The existence of evil and suffering in the world is a complex and far-reaching reality. Consequently, understanding God’s role in the existence of evil is critically important in helping us ultimately to answer the question: is God dead? For we can safely conclude that if God is dead, or if He never existed in the first place, then the problem of evil and suffering goes away in the sense that it has no Causal Agent for us to place blame upon–evil just is. It is not that the evil and the suffering itself go away, but the logical problem of why a loving God would allow it to go away. But it really is not that easy. We have now been arguing for well over a year that not only does God indeed exist and is alive, but in recent weeks, we have argued that He has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil (both moral and natural) and suffering to exist in the world that He created. However, even though we have presented a brief Free Will Defense as an integral part of that argument, there is what seems to be inexplicable evil and suffering in the world all the same. Moreover, human or angelic free will alone does not fully explain God’s relation to that suffering.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and I think it is a conversation worth having here in Perry County. It starts with being honest about how our children treat one another and what we, as adults, are willing to excuse.

Most weeks, a newspaper has a fairly short life on the kitchen table. You read it, perhaps pass it along to someone else, and eventually make room for the next one. But every so often, something in …

Tennessee voters will be asked this November to make a significant change to the state Constitution. Amendment 1 would expand the circumstances under which judges could deny bail, allowing pretrial …

I went to Knoxville this past weekend hoping to come home with a Tennessee victory. Instead, I brought home a sunburn, some Greek baked goods and a reminder that a weekend with an old friend can …

Didn’t we just start football season? It seems like I was just writing about opening night, looking forward to another season of packed stands, marching bands and hometown rivalries. Now Friday, …

Fall may officially be here, but last week certainly did not feel like it across Perry County and much of Middle Tennessee. An unusually strong stretch of September heat sent temperatures …

Does anyone really understand the college football ranking system? As a Tennessee fan, I am perennially frustrated by the preseason rankings. Of course, I also believe Tennessee is better than …

Pretty much anyone old enough to remember September 11, 2001, can tell you where they were when they first heard that something terrible was happening in New York. I was sitting in a …

I felt it deeply. Did you? When the news came that Dolly Parton had passed, it felt strangely personal. I’ve always been a huge Dolly fan, and it was never just about the music. I loved …

I’m not sure there are enough words to properly express how grateful I am for the response to the August 19th Letter to the Community article, but I’m going to try. When I wrote it, I …

It has been a pretty crazy week and a half in the newspaper world. Last Wednesday night, a storm blew through Huntingdon and knocked out power to our printing plant. The power outage lasted long …

There’s just something about the high school football season in Tennessee. The weather is still hot, the days are still long, and technically summer isn’t over yet. But once the lights come …

Well, for better or worse, the election is behind us. First, congratulations to those who won. Running for public office—especially at the local level—is not easy. It takes a tremendous …

That’s probably something you learned and believed in elementary school. But somewhere along the way, after learning about the Electoral College, safe congressional districts, red states and blue …

He’s where the good men go Sun on his back, tractor purring His knees feel good, his back strong That old bull so happy he’s home. It’s always summer in the fields of God Cool breeze blowing, …

There’s something about this time of year that feels like a fresh start. The calendar may still say summer, and the Tennessee heat certainly hasn’t gone anywhere, but you can feel the …

One of the unexpected joys of raising five children is getting to observe just how differently people are wired. Scientists call them chronotypes—our natural tendencies toward being an early bird …

I don’t want to complain too much about rain in July. Anyone who has lived in Tennessee very long knows that summer can turn hot and dry in a hurry. A good rain can be a blessing. It keeps the …

As a student at the University of Tennessee, earning my degree in three years wasn't about being smarter than anyone else, and it certainly wasn't required. The thinking was pretty straightforward: …