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Problem of Evil
The problem of evil is certainly the greatest obstacle to belief in the existence of God. When I ponder both the extent and the depth of evil in the world–whether due to man’s inhumanity to man or natural catastrophes–, then I must confess that I find it hard to believe in God. No doubt, many of you feel the same way. Perhaps we should all become atheists. But that’s a pretty big step to take. How can we be sure that God does not exist? Perhaps there’s a reason God permits all the evil in the world. Perhaps it somehow fits in to the grand scheme of things, which we can only dimly perceive, if at all. How do we know?
As a Christian theist, I’m persuaded that the problem of evil, terrible as it is, does not constitute a disproof of the existence of God. On the contrary, I believe that Christian theism is, in fact, humanity’s last best hope for a solution to the problem of evil. In order to explain why I think this way, it would be helpful to draw some distinctions to keep our thinking clear. First, we must distinguish between the intellectual problem of evil and the emotional problem of evil. The intellectual problem of evil concerns how to give a rational explanation of the coexistence of God and evil. The emotional problem of evil concerns how to dissolve people’s dislike for a God who would permit suffering.
Source: Craig vs Nielsen
Most modern agnostics I meet presume that God, if he exists, will look to each persons heart and not be interested in which religion they belong to. Thus, it makes sense to live a good life and not commit to any religion which could turn out to be the wrong one. On the surface this is a reasonable strategy but, like many over-simplifications, it hides potential problems. Most obvious would be: how good is good enough?
As part of an attempt to highlight misconceptions and clarify what Christians believe I would like to answer some common questions people might ask:
We’re Basically Good People Right?
Well, that’s what the Humanists believe. The Bible has a radically different view in which God made Man ‘very good’ and he chose disobedience and effectively broke off contact. Good evidence of this model is seen when we analyse our own motivation and urges. When we do this we find sin and depravity more exciting and more attractive than virtue. Sometimes we even struggle with temptation to do things we don’t even want to do or find repulsive. This should indicate that we’re neither ‘basically good’ nor even ’neutral’ but, to use a horrid phrase, slaves to Sin, fallen creatures. This can be a bitter pill to swallow but recognition of a problem is the first step to solving it.
What’s Sin? Isn’t That Just Lack of Conformance to Cultural Taboos and Traditions
Well, that’s what Freudians believe. The Bible actually distinguishes between Sin and sins. Mostly people fret about individual sins or ‘misdeeds’ without recognising that the sins are really only symptoms of a deeper problem which we call ‘Sin’ or ‘fallenness’. We’re all born into this state of bondage and face a challenge of breaking free from this. We all know the different type of satisfaction which comes from helping someone or mocking someone in gossip both which may give some pleasure. One type of pleasure is light and generative whilst the other is dark, furtive and subtly corrosive and corrupting.
But I’m Not So Bad!
That may be your considered opinion but unfortunately you don’t get to be your own judge. Neither will your friends and neighbours. You may live a good life as far as people are concerned and meet up to social and human standards but almost everyone thinks they’re well above average – which of course means half of them are wrong ;-).
Christianity’s bad news is that God’s standard is miles above anything you can hope to reach on your own – it’s perfection. This sounds like it’s asking too much but God will not accept the smallest defect in you – what will your ‘harmless defects’ be like in thousand years, or a million? God wants what is best for you and, for eternity, he wants you to be perfect.
Surely My Good Deeds Count For Something!?
That’s based on a misunderstanding of what judgement is all about. The popular conceptions of a fluffy white harp-filled heaven and a hot hell ruled by the devil with a pitchfork are not Bible-based but come from popular and classical literature or other media. There is no ‘points system‘ or set of ‘deed scales’ and God does not grade on a curve and admit the top 30% of applicants. According to the Bible heaven is not a reward but a choice. It’s a place to be rewarded in and enjoy forever God’s presence. Likewise, Hell is the alternative for people who choose not to be with God forever. To ignore Jesus is to reject the only way to Heaven and, strange as it may sound, some folks really won’t like heaven and God is not going to bring them in kicking and screaming. At some point the game is up and we will have made a decision to be with God or apart from him. This, from the perspective of God and those who know him, would be pure torture and this is how it is described in the Bible. The word ‘Hell’ is loaded and it is not correct to believe God is actively torturing souls. The fact is that Heaven would be Hell for those who hate God.
Conclusion
We all strive for justice in our own lives and hope that the universe is ultimately just. We hope that God, if he exists, is just and will deal fairly with us. Christianity says that God is just but that he demands a perfection which we can’t attain alone. Fortunately the perfection he demands is also provided as a free gift to those who choose to receive it and ultimately be perfected and live forever with him. God himself provided the solution to this dilemma through the person of Jesus and we just need to cast out our misconceptions, pride and fear so that we can recognise, repent and receive eternal life.
