The Problem of Evil

We must admit that there are no easy answers to these difficult questions.  However, we do believe that there are reasonable answers, and that true Christianity offers the most intellectual, thoughtful answers to questions regarding the existence of evil, as well as pain and suffering. 

Evil is a difficult thing to define, since it really isn’t a “thing” at all, but the corruption of a thing. However, reasonable people can all come to the same conclusion regarding evil, that is, evil DOES actually exist. 

Many see a logical inconsistency when considering the existence of God in light of the existence of evil. The question is posed, “If there is an All-powerful, All-knowing, All-loving God, then why is there so much evil in the world?” Let’s face it, there are a LOT of things wrong with this world. There are purposeful acts of evil going on around us all the time, what we might call “crimes against humanity”, that is, people committing “evil” acts against people.  Then there are those things that occur that we have little or no control over, for example, car accidents, birth defects, diseases, natural disasters, etc. 

If there is a good, loving God, and this God knows about these terrible things that are occurring every moment, and this God has the power to stop these things, then why do these things continue? 

Let’s start at the beginning.  According to the Bible, God created all things, and His creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). This does not include “evil”. If evil were actually one of the things God created, then His creation would not have been “good.” It’s important to understand that evil is not a created thing, but rather, it is the corruption of a created thing.

Think of if this way: the creator of a kitchen knife designed the knife for a good purpose, and it is a good thing when used for its designed purpose.  However, this knife has the potential of being used for alternative purposes, outside of the original purpose the designer had in mind. If someone uses this knife, let’s say, to kill another person, nobody blames the creator of the knife for the action, as the purpose for creating the knife was not for evil, but for good. The only way to ensure the knife never would cause any harm is for it to not be created in the first place. If the kitchen knife is created and used for good purposes, then the reality must be accepted that in having the freedom to use the kitchen knife for good also means that there is the potential for this creation to be used in a bad way, outside its purpose in design.

In light of this illustration, let’s consider God’s creation of mankind. Many philosophers agree that, if there is a God, then this God had four choices to choose from in creating a world with human beings.  They are as follows:

1) God could create NOTHING.  If there is a Sovereign God, then He is not obligated to create anything.

2) God could create a world in which there is no such thing as good or evil. This would be an “Amoral” world, that is, a world in which good and evil simply do not exist. 

3) God could create a world in which good and evil exist, but a world in which people do not have the ability to choose between good and evil.  In this world, people would be programmed (like robots) to do only what God wants.  Therefore, this option would not give human beings the ability to choose between good and evil. 

4) God could create a world in which good exists, but there is the possibility of evil, if his creation so chooses.  In other words, God could create a people with the ability to choose a relationship with Him, or the ability to choose an alternative. 

If there is a God, can you think of any other options than those listed above in regards to creation? Now, look more closely at options one through three, and ask yourself the question, “Are any of these three options a better option than number four?”  Option one would be similar to banning all kitchen knives (or not creating them in the first place) simply because they have the potential of being used for harm. All would agree that it is better for kitchen knives to exist and to have freedom of using them, even though there is the possibility of using them for harm. 

Is option two really a possibility?  Could God have created a world, populated with human beings, in which there is no option between good and evil? Although we may be able to imagine such a world, this does not mean it would be possible for God to have created such a world. For example, we may be able to imagine a workplace in which all the employees get along perfectly all the time, but this doesn’t mean that such an environment is possible. Human beings, by definition, are “moral” beings. In other words, if human beings didn’t have choices, they would no longer be human beings! 

Option three may seem good on the surface, but a more in-depth look readily reveals that most people would not want a world like this. People want choices, even if the freedom of choice may lead to calamity.  A world without the option to commit evil acts would then be a world without the option to commit good acts. This kind of a world would be more like a prison, and God would be the Warden, controlling all thoughts and actions of His prisoners. Furthermore, most people actually don’t want an All-powerful God to abolish ALL evil, but only the evil that they think shouldn’t exist.  We see obvious outward acts of evil, like mass murder, and we ask ourselves why God didn’t intervene and stop such an atrocious act. But we’re quick to defend our own “rights” in committing acts of evil (i.e., abortion, gambling, lustful thoughts, sinful music, wasting time, etc.) because we may not define these things as “evil.” So what if there was a God who did, in fact, intervene and stop every single act of evil that He defined as evil? Well, if God were to intervene and cause every act of evil to simply not occur, then this would eliminate people’s ability to choose between right and wrong, thus, human freedom is eliminated. 

Now consider option four. Most would agree (whether or not they believe in God) that we live in a world in which good exists, and therefore, the opposite of good exists: evil. Is the concept that God created such a world really as hard to reconcile as many say it is? 

Let’s think about this illustration, using John and Sally as an example.  John is Sally’s dad, and loves Sally very much.  John is teaching Sally how to drive, and wants Sally to drive very carefully by obeying traffic laws and never speeding. John knows that giving Sally the freedom to drive means that Sally has the potential of abusing this freedom, and possibly bringing harm to herself. John also has the ability to withhold this freedom from Sally. However, John thinks it’s better for Sally to have the freedom, even though it brings the potential of harming Sally. 

Is it so unreasonable to think that this is how God chose to create His most special, unique creation? Perhaps this is the very thing that makes us so special and unique! That is, God created human beings with the very thing that we all claim to cherish so much: FREEDOM. God knew that along with freedom comes the potential of abusing that freedom. Hence, we have evil. Evil is not something that God is responsible for, just like John isn’t responsible for Sally breaking traffic laws, he’s only responsible for giving Sally the freedom to drive, which naturally gives Sally the potential to break the rules. The only thing John can positively do to ensure that Sally does NOT break the rules and potentially bring harm upon herself is to NOT give her the FREEDOM in the first place. Most would agree that this is not a reasonable option. 

Evil is the corruption of a good thing. God’s creation, according to the Bible, was good. Rather than forcing Himself on mankind, God thought it better to give mankind FREEDOM, hence we have human choice, and along with that freedom, there comes the potential of mankind making the wrong choice (abusing that freedom). God knew that, but out of His sincere love and because of His perfect nature, He created mankind with FREEDOM anyways.  The maker of the kitchen knife is not blamed when the kitchen knife is used for corrupt purposes. John is not blamed when Sally abuses the freedom that John allowed her to have. Therefore, God should not be blamed for the corruption that mankind brought upon itself by abusing the freedom that God gave. In fact, we should give God the praise for creating mankind with the freedom to choose a relationship with Him and to do His will. 

           The Problem of Pain and Suffering

What about pain and suffering? Dealing with this as an “intellectual” and/or “logical” issue is not nearly as complicated as dealing with the “emotional” struggles that come with pain and suffering. We understand this, and realize that simply because we may be able to reason through this problem does not mean that this takes care of the emotional pain that comes with this problem. 

Many people have faced the horrible reality that “evil” things occur in this world to innocent people who didn’t make an “evil” choice to bring it upon themselves. For example, every year there are horrible atrocities such as millions of starving children, thousands of people dying in car accidents, entire cities being destroyed by floods and earthquakes, and so on.  Again, we naturally ask the question that if a God exists who has the power and desire to put a stop to these things, why doesn’t He? 

C.S. Lewis (philosopher and author of many respected volumes, including the Chronicles of Narnia) said “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to our consciences, and shouts in our pain – [pain] is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” One of the hindrances that we have as human beings (trying to make sense of all the pain and suffering in the world) is that we only see what is directly in front of us. We’re like a person watching a parade – we see it coming, then as it passes by, we see it right in front of us, then as it continues, we see the end of it, and it’s gone. But what if we’re standing on a twenty-story building watching the same parade? We have a much more broad view of the parade in that we can see the front, middle, and end of the parade all at once. 

It is a comforting thought to know that the God of the universe sees all things. In regards to our life, and to every human being who has ever existed, He has the advantage of seeing our entire life from beginning to end. He actually is like that man standing on the building. He doesn’t simply see a starving child, but He sees that starving child’s beginning (He formed this child while in the mother’s womb), He sees the horrible circumstances that this child will be succumbed to, and He sees this child’s end. And He doesn’t see this as a series of events, like we do, but He sees the whole picture all at once. This means that He knows this child will be comforted, if not in this life, then the next. All we may see is the death and pain of innocent human beings, but God sees death and pain and is able to use them to His advantage. He doesn’t use these things to toy with human beings, but rather, to reach them and bring them to Himself (see John 11:25,26 / Acts 17:26,27). 

God is the giver of all life, therefore, He has the right to take it away. If a person takes another person’s life, this is wrong, simply because that person did not give life in the first place, and because that person does not have the ability to give that life back. If God takes life, this is perfectly acceptable for two primary reasons: 1) God gave life in the first place, and 2) God has the ability to give that life back, and even to make something better with that life. In death and suffering, we see much agony. But God, however, sees this as a means to a much better future. This is the meaning of Jesus’ words “I am the Resurrection and the Life, whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25,26). Jesus, being God in the flesh, understood what true death actually is (separation from God), and promised that we would never experience death if we trust in Him. He solved this entire problem. 

God has reasons for allowing things in this world to occur, and we can’t presume to know all of these reasons. Perhaps God is using pain and suffering as a warning to us, just like the pain of a headache warns us that there is something more deeply wrong inside. God uses pain and suffering to alert us that there is a very deep issue. This issue is called SIN. This is the cause of all the pain and suffering that has ever existed in the world. 

Every starving child, every birth defect, every disease, every “natural” disaster, all of it is a direct result of sin. The end result of sin is the same for all mankind: death. God created a perfect world, but one in which has the potential of becoming imperfect, because of the freedom he gave mankind. The choice of mankind to choose evil is the cause of every imperfect thing we see in human beings, as well as in the rest of creation. However, God has promised that He will fix things! One day, and one day soon, the promise of this loving God will be fulfilled, in that He will restore His creation to its original purpose, at which time all evil, pain, and suffering will be removed! 

No, things are not right. And no, God is not satisfied to leave things chaotic, as they are, and He will not ignore this problem of evil and suffering.  Even though it’s the fault of mankind who willingly chose to disobey God, because of His great love for us, God desired with all His heart to restore that which mankind corrupted. This is the greatest part of the story. God became a man, and in the person of Jesus Christ, He took death and sin upon Himself, and He experienced every pain that this world has ever known. Then He rose from the dead, defeating death and sin, and reversed the disorder that was caused by the sin of mankind. Now you and I, by repenting of our sin and trusting in Christ, can know for sure that we too have conquered sin and death! Now that’s true peace and joy! 

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly… God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6, 8