Ch. 39 Evil And Human Suffering

One of the most common objections to God is usually phrased as the question: What about evil and human suffering? Or as the question: How can a good God allow human suffering?

Many good answers have been put forward, through centuries, to answer these questions. Anyone who attempts to use such questions thinking there are not any good answers has either never taken the time to look for such answers or is fooling themself. There are many good books available from theologians and apologists which do provide good answers. I recommend the book: When Skeptics Ask by Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks, published by Victor Books ISBN: 0-89693-766-6. (Available on Amazon) This chapter draws heavily on that book.

This chapter seeks to address the following questions:

What is evil?

Where did evil come from?

Why can't evil be stopped?

What is the purpose of evil?

Does there have to be so much evil?

Couldn't God make a world without evil?

Then why did God choose this world?

What Is Evil?

Some people think evil is bad actions by people; acts such as murder or rape are considered evil. Some people say some people are evil; people such as Hitler or Stalin, or other mass murderers or serial killers. Some people even say certain diseases are evil; diseases such as blindness or AIDS. Other people say evil is like a virus which infects things. Still other people say evil is like a bad force in the universe; they say there is a good force and a bad force in the universe and evil is another name for the bad or negative force. Still other people say evil is just a thing created by God. They argue as follows:

Evil is a thing.
God created everything.
Therefore, God created evil.

However, their argument fails because evil is not a thing. There are no evil molecules or atoms; you cannot put a piece of evil under a microscope and study it. Evil is not a thing. Simply put, evil is a lack of something good which should be present. It is a lack of something good which should be in something. For example: I can pick up a good gun, put in a good bullet, point it at your good head, put my good finger, on the good trigger, and give it a good pull, but a bad relationship exists because something is lacking. The lack in this example comes about because the things are not being used as they ought to be. Guns should not be used for indiscriminate killing. Your head was not meant for target practice. Ultimately, if a person lacks kindness in his heart and respect for human life then he can and may commit murder. It is good to respect human life; if that good value is lacking in someone’s world view, then they can and may commit murder.

Some people say all evil is disobedience of one or more of God’s laws i.e., the Ten Commandments. But the Bible teaches that evil, sin, is more than the disobedience of God’s law. To gain a deeper understanding of how evil is a lack of something good which should be present consider the Bible verse:

Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

The apostle Paul, in Romans, explains that sin, evil, is more than the disobedience of God's law; whatever you do if you do not do it from a place of faith then it is sin.

Where Did Evil Come from?

When God created man, man was perfect. God chose to create man as a free creature; meaning man was given free will. God gave man free will so that man could chose to be in a loving relationship with God and so man could demonstrate faith in God. True love and faith require free will.

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

God made everything perfect.
One of the perfect things God made was free creatures.
Free will is the cause of evil.
So, imperfection (evil) can arise from perfection (not directly, but indirectly through freedom).

God created the fact of freedom; we perform the acts of freedom.

God made evil possible; humans made evil actual.

Evil and human suffering came through the abuse of our moral perfection as free creatures.

Why Can't Evil Be Stopped?

A common question is: Why can't God just stop evil? They may say: If there is an all-good, all-powerful God then why is there evil? Some people even try to use the existence of evil to argue that God cannot be both all-good and all-powerful. Their argument is as follows:

If God is all-good, He would destroy evil.
If God is all-powerful, He could destroy evil.
But evil is not destroyed.
Hence, there is no such God.

Another more interesting question is: If there is an all-good, all-powerful God then why are there atheists?

Another more interesting question is: If there is an all-good, all-powerful God then why are there atheists? The answer to both questions is the same: Free will.

Evil cannot be destroyed without destroying freedom, since evil arises from free creatures. Free beings are the cause of evil, and freedom was given to us so that we could love God and our fellow man.

Love is the greatest good for all free creatures, but love is impossible without freedom i.e., free will.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Matthew 22:36–40 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

If freedom were destroyed to end evil then that would be evil, because it would deprive free creatures of their greatest good. Hence to destroy evil would be evil.

If evil is to be dealt with then we need to talk about it being defeated, not destroyed.

The argument against God from the existence of evil makes some arrogant assumptions. Just because evil is not destroyed right now does not mean that it will never be destroyed. The argument implies that if God hasn't done anything as of today, then it won't ever happen. This assumes that they have some inside information about the future. Either the person does not recognize what God has done and is doing about evil or they do not believe what God has done and is doing about evil.

A restatement of the argument to correct for the oversight in temporal perspective is as follows:

If God is all-good, He will defeat evil.
If God is all-powerful, He can defeat evil.
Evil is not yet defeated.
Therefore, God can and will one day defeat evil.

The very argument used against God turns out to be a vindication of God.

God is not yet finished; you'll just have to wait. God would rather wrestle with our rebellious wills than reign supreme over rocks and trees.

What Is the Purpose of Evil?

Some people try to use suffering as an argument against God being all-good. Their argument is as follows:

There is no good purpose for suffering.
An all-good God must have a good purpose for everything.
So, there cannot be an all-good God.

There is a difference between our knowing the purpose for evil and God having a purpose for it. Even though we don't know God's purpose, He may still have a good reason for allowing evil in our lives. We cannot assume that there is no good purpose for something just because we don't know what it could be. For example: A father takes a child to have a vaccination. The child looks up to the father who tells the child that even though the needle hurts there is a good reason for it. The child has no concept of an increase to their immunity from the vaccination. All the child knows at that moment is that the needle is scarry and it hurts. But there is a very good reason for the endurance of the pain. Another example could be that of dental freezing or dental anesthetic; again, some pain is experienced from the injection, but it produces the temporary loss of feeling in part of the mouth. There is a good purpose for the brief pain the dentist inflicts.

Victims of the disease leprosy experience a loss of pain in their extremities. As a result, often they receive injuries that would have been avoided had they felt pain. For example, they may pick up a hot pot but because they have no feeling of pain, they hold on to the pot longer and experience a more severe burn. So, pain serves a purpose to warn us of danger.

The Bible gives us the example of Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. As a result, Joseph suffered for many years. But ultimately, he was able to give aid to his starving family and people; God’s word includes a very powerful verse regarding how pain and suffering, evil, can serve a greater purpose. Joseph understood that God had a purpose for suffering:

Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

That is why in the face of evil and human suffering, true faithful Christians know God has a purpose in all things including evil and human suffering:

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Sickness and even death are for God’s glory.

John 9:1–3 1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 11:3–4 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Think of the following: God does not require us to go through anything He is not willing to do Himself. Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. The ultimate evil, Jesus' death on the cross, resulted in the ultimate good, eternal life for all those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Does there have to be so much evil?

Some people accept that there must be evil in the world because God created free creatures who chose not to have faith in God and as a result, they commit evil. But they go on to say: does there have to be so much evil? They say: couldn't there have been fewer murders or fewer rapes or fewer drunk drivers? Of course, that could be extended until there was no evil at all. Of course, the only way God could reduce the level of evil would be to tamper with free will and the only way to achieve no evil at all would be to never create creatures with free will. But, if that were done then the greatest love could never be achieved, see John 15:13 above.

Believe it or not, some people use a similar thought to argue that God will not send anyone to hell. The argument goes as follows:

The greatest good would be for all people to be saved and be given eternal life.
Even one person in hell would be less than the greatest good.
Therefore, God cannot send anyone to hell.

The problem with the argument is that the person does not understand the true nature of fallen man or what God has done so that people do not need to go to hell.

Firstly, regarding the true nature of fallen man, all people are born spiritually dead which means they are separated from God and cannot be reconciled to God by anything they do. Therefore, when they die, they go to hell; God does not need to send them there; they are already going there. They cannot go to heaven because they are spiritually dead in their sins.

Genesis 5:3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

Secondly, the person does not understand what God has done so a person does not need to go to hell. A person goes to hell only because they have rejected what God did for them so that they do not need to go to hell.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

In heaven, true born-again Christians say to God: "Thy will be done".

God says to unbelievers in hell: "Thy will be done".

In other words, people in hell exercised their free will while alive on the earth to reject what God did for them so they would not have to go to hell. God respects their free will choice to reject His sacrifice for their sins. He does not send them to hell; He lets them go to the only place a spiritually dead person can go when they die.

The only way to ensure fewer murders or fewer rapes or fewer drunk drivers is to tamper with free will. He does not want to interfere with free will.

Couldn't God make a world without evil?

Some people argue that God could have made a world without evil. The argument goes something like this:

God knows everything.
God knew evil would occur in the world He created.
God had non-evil possibilities He could have chosen to:
- not create anything.
- create a world without free creatures.
- create a world with free creatures but without sin.
- create a world with free creatures but with sin but all get saved in the end.
Therefore, God could have created a world without evil or hell.

The following diagram graphically depicts the argument:

But we must consider two things in response to such an argument. First would such a world be better than this world? And secondly, would God want to create such a world? Essentially, the question is: Are the non-evil options better than the world He did create?

Why did God choose this world?

To preserve free will, to defeat evil, and to achieve the greatest good, God chose the best way to the best world. Only a world with free will allows us to enter willingly into a loving relationship with God our Creator and with fellow human beings. God is willing to put up with evil and atheists to bring fallen humanity into a free will loving relationship with Him.

God will one day judge all evil; that day is known as judgment day. Evil committed by true born-again believers, Christians, has already been judged. When a true believer accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior the punishment for all their sins, their evil, was taken by Jesus Christ on the cross. The penalty for their evil was paid by Jesus. However, non-Christians must pay for their evil, their sins. The day that happens is known as judgment day.

On judgment day, all decisions will be made permanent:

Christians will go into the best world. We will experience eternal life in a loving relationship with God our Creator and with fellow born-again Christians as well as with faithful spirits.
Non-Christians, and all fallen spirits, will go into eternal quarantine i.e., into the Lake of Fire. They will experience eternal death, also known as the Second Death, i.e., conscious, and eternal punishment in a place with no pleasure or happiness or joy, ever.

God does not ask us to endure anything He is not willing to endure Himself.

Mark 8:31–33 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

In His response to Job, God answers the question: What about evil and human suffering?

Essentially God said to Job: Who do you think you are?

Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

In the New Testament we read about someone questioning God:

Romans 9:20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?

After two chapters of outlining some of what God can do, God and Job interact:

Job 40:1–8 1 Then the Lord said to Job, 2 “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5 “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” 6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said, 7 “Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. 8 “Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

God goes on for two more chapters pointing out more about some of His greatness and then Job finally responds:

Job 42:1–6 1 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” 4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Essentially, Job repents and realizes:

No amount of suffering gives man the right to question God’s infinite wisdom.

God did not need man’s advice during the creation of the world.

We must:

Accept God on His terms not on our terms.

Love God, unconditionally.

Have faith in God, unconditionally.

A Serious Warning

If you reject what God has already done to defeat evil, then be warned.

Hebrews 10:29-31 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Summary/Review of the responses to: What about evil and human suffering?

What is evil?
Evil is a lack of something good that should be present. Ultimately, it is a lack of faith in God.

Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Where did evil come from?
God created perfect creatures with free will to enter a loving relationship with Him and with other humans. Free will is the cause of evil.
God created the fact of freedom; we perform the acts of freedom.
God made evil possible; humans made evil actual.

Why can't evil be stopped?
Evil cannot be destroyed without destroying free will. God is defeating evil while preserving free will.

What is the purpose of evil?
There is a difference between God having a purpose and you knowing that purpose. There are several purposes for pain; some examples are: vaccinations, dental anesthetic, achieving a greater good e.g., Joseph.

Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Does there have to be so much evil?
Evil can only be reduced if God tampers with free will. God does not want to interfere with free will.

Couldn't God make a world without evil?
You cannot say nothing is better than something. You cannot say no free will is better than free will. You cannot say a nonmoral option is morally better than a moral option.

Then why did God choose this world?
It is the best way to the best world.

When Job questioned God’s wisdom, God answered him and Job was terrified.
Essentially God said to Job: Who do you think you are?

Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

God is permitting evil, atheists, and human suffering, to achieve a greater good i.e., the saving of many souls. God does not ask us to go through anything He is not willing to do Himself. He endured the ultimate evil, His own death on the cross, to achieve the ultimate good i.e., eternal life for many people. Christians escape the Lake of Fire because Jesus Christ was willing to endure the ultimate evil.

In the introduction I said the “problem” of evil and human suffering is probably the most common objection to Christianity. It is also the greatest opportunity for believers to demonstrate faith in God. We demonstrate faith in God by trusting that God knows what He is doing, even when we face evil and human suffering. To not demonstrate such faith would be evil.

Imagine if you were one of Christ’s followers and you saw Him die on a cross and be laid in a tomb. Between His death and resurrection none of His believers understood God’s purpose. Even before His death on the cross, Jesus told them what was to happen. Jesus rebuked Peter because essentially Peter lacked faith in the wisdom of God.

If you had been there, would you too have doubted God’s wisdom? Would you have thought God doesn’t know what He is doing? Would you be thinking there could be no purpose for Christ’s suffering and death? Would you have seen the events from a human perspective or from God’s perspective? I know a way to figure out how you would have reacted to those events – it would have been the same way you react to evil, suffering, and death in your life today. Do you doubt God knows what He is doing? Do you demonstrate faith and trust in our God’s infinite wisdom and that He does know what He is doing?

Why did God create this world? He tells us the answer in His Word:

Revelation 4:11 Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

This life is hard. We all experience pain, suffering, and death. But our gracious Creator has infinite wisdom, and He knows the best way to the best world – in Him I place all my faith. Do you?

The first part of this chapter draws heavily from the book: When Skeptics Ask by Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks, published by Victor Books ISBN: 0-89693-766-6. (Available on Amazon) Geisler makes convincing arguments for theodicy - - the answer to why a good God permits the manifestation of evil. The remainder of this chapter represents my thoughts relating to why God created this world.

In short, God created this world so we could experience an eternal loving relationship with Him.

God allows evil to exist in this world. He also provided prophets and apostles to teach us what He is like. God did not create evil; but the existence of evil combined with prophets and apostles, teaches us what God is like, which in turn, allows us to experience a loving relationship with the one true God.

When we learn how much He loves us we can exercise our free will and love Him in return.

God is a trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This world allows us to exercise free will. As a result, every human being at times will choose to do evil and at times to do good. We sin against God the Father, we are convicted of sin by God the Holy Spirit, and through the sinless life, death, and resurrection of God the Son, we are offered salvation from the penalty of our sins.

God is self-existent. By having consciousness in this evil, fallen, world we can realize God must be self-existent; only such a being could create the universe.

God is self-sufficient. We can only get some idea of what infinite grace is if a self-sufficient being gives us a gift. So, when God gives us salvation as a gift, we can know how it feels to experience true grace and experience the greatest love, the type of love mentioned in John 15:13

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

God is spirit. We can only understand what a spirit is by passing from a spiritually dead state through this spiritually dead world to a spiritually alive state in Jesus Christ.

God is infinite. We are finite. Only by living as finite beings can we gain any notion of what an infinite being is like. He is the opposite of us in terms of our finite nature.

God is eternal, we are not, we had a beginning, He did not have a beginning because He was not created. Those who become true born again Christians are given eternal life. After death, Christians will leave this physical realm and pass into the spiritual realm; that will be how we will better understand the nature of eternity. Only by first experiencing the time and space God created can we better understand the nature of eternity.

God is unchanging in terms of His attributes. For example, God is truth and since He is unchanging, He will never lie. In this world we change our values and morals. Someone who has been loving and trustworthy can change towards us and hurt us. It is only by living in this evil, fallen, world can we understand what a truly stable and reliable being is like.

God has infinite wisdom. Only a being with infinite wisdom could create a world in which He dies to save us. It is precisely what we with finite wisdom would have never invented. In that way we can gain some idea of what infinite wisdom is like.

God is omniscient. He has infinite knowledge. The prophecies in the Bible allow us to know that He has infinite knowledge.

God is omnipotent; He is all-powerful. Only an all-powerful being could create and sustain this universe.

God is holy. It is only by living in this evil, fallen, world can we get some understanding of what true holiness is.

God is transcendent. It is only by living in the physical realm and encountering God can we gain an understanding of what transcendence is. Because, when we die, we leave the physical realm and enter the spiritual realm; we will discover the Bible was correct when it described God as transcendent because He will already be there when we get there.

God is justice. In this world, God has given us a conscious, an understanding of right and wrong, of good and evil. The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ teaches us how deep the justice of God is. Evil must be judged. It is only by living in this evil, fallen, world and knowing all our sins were placed on God the Son to satisfy God’s justice can we learn what true justice, love, mercy, and grace is.

God is a good being. We never would have been able to deeply understand a truly good being unless we had experienced this evil, fallen, world.

God is grace. The only way we can experience a true unmerited gift from God, which is grace, is by being born spiritually dead and then being given salvation as a gift. Jesus Christ’s sinless life, and subsequent death, pays the penalty for your sins and satisfies God’s justice, provided you accept Jesus Christ’s work as payment for your sins. God’s infinite grace is expressed through His gift of salvation.

God is truth. The only way we can deeply understand what truth is comes from first living in this evil, fallen, world. We have all lied to others and others have lied to us.

God is omnipresent. When we leave this world, the physical realm, we will realize God is also in the spiritual realm.

God is faithful. The word of God, the Bible, laid out prophecies hundreds of years before they were fulfilled. Many of those prophecies were about Jesus Christ. Therefore, living in this evil world, we can know that God is faithful to fulfill His promises to us.

God is mercy. Earlier I mentioned that God is self-sufficient. God does not need anything from anyone. Therefore, His gift of salvation is an act of infinite mercy towards us.

God is love. It is through this evil world that we can experience God’s love and gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. God the Son is God in human flesh; He suffered and died for us. God does not ask us to go through anything He is not willing to do Himself.

John 3:16 - 21 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

God is sovereign. Whether you are a Christian or not, when you die you will understand that God is truly sovereign. Part of why you will understand is because you experienced this evil world. For Christians, physical death will allow us to continue our loving relationship with God Almighty. For non-Christians, physical death will position them in a place of unending torment as punishment for their sins. Part of their torment will be the realization that they did not accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ when they had the chance.

It is only through this evil, fallen, world that we have the opportunity to exercise free will and accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh. It is only because God is infinite eternal love and justice that the opportunity to experience an eternal loving relationship with Him is made possible.