The Problem of EVIL
BY BEN SCHETTLER
I t was surreal . Mark lowered his left hand , gripping the bar on the side of the casket designed for such an occasion . He lifted the body of his best friend of 16 years . Joined by three other friends and Jason ’ s two brothers , they carried Jason ’ s body to the hearse . In a few minutes , they would drive to the cemetery , lower this casket into the ground , and say goodbye .
Mark was devastated . His best friend ’ s young life was snatched from him at the age of eighteen by a drunk driver . The next several months would be plagued by questions . “ Is God all-powerful ?” “ Is He loving ?” “ If God is all-powerful and loving , why would He allow Jason to die in such a horrific accident ?” If He was all-powerful , He could have intervened . If He was loving , He would want to intervene . These unanswered questions will continue to fester in Mark ’ s heart until several years later , after his divorce , the loss of his father , and the difficulties of life come to a head , and Mark stops calling himself a Christian .
For those under the age of forty who have struggled with their faith , that struggle often does not stem from a question of the reliability of Scripture or the existence of God ; it comes from a more foundational question : How could a loving God who is all-powerful allow evil ? If He were loving , He wouldn ’ t want evil . If He were all-powerful , He would be able to stop evil . So , it seems logical to conclude that either God is not loving or He is not all-powerful . Many who once claimed to be believers of Jesus Christ often offer this rationale as a reason they no longer believe the teachings of the Bible .
In this article , I want to equip you with thoughtful answers to this objection and encourage you to consider it through the lens of God ’ s truth . While the solution to the problem of evil is found in trusting a transcendent God and that His way is best , several important aspects of evil are revealed in both the Bible and the world God made .
1 . Evil is a far greater problem for the atheist than for the Christian . The atheist point of view does not provide any construct of good or evil . If there is no God , there is no standard of right and wrong , good or bad , wonderful or terrible . The world is simply a random alignment of atoms , and nothing that happens can objectively be described as bad or evil .
Where did evil come from ? Who determines if a thing is evil or good ? Why is it wrong to steal ? All these questions are easily answered from the truth of the Bible , or what we call a biblical worldview .
But atheists have no answer to these questions because evil is just a subjective perception . The far more difficult question is why it feels inherently wrong when a child is senselessly murdered .
When atheists claim evil negates God ’ s existence , they make a logical error , admitting that evil exists . If evil does exist , then good exists , which is significant evidence that a moral standard exists . A moral law necessitates a moral lawgiver . It is far more difficult to explain the reality we all call evil within the constructs of atheism .
2 . Being evil does not cause you to stop existing . As Christians , we understand that God is good . But for the sake of argument , even if He is not good , it does not necessarily mean He does not exist . Arguing that God does not exist because you do not like His behavior is as absurd as saying thieves do not exist because you don ’ t like people who steal . It ’ s irrational to say , “ I don ’ t believe in God ,” based on your subjective perspective of His performance .
3 . No one wants God to remove all evil . In the case of Jason ’ s death , we may argue that God should have removed the drunk driver . But how ? By eliminating him ? By eliminating alcohol ? By eliminating free will ? And why should God stop at drunk drivers ? If He is going to eliminate some evil , why not eliminate all evil ? And if God eliminates all evil , where does that leave us ? When we argue that God should intervene , we neglect to recognize evil in our own hearts and minds . If God eliminated all evil , who are we to say that we would not be part of that elimination ? Often , when we question God ’ s patience and graciousness in allowing someone to exist who commits evil , we forget that it is only by God ’ s mercy we are not consumed .
4 . Evil and tragedies are easily explained through the biblical worldview . In the first few chapters of Genesis , we see that God created a perfect world and placed two perfect human creations , Adam and Eve , in the garden . Adam and Eve violated God ’ s rule by eating the fruit . This action brought evil into the world . As a
18 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW