The Problem of Evil - And the Answer of God

The origin of evil and the world and its continued presence in the modern world is a philosophical problem that has perplexed thinkers throughout the ages. A.W. Tozer once mused: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” An essential aspect to our belief system about God is what we believe about His role with evil – both its origin and its continued presence in the world. A thorough examination of this topic reveals deep truths about the character of God and, when answered correctly through the Word of God, enlightenment occurs.

When people – especially nonbelievers – look into the world and see the tragedies, killings, and all manner of evil that have inundated our world, they ask: how could a good God exist and allow these things to exist that cause so much hurt and pain? As a result of the perceived inadequacy of the answers to this question, many people believe that there is no God or, if God does exist, that He is not perfect and / or is uninvolved in the world. A pantheistic worldview does not delineate any difference between good or evil due to its monistic holding that all reality is reduced to a divine that is in all. Naturalists / atheists are able to identify evil and question its existence, but the universal moral law that exists in contrast to the evil that they point to must have a moral lawgiver – whom they refuse to acknowledge or name. The general philosophical argument against a morally good God follows that: an all-powerful God could destroy evil, an all-loving God would destroy evil, evil is not destroyed and, therefore, an all-loving and all-powerful God must not exist.

Biblically speaking, it is impossible to handle the topic of evil (and its origin) accurately and holistically without first examining the character of God – specifically speaking, His holiness and His sovereignty. The Bible asserts that God is perfectly and unimaginably holy and perfect, in addition to exerting His willful and purposeful sovereignty (providence) in all things. Isaiah 6:3 states: “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’” 1 John 1:5 also states: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” The perfection of God is directly contrasted to the sinfulness of man following the fall in Genesis 3, because of which evil entered into the world. Romans 3:23 asserts: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

The philosophical argument for evil existing alongside God follows as such: the question of evil implies a universal and external (outside of this world) standard of good – a universal moral law. The existence of this universal law, as C.S. Lewis muses in Mere Christianity, means that a moral lawgiver – God – must exist. Man, created in the image of God, was made with the capacity to love and possess a free will (love cannot exist in a forced relationship – there must be free will). With the capacity to exert free will, the capacity to choose evil over God is also present for man – the decision which Adam and Eve made in the garden. Thus, God did not create evil but rather created a world with the potential for evil and permits evil to persist –using it to accomplish His purpose. Genesis 50:20 says: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Christians can be assured of two key facts: that God, through His providence, uses all things for good, and that God will destroy evil and fulfill His promise. Two key verses displaying God's heart on this topic are: Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” and 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Christians, therefore, can answer skeptics with the existence of a new paradigm: God is all-powerful and can defeat evil; God is loving and will defeat evil; Evil is not yet defeated; God can and will defeat evil at a future time. Furthermore, on a personal level, followers of Christ answer the problem of evil with the assertion that we live in a fallen world that is suffering the consequences of sin as a result of man choosing sin and turning away from God. In God’s grace, He does not impose His will on humans – giving them free will and the ability to enter a loving relationship with Him. Believers will experience the affects of living in a fallen world and suffer – yet God has guaranteed believers a future free of sin, pain and suffering. God is in control of all things and at work in all situations; suffering is difficult but produces growth and sanctification in a believer as we are conformed to the image of Christ – He who went before us in the world and already conquered the grave (in humility suffering all and more so that He may be sympathetic to us).