000
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
1:00 Alex is exactly right there
@chrishudson576
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Civility costs nothing. To refer to someone simply by their last name shows bias and is generally viewed as being disrespectful. Use an identifier such as Mr Dawkins or Richard Dawkins. That is not to say I support his view on Christianity, I am opposed to it on many levels. If you lose your civility, you can only expect the same. This is a comment on the interviewers use of civility
@MarjetkaLekše
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Death is not a mistery, death is total fact, for me death of body is positive fact who realese spirit into freedom when spirit goes into darkness. Death is my friend and I don't know what happened to Jesus but I never think about t dead people they are gone and past is also gone.
Marjetka Lekše
@mauriceamaraggi8098
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Complete madness. I stopped when he said that more he studies more he finds evidences of god. Eventually why not but why christianity and not another one? It doesn't make sense.
@ilovestrawberry5225
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
I just love listening to two rational, intelligent people in a polite discussion. To me, that's grounds for the existence of something higher, whether it's called God or not.
@WicksKE
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
I’m glad we are done with new atheism for all and more reasons that you two put forward. However, I think it was a very important and valuable consciousness shift. To my mind, it has helped religion in at least some cases regain some of its humility.
@sargondaniel8304
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Good for youuuu!
@jaymond80
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Such a wonderfully refreshing conversation. The kindness and respect between Alex and John are delightful.
@calebjohnson9740
June 12, 2026 at 6:22 pm
My favorite agnostic and my favorite apologist.