As an atheist my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?
-C.S. Lewis
Evil, why does it exist?
According to Webster’s dictionary evil is defined as: “The fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing; something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity.”
Many people believe that there is no good answer for this question, others blame God, and even worse some deny a loving creator God exists because of evil. However, it is only because a good and perfect Creator God exists that we can even identify evil. It is only Christianity that can offer a solution to the problem of evil, and Christianity is the only worldview that can give concrete historical and spiritual reasons for the presence of evil. All other worldviews fall short, and in the end can only complain, or pretend that evil doesn’t exist.
In Christian thought evil is looked at as the absence of good, or the privation of good, just as dark is defined in regards to the absence of light. We often look at our world and exclaim, “things are not the way they are supposed to be!” And they’re not, because perfection was distorted and damaged at the Fall.
Evil is a corruption of the good, and evil arises from the misuse of the will. Evil became a part of human nature when the creation willfully disobeyed God. Evil is not a thing, even though we often attribute it to a person, or an object, or an act of nature, evil is a condition of the heart against God, but God has a plan.
“We need to know God’s plan so that we can make sense of tsunamis, fires, cancers, strokes, rapes, tortures, and the fact that, except for the Lord’s return, the only thing that will prevent us from watching everyone we know die will be our own death. If we don’t understand that our good God can have a good purpose in allowing evil, we’ll live confused Christian lives.”
-Dr. Clay Jones, Professor of Christian Apologetics, Biola University
Dr. Jones has spent a good portion of his career researching and writing on the problem of evil. His recent book, “Why Does God Allow Evil?” is a culmination of some twenty-three years of observation and research on his part, and it is well worth the read. In his book Jones identifies nine reasons people tend to struggle with understanding the concept of the existence of evil:
- Many people are spiritually unreflective—they do not spend time meditating on Scripture so they do not understand the Biblical worldview.
- Most people fail to understand the depth of human depravity—even Christians fall into the, “I’m a good person” mentality, but this is the opposite of Biblical teaching.
- Some people are simply arrogant—they hold their own opinions higher than Scripture.
- Many people are ignorant of Christian doctrine—they don’t understand that the problem of evil encompasses most of Christianity’s history and teachings.
- Many people misunderstand Job (the Biblical book and character)—there are many clues and answers in that book to the problem of evil.
- Some people really don’t want the problem of evil answered—they hold a grudge against God, and this is especially true in the atheist’s worldview.
- Some people hold to “determinism”—that God has determined every creature’s every thought and deed so that they could never do otherwise, but that would nullify God’s gift of freewill.
- Most people fail to understand the nature and value of freewill—without freewill real love, relationship, and intimacy is not possible, yet it leaves open the possibility of making wrong choices that can result in pain and suffering.
- Most people fail to understand the glory that awaits Christians forever in Heaven—we tend to live life shortsighted, but for those with a healthy excitement about the afterlife, the problem of evil is not so much of a problem.
The Biblical Worldview has the best answer to the problem of evil:
- All humans have the innate feeling that things are not the way they ought to be
- What we experience is what is because of the Fall
- The Biblical worldview is the only one that adequately answers this question and provides a solution to the problem
There are four primary factors:
- There is a “principle of evil” in the world because of the curse at the Fall (Genesis 3:17) – this applied to not only humans but also nature as evidenced by natural disasters and famines
- Satan and his forces know that their time is short (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:7-10), wanting to take as many with them as possible they twist Scripture and are bent on deception and destruction
- We bring much of the hardship we experience on ourselves through bad choices – this is what Adam and Eve did (Genesis 3), and we have their DNA
- The ‘Job’ factor: God allowed Satan to test Job (Job 1-2)—sometimes God is refining us, teaching us or testing us for a greater purpose – we do not have the mind of God, nor do we know the end from the beginning as He does (Isaiah 46:10)
Three points to consider when debating the problem of evil:
- Refine the objection—ask them to specifically identify the evil they are citing—often there is a personal experience that needs to be expressed and blaming God is a reaction to that experience
- Define evil—give them the definition of evil from both the secular and Christian perspective—everyone has to deal with this problem, no matter what their worldview is (Christian, atheist, agnostic, other)
- Give a Christian defense—the Christian worldview is the only view that has a solution to the problem of evil—introduce them to Jesus and what he offers us (John chapters 3 and 14)
Going Deeper:
Watch this short clip by J. Warner Wallace on the “Problem of Evil” from his highly recommended book: “God’s Crime Scene”
Watch this excellent presentation by Dr. Clay Jones on “Why God Allows Evil” at the Biola Christian Apologetics’ Conference:
Bible Study
Read and study Genesis chapter six
Note for your study: There three common interpretation by Christian scholars for the “sons of God and the daughters of men” (Genesis 6:2)
- Sons of God = the line of Seth, and the daughters of men = the line of Cain (most common Christian interpretation)
- Sons of God = angels/demons (early Church Fathers’ interpretation)
- Sons of God = royal line (Jewish traditional interpretation)
The Nephilim were the offspring of the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. The term “Nephilim” can also mean giant ones.
- What caused God to want to destroy all of His creation at this point in time? (6:1-7, 11-13) Discuss how this had escalated since the ‘Fall’ and the first murder.
- Who was Noah and how did God feel about him? (6:8-9, 7:1)
- What did Jesus say about Noah in Luke 17:16-27 (also found in Matthew 24:37-38)? Do we see any similarities to Noah’s time today?
- Write a prayer to God asking Him to help you share the things you are learning in Genesis with someone else.
Join us next week as we continue our study in Genesis and make a case for Creation!
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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.
Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.
Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.
Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15
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