If God Is Perfect, Why Is There Evil?预览

Day 2: Inadequate Solutions to the Problem of Evil

Yesterday, we defined the problem of evil as the reality that both (1) evil exists, and (2) God is omnipotent and good. These seemingly contradictory facts are true simultaneously.

Over time, inadequate solutions to this “problem” have appeared. Why? I think it’s partly because people are rarely willing to let God’s wisdom be greater than theirs. Some may really desire to justify God by defending him, but in their zeal to help, they sometimes water down the Bible’s truths.

Others have no desire to defend God. They indignantly point to evil, attacking the Scriptures with the rhetorical question, “Is this your God?”

When addressing the problem of evil with others, it’s important to know the other person’s approach. If they are scoffing, your manner of response may be different than if they genuinely want to know and understand.

For the genuine truth seeker, here are 6 “solutions” that fall short of solving the problem of evil.

#1 God’s goodness is different from man’s goodness—in particular, God is good in the sense that he exists.

This explanation amounts to redefining the word “good.” Calling God good is meaningless if there’s little correspondence between what God is and what we call good. This view ultimately denies God’s goodness.

#2 All evils are punishments for sin.

This explanation is unsatisfactory for two reasons. First, it would mean God uses punishment unfairly. For instance, the wicked often prosper, while the righteous frequently suffer. The innocent suffer for the crimes of others (think of children who are killed or orphaned during wars). “Punishments” are out of proportion to the sins committed.

A second flaw in this solution is that it’s unbiblical. Christ gave examples of people suffering because of another’s moral evil (Luke 13:1–3) and because of natural evil (vv. 4–5). Concerning the latter, the Lord says, “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

#3 God is “beyond” good and evil; he created both.

This solution is similar to the first because it ultimately denies that God is good, at least in the ordinary sense of the word.

#4 The problem of evil is exaggerated.

Even if evil is exaggerated, it still exists. The quantity of evil has little to do with the problem. C. S. Lewis correctly argued that no individual suffers the composite of human misery; only Christ did this when he was on the cross, bearing the sins of men.

This observation may alleviate the problem, but it doesn’t solve it. It’s the quality of evil’s existence in the universe that we must deal with.

#5 Evil is only an illusion.

This is the solution of pantheists. Evil must not be real if God is all, and if all is God.

Christian Science is probably the best-known Western example of this position. This viewpoint forces one to deny the evidence of one's senses. But when he does that, what basis does he have left for believing his senses when he reads and hears about the doctrines of Christian Science? Besides, the illusion of evil is quite real, and Christian Scientists call this illusion an evil that must be fought.

#6 God is struggling against evil, but he is not omnipotent.

In this view, God is not to blame for evil because he’s not powerful enough to overcome it. God is good, but he’s fighting a coeternal force of evil.

This position, which has been promoted widely by Rabbi Harold Kushner in his best-selling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, is known as pluralism, because it holds that there’s more than one ultimate reality. This solution of finite theism distorts the Scriptures; diminishes the power, majesty, and glory of God; and removes any assurance that God will ever overcome evil. If God has been unsuccessful after an eternity of struggle, what hope is there for him to overcome evil in another eternity?

Tomorrow we’ll leave these inadequate explanations behind and look at the only adequate solution to this problem of evil—found in the pages of the Christian Scriptures.