The problem of evil. Why bad things happen.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

 

It's said that this question is the foundation of the vast majority of atheism.

 

The objection goes something like this...

 

If God is all-knowing (omniscient), all-loving, and all-powerful... then he has the ability to stop bad things from happening in the world.

 

If God doesn't stop evil/suffering/tribulation it means that God is either not all-knowing, isn't all-loving, or isn't all-powerful.

 

I have an atheist/agnostic friend who puts it this way: "If you're going to credit God for all the good stuff, then he has to take the blame for all the bad stuff, too. I just can't accept that there's a God out there who is responsible for all of it. Because even if he can be generous, he can be a real a**hole, too."

 

I only censored that last word because it might affect the deliverability of my e-mails if I don't... but it's a very real sentiment... it's raw. And it's understandable. Even if it does rub some of us the wrong way.

 

Theologians usually refer to this question as "Theodicy." It comes from a combination of two Greek words: θεός (God) and δίκη (Justice). 

 

To put the question more plainly: how can a just God permit suffering and evil to endure in the world? 

 

The most common way that theologians have addressed the question has to do with free-will. 

 

It would be a greater evil, it's argued, to restrict human liberty / free-will by correcting people every time they do bad things than to allow it to occur. 

 

Several problems with this answer: (1) it only addresses "evil" committed by humans. Sometimes suffering happens as a result of no particular person's misdeeds. (2) Free-will is assumed by a lot of Christians, but technically speaking, the Bible never says that anyone has free will. It might be implied in Scripture (even that is debatable), but the Bible doesn't teach it explicitly. (3) Surely there would be limits to this. Think the holocaust. Even if it's a "lesser evil" to permit evil lest God violate people's free will, isn't there a tipping-point where evil is so egregious that violating someone's free will to stop it would be the lesser evil? 

 

There are other issues with the "free will" answer... but ultimately... I've never ONCE seen someone who was perplexed by the "theodicy"/problem of evil question satisfied by the "free will" explanation. 

 

Because if you've endured real suffering, it just doesn't solve the problem. The only people who are satisfied by the "free will" excuse (that's really what it is - a way of excusing God for allowing suffering to endure) are those who aren't in the middle of a struggle, who don't have wounds that cut too deep... it's usually the answer that Christians give to other Christians who raise the question more out of curiosity than because they're truly struggling with the question / the problem of evil. 

 

So what is the answer to the problem of evil? 

 

The Bible addresses this in two ways. 

 

In the book of Job, the devil approaches God in his throne room. He's been going to and fro throughout the earth looking for people to deceive. God makes the suggestion: have you considered my servant, Job? 

 

Gee, thanks, God! Just what I wanted. I'm pretty sure that's the response most of us have when God allows us to "go through it" as it were. 

 

But for Job, what God permits the devil to do is next-level. He loses everything. His entire family - dead. His livelihood - destroyed. His friends all come and give him some bad advice. They suggest things so outlandish as the notion that Job must've sinned in some way and this was his punishment. Like Job deserved it somehow. 

 

It's true. Sometimes we go through bad things as a direct result of bad choices we've made. Sin bears fruit of its own kind. But that's not always the issue. Sometimes bad things happen to us that we had nothing to do with. Jesus, himself, addresses this misguided notion with respect to a man who was born blind (John 9:2ff). 

 

Spoiler: his condition has nothing to do with his sin.... 

 

Jesus says, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:2). 

 

Now, this doesn't sound great, either. Like God is inflicting us with problems just so he can show up and save the day and be glorified as a result? Well, thanks God, for using me as a pawn to show your glory off to the world... 

 

But that's not what Jesus is saying. Keep in mind his answer, because it's key... 

 

Back to the book of Job. In the end, when Job starts complaining (look, praying complaints to God is totally legit. God wants us to cry out to him like his children. He wants to hear our pain, our hearts...) God finally appears in a whirlwind and responds: 

 

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!" (Job 38:1ff, ESV).

 

God continues like this for the rest of the chapter.

 

His answer is basically this: I'm God, you're not. Who are you to judge me, who cannot possibly comprehend the mysteries of the world, much less my infinite mystery?

 

This answer doesn't pacify the atheist's objection. It's technically true. But it does sort of sound like God is saying, "Don't you know who I am? Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about." At least that's usually how it comes across if this is the whole answer we give someone who leans toward atheism.

 

It's not the entire answer. But it is an important part of the answer.

 

God is God, you are not. 

 

To think that you can answer the "problem of evil" and cast blame on the Almighty is a fruit of the original sin, the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" from Genesis. When we "blame" God for what we think is unjust, we are taking the place of the almighty judge and demanding a being who is infinite to bow to our limited view of what's good or evil.

 

We are finite. He is infinite. We can never understand the fullness of His mystery.

 

He sees the big picture (keep that in mind) but you don't. We can't see the big picture because we aren't God.

 

Seen this way, to even ask the theodicy question at all is presumptuous. 

 

But that's not going to do much to assuage the atheist's objection.

 

To an atheist, that's going to sound like little more than a convenient excuse. It's awfully easy to let God off the hook by simply slapping the "God is too big to understand" argument over any possible objection someone might bring up.

 

And they have a point... that isn't a sufficient answer... even if it is a necessary part of the real answer.

 

God's infinite majesty alone doesn't help someone who is hurting... who is genuinely suffering... 

 

I said before that the Bible addresses theodicy in two ways. God's majesty and our comparable finitude is only one part of the answer.

 

Consider these verses together:

 

"...[we] glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:3-6, ESV).

 

(note... the word "character" here in Greek means a tested Character... it's not just about developing an interesting personality... it implies a depth in spiritual character... this is key).

 

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18, ESV)

 

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33, ESV).

 

 Keep these verses in mind...

 

To answer the theodicy question, allow me to pose another question...

 

 

If bad things / sufferings/ trials never happened... would anyone seek deeper spiritual truth? 

 

 

Probably not. Our lives would endure in this world without much significance. We'd go about our daily lives, we'd take everything good in our lives for granted, and we'd be lulled in to a purposeless malaise.

 

 

Without pain we'd all be dead men walking. We'd see no meaning to life. We'd never seek deeper truth. We'd never seek God.

 

 

The Biblical answers above put everything into perspective. Yes, God is God. You are not. That's a part of the equation and it's important. It sounds a little callous at first... but if we believe in God's goodness the mystery of God can be a great comfort.

 

 

It means He's in charge. We rely on a power greater than ourselves because we're powerless in the face of suffering. We trust that he loves us even when we suffer in a broken world.

 

When we go through hard times, when we endure suffering, pain, and loss, we find a Lord who enters into suffering for our sake.

 

God chooses to deal with the problem of suffering not be removing it from our lives but by enduring it alongside us. By entering into our suffering...  

 

... by becoming a victim of unjust oppression.

 

... by enduring scorn.

 

... by experiencing pain and loss.

 

And more.

 

 That's the meaning of the cross, by the way. It's not just about atoning for sins, as if God is sitting on a judgment seat and demands a piece of flesh to pacify his wrath...

 

One of the reasons Christians struggle to answer the "problem of evil" or "suffering" objection these days is because we've become narrow in our view of the atonement (the penal substitution model) that we don't see there's a whole lot more going on at the cross than that.  

 

Jesus enters into suffering so that when we're suffering we find him there with us. Pain invites us into his pain. Rejection invites us into his rejection. And when we suffer with him we also endure with him through it into resurrection life. 

 

Think about it. How would you really respond spiritually if every time you faced loss, hardship, or pain, some divine "beam of light" struck you and it all went away? What if God did this consistently for everyone, all the time? We'd take it for granted. We might "worship" in a way... but we wouldn't seek to truly know the true Light, the true Source, deeper... we wouldn't have any need to trust God, because we'd never have to go through anything that really demands it.

 

 

Have you ever heard someone say he's a "grateful alcoholic?" I've heard it from people in A.A. many times. To the new-comer who is less than 24-hours sober it sounds absurd. But for the people who've been in those rooms, and have been coming back for years on end... they get it...

 

 

Because they know the pain, the suffering, they endured was what it took to bring them a new, deeper, more meaningful spirituality. And that gave them the ability to see through subsequent sufferings with new eyes.

 

 

We are like clay. We can be molded into something truly beautiful and unique. But it doesn't endure, it doesn't last, until it goes through the kiln.

 

 

The fire gives the clay vessel purpose. You might mold a vase out of clay, but it's useless and doesn't hold water until it's spent its time in the fire.

 

 

Our pain and suffering is like that. It refines us. It takes our frail, flimsy, existence and reveals our purpose. And more than that, it connects us to our maker. 

 

 

We can't always see that truth while we're in the thick of it... 

 

 

But that's when we walk by faith. That's when we know that God is God, we are not. He is in charge and if we endure in trust, we will come through it with a deeper relationship with the Divine than we ever realized was possible...

 

 

God allows bad things to happen because he loves us. He wants nothing more than a deeper relationship with us.

 

 

Does that mean that God inflicts us with evil so that he can have a relationship with us?

 

 

Well, God isn't the author of evil. But he's so much bigger and majestic than evil that even the worst that this world can throw at us can be redeemed for our good... when we go through our sufferings with Him. 

 

 

More on this tomorrow. But today... consider examining how the harder things you've endured in life have deepened your relationship with God. Maybe you're going through something awful now that doesn't make sense. You might be angry at God... and that's okay. That's sometimes a part of it.

 

 

We're children. Children get angry at their parents from time-to-time. It's all a part of growing up.

 

 

But don't let go of God while you're going through it. If you hold on, cling to him in the valley, in your personal crosses, he will show you glory in the end. Believe it. Millions of people can testify to the same.

 

 

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

 

He's not callous about it. He enters into our suffering. That's the meaning of the cross.

 

He choses not to save us from suffering but to save us through it.   

 

And if you think about it from God's perspective it really is the better way.

  

From an eternal vantage point none of these present pains will last. A deeper relationship with God will endure forever.

 

That's why God chooses not to spare us from all the bad things that happen to us in life. He does us one better. He suffers with us. He mourns with us. He carries us through it and bears us up on his shoulders as he takes all of our suffering and sorrow to where He endured suffering and sorrow... to the cross... and through it to resurrection.

 

  

He loves us so much that he lets us go through the bad stuff... because in the end, it drives us into a deeper relationship with Him. And in the end, he loves us too much to remove those pains from our lives. 

 

 

Can you give thanks for the things in your life that you've endured... trial, tribulation, addiction, loss, or suffering that led to a deeper faith?

 

 

Blessings always,

Judah

 

(How "evil" can be redeemed for good. That's the underlying message in my supernatural thriller, The Unfallen series... can a fallen angel be saved? It's one thing to have suffered great evil in the world. What if you're done great evil? Is it ever too late for redemption?)