The problem with the “problem of evil” argument
The age-old question, “If God exists, why does evil exist? Why does God allow bad things happen, especially to good people?”, is the focus of this article. Now I realise that, for the most part, there are more often than not a lot of emotions that underlie this question and this is not to trivialise any of those experiences or emotions but it is just to think clearly about this question for a few minutes.
Before we begin, it is apt to point out that logically speaking, the existence of evil is not incompatible with the existence of an all knowing, all loving and all perfect God. This is not just my view but it is the view of great philosophical minds who have, to the question “Why would an all knowing, all perfect and all loving God allow evil things happen?”, posited the answer “For reasons you do not know!”. Although, this is an emotionally and even intellectually unsatisfying answer, it is however, a sound logical and philosophical one.
Peeling back the layers a little bit further, let us examine some of the assumptions embedded within this question.
To ask “If God exists, why does evil exist” is to concede one very crucial point that undermines atheism. The point conceded is this, “The world is not as it is supposed to be! Something is not quite right in the world as we see it!”. To this, the theist answers “Amen!” but wait a minute! From an atheistic worldview, what logical reasons would there be for expecting the world to be different from what it is right now? On what basis does an atheist expect a world without evil?
To dig into this even deeper, on what basis can an atheist objectively call something “evil”? Can the atheist call morality objective such that some things are wrong irrespective of the opinion of the person or persons committing such acts? If morality is objective, then what is the objective standard of morality from an atheistic paradigm? If morality is subjective, then there can be no objective evil and the things the atheist calls “evil” are just a matter of the atheist’s individual opinion. In the latter case, why should we take the atheist’s opinion seriously?
To ask why evil exists in the world is to presuppose that indeed there is an objective standard of human behaviour people consistently fall horrendously short of and human beings ought to be bound to conform their behaviour to these objective standards.
Another presupposition embedded in this question is so subtle it is often missed. The presupposition is that the real evil worthy of God’s attention is out there in the world somewhere! The rapists, the murderers, the abusers of children, the kidnappers, these are the evils an all righteous God would be concerned with judging! This presupposition turns a blind eye to the evil within the heart of the person asking this question.
Voddie Baucham phrases his response whenever somebody asks him the problem of evil question this way, “When you are ready to ask why an all-righteous God does not strike you dead in your sleep for all the wicked thoughts you had in your mind all through the day, then we can talk!”.
This presupposition is to the effect that an all righteous God would let some evil slide and punish some evil but in actuality, an all-righteous God would be judging every modicum of evil, from the mass murderer to someone who has had immoral thoughts about a woman he is not married to. From the child abuser to the one who has been angry with his brother without a just cause. From the terrorist to the one who has said an unkind word which hurts their spouse. Think about this! Evil is not just out there in the world, out there in the ether but is also present in you, as it is written,
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?”
(Jeremiah 17:9)
And again, Jesus says,
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
(Matthew 7:11)
To ask why an loving, all righteous God permits evil to exist is to ask why an all loving, all righteous God permits you to exist. Think about this.
A further blind spot of this question is that it ignores the fantastic and positive things that have happened and continue to happen in the world around us as well. We witness acts of valour, courage, patience, charity, forgiveness as well as attendant virtues that could only exist within the backdrop of an evil world.
There are also miracles that occur in the world today. Dr Craig Keener, a theologian, in his two-volume work “Miracles” chronicles hundreds of miracles of all kinds experienced around the world. I myself have witnessed actual miracles and once went around asking people why they are Christians, the vast majority of answers had some sort of supernatural element to it, one such person questioned claims she had been healed of persistent skin trouble since childhood after a Christian friend prayed for her.
Do any of the above factors justify the existence of evil? of course not! The point being made is that the question, “Why does God permit evil?”, looks at the world around us as well as the entirety of human history and filters it through a persistently and consistently evil lens. If the questioner were to be consistent, would any of the above factors be evidence for the existence of God?
It would appear, once something bad happens, the questioner goes “Why did God let that happen?” and when something good happens, the questioner looks the other way and walks away whistling like nothing worthy of note just took place. It is almost the flip side of a quote from Job,
“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
(Job 2:10)
It is like the questioner accepts evil as proof against God but not good as evidence for God.
Christianity does pose answers to these problems though. It acknowledges evil as a real thing, it acknowledges sin as a real thing. However, the God of Christianity is not aloof from suffering and pain on “Mount Olympus” while we mere mortals look up in vain hoping He intervenes. The Christian God actually experiences humanity in the person of Jesus Christ and tastes of every possible suffering of human beings; Hunger, pain, thirst, lack, bereavement, sorrow, joy, tears and loneliness to mention a few. The suffering of Christ peaks at His scourging, crucifixion and death. God is very much in tune with the problem of evil and suffering, remember Jesus was put to death for no crimes of His own. As it is written,
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
(Hebrews 4:15)
Christianity assures us that there would be a final judgment. Interestingly it does happen from time to time that some sins are judged even temporally on this side of eternity. For example, the very fine chaps of HAMAS are being judged in real time for all their atrocities by the sword of the IDF (As it is written, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword”). As it is written,
“Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.”
(1 Timothy 5:25)
The resurrection of Christ is proof that as He said, He will be the judge of all flesh, both the living and the dead.
“He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
(Acts 17:31)
God will judge the world in righteousness and every evil will be judged, not just the evil of “those really bad and messed up guys” but our own evil as well! We asked for justice and we definitely will get it!
Everyone will be judged according to what they deserve,
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”
(Revelation 20:12)
No one will escape!
And this is where the gospel comes in,
You see, legally speaking, there is the rule against “double jeopardy”, which loosely defined is to the effect that a person cannot be punished twice for the same offence. We are all sinners who ought to be judged by an all righteous God, but if an all righteous God were to righteously judge us, there is no room for Him to be all loving towards us.
In the person of Jesus Christ , God has carried out the judgment on all of the sins of humanity as well as the very author of sin itself. As Jesus says,
“Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged”
(John 16:11)
In Jesus Christ, humanity has the chance to be “Justified” by God. Justified because Jesus has been punished on behalf of as many as would accept Him and this effects a reconciliation between God and as many as come to Him through Christ. On this basis, not only can eternal judgment for our sins not be passed on us because it has already been passed on us in Christ (Double Jeopardy rule) but God, having judged all sin can now be all loving towards us. As it is written,
“O Israel, return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
Take words with you,
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us,
We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”
“I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.”
(Hosea 14:1–4)
In conclusion, the “problem of evil” argument against the existence of God is philosophically unsound, makes assumptions that are incompatible with an atheistic paradigm, fails to recognize the evil in the person posing the question, does not account for the “good” that is only possible within the backdrop of “evil”, is biased in that it filters the data of human history for negative and horrible experiences and draws conclusions based on those skewed results and assumes this current life is all there is to life. The Christian paradigm accounts well for evil and promises to rectify it with ultimate justice. The proof of this coming rectification is the resurrection of Jesus Christ which there is very strong historical evidence for.
