The Problem of Evil

The chief objection to the Christian belief in a God who is all powerful, all knowing, and benevolent is the presence of evil and suffering in the world. This is not a mere intellectual question. We have felt pain in our own lives. We have watched news reports or read history of atrocities and asked, “Why?.”

Here is a general introduction of Christianity's response to the 'problem' of evil.

Two Affirmations

I will begin by making my own position clear with two affirmations. In order to understand the compatibility of a belief in a good, omnipotent, and omniscient God with the reality of evil and suffering, we need to recognize two key confessional elements:

1) God desires relationship with humanity.

2) Through God’s grace as demonstrated definitively in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, suffering is not the final word and suffering itself may be redemptive on this side of eternity.

Typology of Evil

We need to understand evil in terms of two categories: Moral and Natural. Moral evil is the consequence of the actions of people that go against God’s intentions for Creation. In other words, much of the evil present in the world is the result of human sin. A sub-category of this would be satanic/demonic evil. The Bible clearly indicates the presence of a being who epitomizes evil. Natural evil involves pain and suffering from the result of natural disasters: floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. Thinkers are divided over whether or not the perfect Creation described in Genesis 1:1-2:25 included such things as floods, tsunamis, earthquakes or whether these are indicative of the Creation in the post-Genesis 3 reality in which we find ourselves.

Toward an Answer

1) God permits the possibility of evil because of his desire for authentic and genuine relationship and fellowship with His Creation.

God created humanity as the pinnacle of his creation to serve in community with God and one another (male and female) as God’s regents and ambassadors to all creation by reflecting and embodying his character. God did not coerce this. God set up generous boundaries in which humanity was free to live. But humanity was not content with this. Genesis 3-11 reports the infestation of Creation by sin in the aftermath of humanity’s breaching of relationship. In the world as it now exists, all humans and all human institutions are infested and permeated with sin. This has resulted in the fracture of creation itself and perhaps Natural Evil can be understood to be the result of humanity’s sin.

From Genesis 3 onwards, God has shifted his mission to redeem this lost humanity as well as move history to the day when Creation as a whole would be redeemed. Paul looks to the day when God will act to redeem not only human suffering but also the fractures of Creation.

Romans 8:18: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Revelation offers a similar portrait in its deployment of the language of New Creation:

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

2) Through God’s grace as demonstrated definitively in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, suffering is not the final word and suffering itself may be redemptive on this side of eternity.

Jesus’ death on the cross proclaims the victory of God over sin and the forces of evil. The life, death, and resurrection offers the hope, healing, and restoration of God’s love in the face of evil.

Jesus’ Life, Death, and Resurrection as a Demonstration of God’s Love

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

A Life in Jesus Subverts Suffering and Transforms It into Soul Development

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

The Way Forward

Christian Community. Followers of Jesus Christ are to be known by love by insiders to the faith and by outsiders to whom they manifest God’s love. In the face of evil, intentional acts of love by Christ followers can make tangible the love of God in Jesus Christ. Many persons have found great comfort in the community of God’s people. The reality of evil amplifies the critical role that community plays in God’s intentions for humanity.

Prayer. Prayer is a gift from God. The book of Psalms models for God’s people a variety of responses to God including praise, lament, and thanksgiving. During times of crisis, the psalmists deploy the lament psalm in which all sorts of emotions are lifted up to God. In the face of evil, followers of Christ are invited to pray fervently to a God who listens.