A Biblical Solution to the Problem of Evil
The problem of evil, which includes the problem of suffering, is one of the truly deep, ‘profound’ mysteries of human existence, and of reality itself. The Bible provides the only truly meaningful answer to this problem, but the answer has often been obscured by Christianity. There are few churches or faith leaders who are able to adequately tackle this problem, which constitutes that single most significant challenge to any belief system, and which affects every single human in existence today.
Not only is it essential that Christians know how to think through evil – they must also face the challenge of sharing truth with unbelievers. The problem of evil is more than a philosophical puzzle: it is also a ‘mystery’ in the sense of being ‘above explanation.’ In other words, there is a certain point beyond which we cannot understand – this is painfully obvious to those who are actually suffering. In this sense, suffering and evil are ‘mysteries’ in the same class as the existence of God, the spiritual dimension of reality, the fact of creation, the origin of life, and the wonder of marriage – realities which cannot be fully explained by human words.
With this understanding, it is important to realize how much we can and cannot know about evil. The problem of evil is not unsolveable: the Bible teaches enough that we can endure, and even triumph over, human suffering. We have solid, defendable answers. However, the problem is not fully solveable; no belief system – not even Biblical truth – will ever attempt to answer all our questions. God leaves us in the dark, so to speak, in many of our questions.
Forms of the Problem
The problem of evil exists in both ‘high’ and ‘low’ forms. In the ‘high’ form it is a philosophical question, which can be worded as a syllogism:
Premise A: An all-powerful, all-knowing, morally perfect God would not allow evil/suffering in the world
Premise B: There is evil/suffering in the world
Conclusion: There is not an all-powerful, all-knowing, morally perfect God
Of course, few people reason it out quite like this. More often, the problem is described in it’s ‘low’ form, the common form:
If God is good, why would He allow this to happen?
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Where is God in this?
All of these questions are the same: they are asking about the problem of evil.
Christians also face this problem in a unique form:
If God really does love me / care for me, how could he let this happen to his child?
Are God’s promises really true, if this is happening?
The Biblical Solution
Total Depravity
The Bible has much to say about the problem of evil – even a full-length book wouldn’t do it justice. We can, however, sketch out the main outline of the answer.
The foundation principle, from which the Bible answers this question, is the doctrine of the depravity of man. Mankind, as Paul argues extensively in Romans 1-3, is entirely depraved and corrupt. There is nothing good in man. He cannot perform ‘good works,’ and every action that he performs is stained with sin. This is not to say that man is as evil as possible; humans are capable of an immense depth of wickedness, but few people sink as low as Hitler or Nero. This is not, however, to say that the potential of such depravity is outside of anyone. Some people live very moral lives; however, apart from the saving power of Jesus Christ, such people are still displeasing to God.
This is not to say that every action is equally despicable; mowing the lawn is ideal to robbing a bank; working a job is better than murder. However, apart from the mediation of Jesus Christ, the individual is still a sinner in the sight of God. Robbery and murder or both morally evil, direct rebellion against God’s directions for humanity. Working a job or maintaining one’s possessions are not direct rebellion, but, apart from Jesus , they are still ‘offense’ to God in that they are done apart from Christ, in whom alone God is pleased. Perhaps one is working in order to gain more possessions (greed); perhaps one is working in order to have a good reputation in the community (pride); perhaps one is working because it is enjoyable (selfishness). Hence, these actions are still guilty in God’s sight, because mankind is so morally impure that everything he touches is stained by his sin.
Before we understand human depravity, we often ask the question,
Why do bad things happen to good people?
But after we understand human depravity, we realize that the bigger question is,
Why do good things happen to bad people?
If God is a judge (as He claims), and if man really is this guilty (as He says), then the misery, pain, and suffering that we experience is what we would expect. The only thing that doesn’t make sense is why we enjoy anything positive in our lives, since we deserve so much more penalty.
This is what the Psalmist says in Psalm 103:10:
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
Morally Sufficient Reasons
Taken at first glance, the philosophical argument against the existence of God, which uses the problem of evil, seems unsolveable:
Premise A: An all-powerful, all-knowing, morally perfect God would not allow evil/suffering in the world
Premise B: There is evil/suffering in the world
Conclusion: There is not an all-powerful, all-knowing, morally perfect God
It does, however, have one fatal flaw: premise A is uncertain. Let’s break down premise A and see if we can understand what is wrong with it:
Claim A1: God is all-powerful, and therefore able to stop all evil/suffering
Claim A2: God is all-knowing, and therefore able to identify all evil/suffering
Claim A3: God is morally perfect, and therefore opposes all evil/suffering
Conclusion: Such a God would not allow any evil/suffering in the world
Each of these premises (and therefore, the conclusion) appear irrefutable. However, what if we were to add another claim:
Claim A4: God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil/suffering
If this claim is correct, then the conclusion must change:
Conclusion: Such a God could allow evil/suffering in the world
On a philosophical level, then, the problem of evil is suddenly ‘resolved’ to this level:
Premise A: An all-powerful, all-knowing, morally perfect God would only allow evil/suffering in the world if there is a morally sufficient reason.
Premise B: There is evil/suffering in the world.
Conclusion: If there is a God, then God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil/suffering in the world.
Such a philosophical explanation, to be sure, does not prove that there is a God; it is possible that there is no morally sufficient reason for evil/suffering. However, this statement allows us to recognize that there could be such a God. Now the ball is in the atheist’s court: the atheist has to argue against Claim A4 (God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil/suffering). In the meantime, we understand that evil and suffering can exist, even while the Biblical God exists. But does God have a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil and suffering?
God’s Good Purposes
Yes, the Bible claims, God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil and suffering. It does not exactly make sense to our human minds, but (if true), it is certain ‘morally sufficient.’ God allows evil and suffering because he has good purposes in mind – specifically, the revelation of himself.
The story of Joseph in the Bible is an excellent example of this. In Genesis 37-50, Joseph is sold by his jealous brothers into slavery in Egypt. The brothers, glad to be rid of their younger nuisance, imagine that Joseph meets his demise in the far-off country. But Joseph actually thrives. Promoted to a position of prominence in the household of his master, he is eventually stripped of everything when he refuses to be seduced by his master’s wife. He is thrown into an Egyptian jail for years. One day he accurately explains the dreams of two other prisoners, high officials in Pharoah’s court. One of the men is released, but promptly forgets Joseph. Years later, though, the man remembers Joseph, and the prisoner is called on to explain Pharoah’s dreams. Joseph explains that a devastating famine will oppress the land, and urgent preparation is needed. Pharaoh is so impressed that he promotes the prisoner to second-in-command. Joseph prepares for the famine, and Egypt becomes a land of food in a world of hunger. Eventually, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt, looking for food, and interact with Him. By the end of the story, Joseph’s entire family is saved from famine, relationships are restored, and Joseph himself is essentially ‘prime minister’ of Egypt. Joseph summarizes the situation to his brothers:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)
The Bible provides a far greater illustration of God taking evil and turning it for good. It is found in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The crucifixion of Jesus is, by any measure, the worst evil that has ever happened in the universe. From a spiritual perspective, we can safely posit that Christ’s death on the cross was a worse evil than the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, the World Wars, or any other instance of mass murder, rape, and torture that ever occurred. This is because Jesus Christ is of infinite worth. In the same way that the murder of a single human is a far greater tragedy than the deaths of millions of ants or other insects, so the murder of the God-man is a far greater tragedy than any tragedy that ever affected human beings. This is not to denigrate humans, who valuable image-bearers of God. It is simly the realization that God is the greatest Being, and He calls all the nations of the world a ‘drop in a bucket.’ Because of this, the death of Christ is the greatest imaginable crime ever committed in history.
But even while the Bible presents the death of Christ as the ultimate crime, it does not indicate that this evil was outside of God’s control; on the contrary, Christ’s death was used by God for the greatest good that could ever happen in the history of the world: it is through the death of Jesus Christ that human beings are saved from the wrath and judgment of God. The death of Christ lies at the very purpose of the universe (He is the ‘Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,’ Revelation 13:8), and his death was ‘necessary’ (Mark 8:31) in God’s eternal plan. Ultimately, his death was the greatest good for ruined sinners, because it is our only hope of rescue.
The Bible, then, tells us that God is able to take literally the worst evil, and turn it for good. We could therefore posit:
If it is possible for God to turn ANY evil for greater good, then it is possible for God to turn ALL evil for greater good.
And this is exactly what the Bible teaches us:
“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.” (Romans 8:28)
Ultimately, God is about his own glory: the revelation of his character to the world. This is the highest good (though it is a topic for another time). God is able to take evil and use it for good. All things work together for good to those who love God. This is the solution that the Bible presents. It is not a complete answer, but one which requires faith. God has not allowed us to know why suffering or evil exist. Rather, we know that they do exist, and God tells us to believe that He will use them for good. Ultimately, this is a matter of faith, as the Bible calls us to again and again:
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)
“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7)
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.” (Psalm 37:7)
The Alternative
The Bible presents the only tenable solution to the problem of evil. There is, however, an alternative – an alternative which many people have chosen, despite its illogic. The alternative is to accept the conclusion that the Christian conception of God does not exist: God is either limited in his power, wisdom, or moral goodness. This solution is so hideous that, if we follow the undeniable logic, we will find ourselves overwhelmed with horror.
If God does not have one of these characteristics (all-power, all-knowledge, all-goodness), then he is not the Christian God (or, for that matter, the god posited by any monotheistic religion), and the Bible (which makes these claims about God) is false. If God is not the God of the monotheistic religions, then he is either a god who combines good and evil (dualism, which is most prominently seen in Hindu Pantheism), or he does not exist (atheism). In either case, we no longer have an absolute measure of good and evil; everything is relative.
If everything is relative, then there is ultimately no such thing as ‘good;’ we are also unable to say with absolute certainty that evil (or anything) is ‘bad’ or that suffering is actually a negative. This means that we are left with only one certainty in the world: evil and suffering exist (though we cannot say that this is necessarily a bad thing, or a negative in any way). They exist so powerfully that no force is able to contend with or gain victory over them (we cannot even say that a victory over them would be a ‘good’ thing). The most that we can hope for is a balance of relative ‘evil’ with relative ‘good’ (dualism). However, given that the weight of world experience is inclined toward suffering (experientially measured, it is more certain than the absence of suffering), we can say that suffering and evil are more powerful and prevalent than their opposites. Such a course of logic, for the truly clear-sighted mind, leads to absolute hopelessness: suicide is the only ‘logical’ course, since it ends the cycle of suffering.
But God does exist. The Bible tells me so.
