How could a loving God allow evil to exist? By Bruce W. Robida

 

This is one of the questions that atheists often ask when considering the existence of God. It is unfathomable to them how a loving God could allow evil such as genocide, torture, murder, rape, or catastrophes like earthquakes, floods, fires, or hurricanes. To the atheist, if there is a God, He could not be so loving since evil does exist. To the atheist, there can’t be a God. I can understand how they can reach that conclusion. One of the reasons their conclusion is flawed though is because the atheist doesn’t understand the relationship God has with His creation.

From a human perspective, all that we can know about God comes from the Bible, and according to the Bible, God created all things (GE 1:1, Heb 1:1-2).  The first thing that God created was the heavens. There is not much information about His heavenly creation. We know that He created heavenly beings such as angels, and we also know that He created various types of angels to do various tasks in heaven. But we know nothing about the process.

The Bible does tell us about the creation of the earth and everything in it and in particular, how God created mankind (GE 1:1-29, GE 2:4-23).  After He had created the heavens and the earth, He looked it over and declared, “…it was very good” (GE 1:31). 

All that God created was very good. God did not create evil. Evil can be traced to an invention by one of God’s created beings and not the creator Himself. As it is with humankind, God gave His angels free will to do as they wish. He gave each of us the ability to choose between right and wrong. We don’t have much information about what life was like for the angels in heaven, but we do know that Lucifer decided of his own free will, to challenge God for His throne. This was the first act of evil. God did not create Lucifer to be evil. God’s creation was good. Evil was invented by Lucifer (ISA 14:12-14).

God did not create evil, but does He allow evil to persist? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. Evil exists as an invention of one of God’s created beings, and God allows it. But why does God allow it?

The simple answer is “…so that the work of God might be displayed.” John 9:3

Now that answer is no comfort for those who are personally dealing with suffering. We can see suffering on a daily basis if we watch enough news on TV. And suffering occurs without discrimination to men, women, children, adults; people of all races, religions or social status. When we hear about suffering that is inflicted by fellow human beings, we are disgusted and wonder how any human can treat another like that.

Here is where I give my opinion.

I don’t think God is too concerned about our suffering in light of the fact that the amount of our suffering is nothing compared to eternity. According to the Bible, all people live eternally. When we die, we will all live forever, either in heaven or in hell. Whether our suffering leads to death or not, the perpetrator will eventually receive justice and the sufferer will eventually receive relief (unless he or she is bound for hell). There are people who suffer for years at the hands of another human being. There is also the suffering that people experience as a result of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Do you remember falling and scraping your knee when you were a child? You probably don’t remember how it felt because enough time has passed. In heaven, the passage of thousands of years will seem like nothing. All suffering will be forgotten. Will you go to heaven when you die? God knows your suffering is limited to the amount of time you spend alive on earth. Will you go to hell when you die? God knows that too, and your suffering on earth will be nothing compared to the suffering you will experience in hell. God hates the shedding of innocent blood. He allows it, but He will punish those who carry it out.

I do think that God is most concerned about how the sufferer deals with their own suffering, and how each of us deals with the suffering of others. The primary theme of the Bible is love, mercy and compassion. Jesus taught that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor (MT 22:39). This includes alleviating the suffering of others. And while we suffer, I believe that God expects us to endure that suffering, turning to Him, even to the point of death.

Christians have everything to gain from alleviating the suffering of others, and enduring our own suffering. As the apostle Paul said, whether we live or die is gain.

 

“…I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” PHP 1:18-24

Evil exists because God created beings that have the ability to choose their own destiny, heaven or hell. Lucifer chose to lead a third of the angels to challenge God for His throne. God tossed Lucifer and his followers out of heaven and allowed him to be the god of this world. The devil “…prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8.

Humans first chose to follow Satan in the Garden of Eden when Eve allowed Satan to questioned the validity of God’s Word when he said, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" GE 3:1

That first sin corrupted human thinking, and even today, God’s Word is maligned, even in the Christian Church.  Although He didn’t create evil, God allows it to persist because He gave us the ability to choose our own destinies, heaven or hell. God created angels and humans to love Him and follow Him of our own free will.

I believe that God does intervene and does not allow evil to persist in some circumstances. It has nothing to do with the individuals involved, but whether or not His work might be displayed. We have no idea about how often evil has been thwarted because it would serve no purpose.  We can’t even comprehend what God thinks or why He does what He does. To question the Creator is ludicrous. Christians know what our end will be.

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