ompared to many people, my own experiences of evil and suffering are not worth considering. For those who have suffered terribly at the hands of oppressors, or other forms of evil, any explanation to this issue may sound unreasonable, or even a way to justify what is humanly impossible to accept. That is not my intention, for I believe that there is never a justification for the evils which people commit against each other. However, I also believe that there will be justice, for although He offers grace to the penitent, God’s hatred of injustice is infinitely more potent and intolerant than yours or mine.
For over 2,500 years philosophers and theologians have grappled with the problem of evil. The very presence of evil in God’s ‘good’ creation raises serious questions to which we are hard-pressed to find answers. How could evil enter God’s ‘good’ creation? If God is a loving and all-powerful being, then how can evil exist?
Either He is not powerful enough to extinguish evil, or He doesn’t care enough to do so! This is the question of the Greek philosopher Epicures which he posed some 2,300 years ago.
Over the years various solutions have been suggested to answer this problem of evil. The Greeks, generally speaking, believed in a dualism, that is, that two gods of equal power were always at war. These Gods also had children who were lesser gods who took sides and the battle continued.
Since the beginning of Christianity theologians have entered the discussion. Some have suggested a form of dualism, especially those who were not in the mainstream of Christian thinking such as the Gnostics. For them, the entire material world is evil. The Bible also suggests a form of dualism, but by no means the idea that there are two gods or beings of equal power. Augustine (354-430) had a great influence on both Roman Catholic and later Calvinist theology after the Protestant reformation in the 16th century. He placed his emphasis on the idea that human beings have a kind of freedom which is governed by God. In a roundabout way, he ends up making God responsible for evil as do those who have followed his teaching.
Calvinists, such as Gordon H Clark believe that God has determined all things and that human will is not free. This means that people act exactly as God wills them to, so, although we may think we have a choice, in reality this is like an illusion. Calvinists like Clark state that, “if a man gets drunk and shoots his family, it was the will of God that he should do it”.1 God as the ultimate cause of everything, is the cause of sin for the Calvinist, however they also maintain that God is not responsible for it because God cannot sin. This position is no solution at all in my opinion. In a similar way, many people living in developed countries have adopted a secular form of Calvinism that can be related back to the Greeks gods of ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’. Such people have the idea that their entire lives are under some form of destined purpose. The problem with this is that it tends to cause such people to relinquish responsibility for finding and living the true goal and purpose of their lives.
The Arminian position, from the Dutch Theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), states that evil is a natural possibility arising from God giving human beings true freedom of the will. If evil was not possible, human beings would not be truly free, but would only be automatons, robots. This does not mean that God cannot prevent evil; however, for Him to fulfill His plan for humanity, allowing evil was necessary. This position would be closest to the teaching of the Bible in my opinion, and one that doesn’t defame either the character of God, or destroy human freedom to choose.
Christian Science, Buddhism and Hinduism take the position that evil is an illusion, it is unreal, merely a false belief. The Buddhist and Hindu use different techniques including meditation to try and reach a state called ‘enlightenment’ which presumably puts one above evil. These same people, however, die and get sick even after they have presumably reached this level of perfection, so death wins in the end. In like manner, modern atheistic philosophers such as Marx suggest that evil is merely ignorance. This idea suggests that as human beings gain knowledge they will stop committing acts of evil. The answer to the problem is education. This argument falls to pieces when one considers that some of the most evil humans have been very clever, such as Adolph Hitler, and some of the most pure have been the most ignorant, such as young children.
Let’s us examine the origin of evil.
The reality of evil was never possible while only God existed, however, after the creation of beings less than God, the possibility became real. In the previous chapter we were concerned to study creation from the perspective of the material world, however, the Bible suggests that God’s first creations were the angels. The Bible tells us there were millions of them, each different in its gifts, appearance, and power. We are not told why they were created, however to ask such a question may be similar to asking an artist why he feels a desire to paint, or a musician a desire to compose. The most powerful, wise and beautiful angel was Lucifer, indeed his name means simply ‘the beautiful one’. The Bible states2 that he was ‘the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty’. He had a special place beside the throne of God. He is called a guardian cherub, another term for ‘arch-angel’.
He was blameless, says the Bible, until ‘wickedness was found in him’. Then we are given an explanation of how Lucifer went from perfection to total corruption. We read that his ‘heart became proud on account of his beauty, and he was corrupted because of his splendor’. In another book of the Bible we are given more insight into Lucifer’s thoughts at this time. Isaiah quotes Lucifer as saying, ‘he will raise his own throne above the stars of God, on the utmost height, and he will make himself like the Most High God’3. And there is the key to the origin of evil, those very words of Lucifer’s,
“I will make myself”.
In some versions of Scripture it simply states ‘I will be like God’, but the inference is the same. He will create himself into a god without the help of his Creator, indeed, he will rise even above God Himself. What he wanted was impossible, and when he couldn’t get what he wanted he allowed evil into his heart.
In Greek, the word which we translate into English as I, is the word ‘ego’. It is the elevation of the ego which is the root of evil, both in the case of Lucifer, and as we shall see later, in the case of human beings. At some point in time a creature becomes aware of itself. It recognizes who it is, an individual with independent thoughts, independent looks, and gifts, a unique creation of God. What we do with that information is the vital thing. The ego can give praise to its Creator for the gifts and uniqueness God has given, or it can elevate itself to a point where it becomes arrogant, rebellious and an enemy of God, unwilling to submit or worship anyone greater than itself. This is the root of what the Bible calls sin.
Lucifer became aware of his beauty, his wisdom, and his splendor. Perhaps other angels commented to him, perhaps they adored him. It appears that he enjoyed their praise but he didn’t give the glory to the one who had made him this way, rather he cherished the adoration of others. He became conceited and like a drug he desired more and more. Perhaps he enjoyed the power of his position and allowed this also to corrupt him. There is an expression: ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. Lucifer was in the most powerful position of all creatures, but he wasn’t the Creator, he was second to the Lord Himself. Once he fell in love with power it seduced him, and he couldn’t stand to be in second place. How could God step down and place Lucifer on the highest place? How can the creature ever be greater than the Creator, this is not logically possible.
Tradition and Scripture claim that there was war in heaven. Lucifer deceived many of the angels and a third of them gave him their allegiance, about 330 million,4 the same number as the gods of Hinduism. His name was changed to Satan, which means ‘deceiver or father of lies’, and he and his followers became totally corrupted by evil and hatred for God. Satan and his followers had seen perfection, had lived in perfection, there was no tainted sin nature in them as there now is in human beings. But they rejected perfection and as a result they went from perfectly good to completely evil, creatures incapable of love, compassion or mercy, beings which in almost all cultures of the world are called demons or evil spirits.
We don’t clearly know when all of this occurred, but my own opinion is that this happened prior to God’s creation of the universe. I believe that part of God’s reason for creating space, the universe, was to provide a place for Satan and the demons. It is essential that we understand something important about God’s nature at this point. God and evil are totally incompatible, indeed, if something evil comes into contact with the holiness of God it is likely to be destroyed. Consider, if you will, the nature of a nuclear reactor. If one throws an object into this pure energy the object is destroyed, this is simply the nature of the nuclear energy. God’s holiness is similar.
Prior to the creation of the universe there was only God’s kingdom, that which the Bible calls ‘paradise or the 3rd heaven’5. It is an infinite place with no time, the place where God ‘dwells in unapproachable light’, to borrow a Biblical expression. Our universe is like a hugeballoonfloatingwithinthiskingdom.Godspoke creation into being, and the black void of space began and expanded. Science calls this idea the ‘big bang’ or ‘time zero’ as we saw in the previous chapter. Into this area he placed Satan and the demons, a place where they would not be destroyed by His holiness. Space became Satan’s kingdom, the place where he rules his followers. The environment reflected the darkness of his heart, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ as he is called. He is considered to be the prince of the universe and god of this world, because people have chosen to rebel against God just as he did.
It was into this environment that God chose to place human beings. He created the Earth, and on the Earth he placed a perfect replica of the 3rd heaven, a huge garden of about 200 sq kilometres called Eden, most likely within the area now known as Turkey. He banned the demons from entering this area, and His holiness dwelt there as it does in the 3rd heaven. Any demon entering without protection would be instantly destroyed, just as the liquidators were who tried to stop the radiation leaks at Chernobyl.
But why allow evil?
Having some knowledge of the origin of evil is one thing, however, we have still not given an adequate answer to the problem of why God has allowed so much evil and suffering, considering the fact that He knew what the world would become before He began the process of creation. I believe that God not only knows the future, but He also knows every possible future, even those millions of futures which never actually become reality. Some people cannot understand how human beings can have a free will if God already knows the future. It is very difficult for people to think outside of time. From the moment of our birth our lives are measured in terms of seconds, minutes, days, years, etc. But for God time is a created thing. God can be completely outside of time, and also walking with us in time as He chooses. God has seen the choices we have made before we made those choices. He observes what we will do. This is not the same as determining the choices.
We could argue that if the beginning was slightly different, then the future would also be different. In this sense, God could choose which beginning best suited the ending that he desired the most. He could also choose a future in which He intervenes and warns people through prophets about their future, and a future in which He becomes a part of His own created order to help His creatures. There is no doubt in my mind that God knew there would be sin, suffering, evil and pain, however, I believe that the reality we have was and is the best scenario for the salvation of millions. I propose then, that the answer to the problem of “why” is in understanding the purpose for God creating us in the first place. Also, for me it is essential to begin with what we know as facts about the character of God.
So let us lay a foundation upon which to work.
My first proposition is that God is a loving and wise God, a God who hates evil and suffering. This is the God I see revealed in the work of Jesus Christ, not a God who has ‘caused’ suffering, but one who does all He can to alleviate it. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus filled with compassion for the suffer- ings of His creations, and healing them. Yes, as the Bible states, it is this same Jesus Christ who created the world for His own purposes6, the same God who became a human being in order to deal with the consequences of human evil, but more of that later.
My second proposition is that this loving God is, as I have stated, one who knows the future absolutely, and even knows every possible future. Therefore, God knew that when he began the creation process that there would be terrible evil and suffering in the world. He also accepted responsibility to become involved in that suffering Himself, as He knew He would become a human being and allow His body to be mutilated and crucified.
Thirdly; it logically follows then, that if God is a loving God who knows the future, and who continued to create a world which would be filled with evil and suffering, then that same evil must be necessary in order to complete His plan for human beings. Furthermore, because God has proven Himself to be loving and wanting the best for His creations, we can conclude that the presence of evil is necessary to bring about our ultimate good.
Fourthly, the answer to understanding the problem of evil, then, is to examine and understand the plan and purpose of God for human beings, and to see how evil contributes to bringing about the perfect fulfillment of that plan. We might ask why go to all of this trouble in the first place, but this would be to assume that this tiny world we live in, which I suggest is within a tiny universe inside of God’s infinite Kingdom, is all that there is. If we have never tasted infinite joy, fulfillment, satisfaction and love, perhaps we should forego our judgment of God until we have.
Consider as an example of what I have so far proposed in the following scenario. Are you intending to become a parent one day? Most people desire to have at least one child with the person they love. Their desire is born out of wanting to create someone ‘in their own image’, a little person they can pour unconditional love into. However, they also know, although they may not always consider it, that this child will suffer and experience evil in their life, and eventually have to face death. All children will be hurt, will cry, some will be subjected to sexual perversions, some will get cancer, but all will suffer. We are in a position of power, like God. Unlike those animals which are not made in the image of God, we have a choice to create or not create, we are driven by more than instinct, we are driven by love. Does the end justify the means? Does the opportunity for life, love, and joy over-ride the certainty of suffering and death? This scenario may help us to better understand God creating; however, there is more to this proposal.
We come to the point where we need to define God’s plan for humanity. In the simplest terms, I think that God intends for us to become like Him and to enjoy Him forever. Indeed, God has placed within us the desire to be like Him. Almost every religion
testifies to this fact, even Lenin’s version of atheist/ socialism was striving to produce the ‘new man’7, the perfect society, but without God.
The Bible teaches that when a person becomes a new born Christian, that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them, and the process of becoming like God truly begins, the goal being for this person to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Prior to this experience in their life a person receives a divine revelation which always shows them that they are sinful.8 The root of their sin always comes back to the same thing, namely pride, which manifests itself in rebellion, vanity, selfishness, etc. And here is the key to understanding evil.
When we try to be autonomous beings, that is, independent of God, we inevitably end up in sin of one sort or other. When and if we recognize this dilemma and compare ourselves to the holiness and love of God we are humbled and in a position to receive salvation. This is the end of the little war we had going with God, a war in which we refused to be governed by Him.9 We end up surrendering and recognizing that He was right all along, that if we try to become like God without God’s direction, we will end up in a mess. When God asks us to be like Him, He means us to be servants, humble, helpful, unselfish, exactly as Jesus showed us, the very oppo- site of what people become when they try to be ‘gods’ without God.
Let’s approach this from the opposite end. God is an autonomous being. That means He answers to no-one, He is completely independent. He has unlimited power, but He chooses to do good with that power, not evil. God created us in His image, and autonomy is part of His image. In order for us to eventually be complete as He is complete, we must have the opportunity to experience autonomy, or independence. We have this desire for independence, and in a sense this is not evil at all, but when it manifests itself in the elevation of our ego, then it becomes a big problem.
When human beings try to be ‘gods’ as it were, they do this at the expense of other people. Look around you. Many countries have a history of oppressors, men who were ‘lords’ over the powerless. Look at the many marriages, religions, and cultures where women are oppressed. Look at all of the wars, at the rapes and murders, and at the suppression of the poor while the rich live as kings. These are examples of human beings exercising their autonomy, trying to be ‘gods’. The heart of this evil is selfishness, vanity, competition, and the desire for power. These things are the most common manifestations of the human ego; they echo Satan’s words, “I will make myself”.
And these things manifest themselves everywhere and in all human beings. We compare ourselves with others, not with the idea of compassion for them, but to make ourselves feel good at the other person’s expense. We become jealous of those considered pretty, we compete in games for fun, but in our hearts sometimes is the thrill of winning, of beating the other, of being higher, better. And selfishness hardly needs any examples, as we see this phenomenon in children even from an early age. Put two kids in a sandpit and give one child ten toys and the other one toy, and the child with ten will be convinced that they must have the one toy which the other child has. In the dog eat dog world of the corporation, the mark of success is how far up the corporate ladder one can get, the size of our bank account, and destroying others on the way is simply a hard cold fact of life. The elevation of the human ego, the lust for power and autonomy is evil indeed, and these things should never be found in those who confess to follow Jesus Christ. Any person, organization, or church which confesses to be ‘christian’, and yet follows the world’s standards of hatred, revenge and power, has either lost all contact with Christ, or never had it at all!
We can say that God wants us to be like Himself, but to do this we must understand the responsibilities of having autonomy. Therefore God has given us the opportunity through giving us free will. Unfortunately, we don’t use our independence to serve others or to act humbly, but rather, we are selfish and proud, power hungry and vain, and this has caused the evil and suffering in our world, that which the Bible simply calls ‘sin’. When we recognize the evils which linger in our egos and manifest themselves in various ways, we are then in a mindset to humble ourselves before the Supreme Autonomous Being who was born into a stable, who washed His disciples’ feet and who allowed Himself to be whipped, beaten and crucified to pay for that which we have done. Such is the wisdom of God. If we recognize that we cannot be like God without Him, He can destroy our autonomy and give us a new life in which we can submit to His perfect example, love and forgive our enemies. These are some of the marks of a true Christian.
When Lucifer chose to sin he chose to reject paradise and perfection. There can be no salvation for such a creature. When a human being chooses to sin they are rejecting their partial knowledge of heaven and God’s plan and perfection, they are almost ignorant of these things. Therefore, God is able to offer us salvation. We have never rejected the perfection that Lucifer rejected, so in a sense our sin is not as allconsuming as Lucifer’s was. We are not completely corrupted by sin as Satan is; we are not in a real sense totally depraved. We are still capable of unselfish thoughts and actions, of love and caring, and so God in His mercy can redeem10 us. That was his plan all along. Let us also be reminded, that compared to eternity, this life is one grain of sand on all the beaches of the world, or one blink of an eye. God sees the eternal picture, and we the immediate suffering. God sees us experiencing an eternal paradise where love is manifest in perfection, and the pain we knew in this life will be unworthy of remembrance.