Introduction
The problem of evil is a very powerful argument used by those who choose not to believe in the existence of God. It is powerful because, 1) we all know that there is real evil in the world, 2) it is claimed that God is all knowing, all powerful, and all good, and 3) we would stop all evil that is within our power so we assume that a good God would as well. However, there are underlying assumptions that, if incorrect, render this formula useless.
The Problem of Evil
I will now lay out the problem of evil in a more straightforward manner as explained by James K. Dew Jr. in the book God and Evil (with a few modifications):
- God is all powerful (Omnipotent)
- God is all knowing (Omniscient)
- God is wholly good
- Evil exists
- A wholly good being would eliminate all evil that it could
- There is no limit to what an omnipotent being can do
At first glance, this set looks formidable. It initially appears that five and six creates a contradiction between the first three and four. The claim is, “If God is all good, He would eliminate all evil. If God is all powerful, He could eliminate all evil. Yet, evil exists in the world”. This would seem to indicate that either God does not exist or He is not what Scripture claims Him to be. However, there are several flaws built into this logical problem.
The Reality of Evil Points to the Existence of God
The first question that someone who asserts that evil in the world means God doesn’t exist is “What do you mean by evil?” One cannot call something objectively evil unless there is a standard to compare it to. If there is no God, then there is no standard outside or above mankind that we are obligated to abide by. This would mean that morality comes from within mankind which reduces it to human preference. We can’t call something truly evil, we can only say that we happen not to prefer it. However, we can’t actually live this way. We speak and act as if some things really are objectively wrong. This was covered in depth in a previous blog post called “The Moral Argument for God”.
Difficulties With the Problem of Evil
The layout of the problem of evil appears at first glance to be formidable; however, it is incomplete. An all powerful, all knowing, wholly good God would prevent all evil unless He had a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil in the world. In other words, God may have a good reason for allowing evil to exist in the world.
Typically, skeptics will claim that there are evils that they know of that there can’t possibly be good reasons to allow. However, this is based on the assumption that, in all cases, if there was a good reason for allowing evil, we would probably know it. What they fail to recognize is that we are finite beings with limited knowledge. God is an infinite being who is all knowing. Therefore, it is very unlikely that we could know for certain that a particular evil would not lead to a greater good at some point in the future.
It’s like a parent taking their five-year-old to the doctor for a vaccine. The parent knows that the short pain works to keep the child healthy in the future. However, to the five-year-old, the needle is evil and there is no good reason for the doctor sticking them with it. The child doesn’t know what the mother and doctor knows.
Reasons God Would Allow Evil – Moral Evil
Moral evil consists of the bad things that people do. It is the consequence of our free-will decisions. The sovereign God has decided that He wants us to be moral agents who have the capacity for love. Love, by definition, cannot be forced. It must be freely given. If we have the capacity to love, we also have the capacity to not love or to hate. Therefore, moral evil is the consequence of human free-will. God doesn’t force us to love Him, He gives us the choice. (The Moral Argument for God, Will a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell, The Roman Road to Salvation)
Reasons God Would Allow Evil – Natural Evil
Natural evil is described by those events like earthquakes and storms that are not the doing of individuals but that come from nature. Natural evil exists because the whole creation is now fallen thanks to the rebellion of mankind against God (Gen. 3: 17-18, Rom. 8:18-22).
God made creation for us to live in and exercise dominion over (Gen. 1:26-30). Now, the creation rebels against mankind like mankind rebels against God (Gen. 3:17-19). In other words, we gave up paradise when we decided to rebel against the creator and go our own way. Therefore we live in a fallen world in which bad things happen because those who desire the presence of God have not yet been returned to paradise (Will a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell).
The God of the Bible and Evil
The existence of the God of the Bible is not at all inconsistent with the existence of evil. First, He allows evil because He loves us enough to give us free-will. With this free-will we rejected His paradise. However, the Bible also teaches us that He seeks our return to Him (Lk. 19:10, Rom. 10:11-13, 1 Tim. 2:3-6).
Second, as fallen beings, it is likely that only in a fallen world with hardships can God reach many of us to save and to sufficiently shape the character of free beings so that we are prepared for life with Him in His kingdom.
Next, We have all heard the saying that God whispers in our comforts and successes, but He screams in our pain. In other words, we are arrogant and self-focused as if we have no need for God when we are comfortable and successful. However, we only acknowledge our need for help when we hit rock bottom. We see this same thing in the cycle of addiction. We have to hit bottom before we are willing to acknowledge that we have a problem and are prepared to receive life changing assistance.
Finally, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that the current version of the world is the only one that God, who is the origin of righteousness, love, justice, and logic, could have created in which the maximum number of people with free-will would be saved. In this way, there is real purpose behind everything that has transpired in the history of the world. It is an example of a good God acting in love on behalf of His people (What is the Gospel).
Blessings