HOW COULD GOD ALLOW EVIL WHAT IS EVIL

HOW COULD GOD ALLOW EVIL? WHAT IS EVIL?

WE ALL RECOGNIZE EVIL WHEN WE SEE IT IN THE HOLOCAUST, IN MURDER, RAPE, A TSUNAMI, OR EVEN CANCER. BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS EVIL?

Augustine defined evil as “A privation of a good, even to the point of complete non-entity” In other words, evil Is where good should Be but is not.

EVIL IS NOT A THING. It has no substance. THIS DOES NOT IMPLY THAT EVIL DOES NOT EXIST. It means that evil exists the same way as dark and cold does. dark and cold are very real things that are ways of speaking of the absence of light and heat.

THINK OF THIS PHRASE.

ANOTHER WAY OF DEFINING EVIL “a departure from the way things out to be” the importance of this way of thinking about evil is although evil is real it was not created by God, but it was made possible by God.

Genesis 50: 20 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. Acts 4: 28 to do whatever your hand your plan had predestined to take place. Ephesians 1: 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Romans 9: 11 -22 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger. ” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. ” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. ” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. ” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? ” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this? ” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

God is sovereign over all events. Good and evil, and no matter how one analyzes evil, it is part of Gods plan. God is not directly responsible for creating evil but rules over it and uses it to accomplish His good pupose.

There are 2 kinds of arguments against God that spring from the existence of evil. 1. The logical argument from evil. This argument holds that evil could not exist at the same time as a morally perfect, all-powerful, allknowing God.

2. The evidential argument from evil. Says the amount and quality of evil makes it extremely unlikely that a moral perfect, all-powerful, allknowing God exists.

THE LOGICAL ARGUMENT FROM EVIL Epicurus (341 -270 BC) Was one of the earliest philosophers to articulate his argument against the existence of God from the problem of evil.

He stated: “God either wishes to take away evil, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able. If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them? ”

THE LOGICAL ARGUMENT TAKES THE FOLLOWING FORM: . If God is truly all-powerful He could prevent evil. . If God is omniscient He would know when evil was about to take place and therefore could act to stop it. . If God is morally perfect and benevolent He would want to prevent evil. . Evil exists. Therefore, God, at least with those characteristics, does not exist.

This question was addressed by Alvin Plantinga in his book “God, Freedom, and Evil” He makes what he calls a free will defense, “the aim is not to say what God’s reason is, but at most what God’s reason might be” The idea is that if there is merely a possible reason for God’s permission of evil then the existence of God and evil, simultaneously is not incompatible or inconsistent and the logical argument from evil fails.

Very simply stated the free will defense suggests the possibility that: . An all knowing, all powerful, all benevolent God created human beings as free moral agents. This entails the ability to choose evil as well as good. . Because God is all knowing, He knew evil would result; because He is all powerful, He could create the world in alternate ways; and because He is all-benevolent and morally perfect, He could only have good reasons for making the world in this way.

. As a result, God may have created the potential of evil, but human beings, because they have chosen evil things, made it actual. But this actualizing of evil was not news to God. Thus, ultimately, there is evil in the world because God has a good reason for its existence.

Of course, if God is omniscient, then He knew all along that people would sometimes choose evil. But if God is morally perfect , then he must have good reason for permitting evil, and this is all we need to know. The specific reasons that God allows evil are not given, nor are they required in order for Christianity to be logically consistent.

THE EVIDENTIAL ARGUMENT FROM EVIL Another way of arguing against the existence of God from evil is to take the enormous amount of evil and weight it against the proposition that God exists. Which do we see more of, evil or evidence of God?

For people who hold this view, it is a justification to not believe in God. This argument has been articulated in many ways, one example is from stand up comic George Carlin. “Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best that God can do, I am not impressed. Results like these do not belong on the resume of a Supreme Being”

Some people who use this argument do not deny that some amount of evil might be necessary for God to achieve His purposes. However they do believe that there is more evil than necessary for God’s plan to succeed. But how could anyone know such a thing?

ONE PROBLEM WITH BOTH OF THESE ARGUMENTS: They are both based on arrogance. Both put a finite, flawed human in the place of an infinite, perfect God and then declares that nothing makes since.

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL REDEFINED The most powerful way to respond to the problem of evil is not, however, to argue facts. Rather, the issue can best be settled by trying to define our terms.

When someone speaks of evil, what are they actually saying? For anything to be called “good” or “evil” we must first recognize that we are not talking about preferences. When things are declared evil, we mean that something ought to be a certain way but is not.

WHERE DO THINGS LIKE INTENTION, ORDER, PURPOSE, AND OUGHT-NESS COME FROM? They come from a person of course. And since the intentions and purposes we are talking about are universal and transcends individual human beings, cultures, and times, these intentions and purposes must come from a transcendent source.

Goodness finds it’s source in God’s character, and the standard of goodness is God’s character itself. Things are not good just because God says they are; they are good because they correspond to His perfectly good character. God’s intentions and purposes are strictly informed by His character. The degree to which something does not correspond to God’s character is the degree to which that thing is evil.

To say something is evil is to claim there is a God. The existence of evil is one of the most powerful evidences for God. Without the existence of God, the idea of evil becomes unintelligible. The problem of evil is not a problem for the Christian. Rather it is a problem for unbelievers.

WHY DOESN’T GOD DESTROY EVIL? If God is all powerful, why doesn’t He destroy evil? The answer may have to do with our moral character. Because we are made in the image of God, we have the ability to make choices that have a moral dimension to them. We can choose to do and say things that would be right and wrong.

THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF EVIL THE MAIN ANSWER, HOWEVER, TO THE PROBLEM OF EVIL IS THE PERSON OF JESUS.

If moral evil that you have committed is what plagues you, then Jesus can take away the punishment that you deserve and pay for it Himself by His death. If you are a victim of someone else’s moral evil, then either Jesus pays for it with His death or He sits as judge and punishes the person responsible.

JESUS IS ALSO THE SOLUTION FOR NATURAL EVIL. In His resurrection we see Him not just restored to His physical body, but to a glorified state. His resurrected body cannot die, get sick, or be corrupted in any way.

JESUS OVERCAME BOTH MORAL AND PHYSICAL/NATURAL EVIL. HE ALONE IS THE SOLUTION. EVIL IS ONLY A PROBLEM FOR THOSE WHO REFUSE HIM.

It is only when we stop viewing the world in a self-centered way and see the world as it really is, centered around God, that we can make since of evil. And not just evil, but the whole of our experience finds its answer and meaning in a God-centered universe Let us glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

JOB 42: 1 -6 Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. You ask, “who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance? ” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, “listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform Me. ” I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes.