Most of us are not philosophers, but all of us are thinkers. Life happens. Things disturb us. We may not be religious, or think much about spiritual or serious things, but we do have to live life, and we want to be happy. We’d like, as a bonus, to understand things! When we are on our own, sitting with family or chatting with friends, we cannot not talk about what is wrong in life. We see things, we hear the news, we are treated badly, or we are aware of a darkness within. Every human being has questions about evil or darkness. We don’t really know what it is, but we encounter it, see it, and feel it as a part of our existence.
All religions, most philosophies and many of our stories explore or wrestle with evil and with what is wrong. For those who believe in God (and each religion has a different way of conceiving this) … a Christian believer is often asked if God exists then why evil? First, we need to recognise that assumptions are being expressed, perhaps a particular view or idea of who God is and what God should do, which is then brought to the question. So, whose God are we critiquing? Which set of ideas, claims or beliefs are we addressing? It is clear to me that often what is meant is that the person asking believes that real evil exists and that IF there was a god (he, she, or it), would fix the problem or never let it have existed in the first place. How do we know, or how would we know THAT?
For the atheist, it is what it is (evil that is). We just accept it, do the best we can, and hope for the best. However, as we know, even the committed atheist is angry about things wrong and evil and proposes some answer (we dance to our DNA, as per Richard Dawkins). For the Christian, we believe God created the world. We believe God is a God of love, compassion, grace and mercy. And yet evil exists, which means…
God has allowed it.
The Bible tells us God has addressed it
The Bible promises full and final deliverance from it.
This does not tell us why? We do not have a full-blown answer to why, but there are some directions.
Love is the greatest good and deepest desire of all.
The condition of love is freedom to choose, which entails the reality of choice.
In a world where Love is the greatest good and the highest goal, God allowed the conditions that make freely chosen love a possibility. God the Lover pursues us as His beloved and we (the loved) in turn respond in affection to Him. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)
Some propose a world of controlled or regulated choices which results in the limiting of evil or the prevention of it. However, these speculations may stimulate creative exchanges, but they do not change reality. The Bible introduces us to One who knows our sorrows, who is acquainted with grief, and who comes to heal, love and to save. The Bible introduces us to God in all His glory and power. There is much mystery, there are things we don’t know, but what we don’t know is answered by what He does. He loves, He saves, He invites us to know Him. This is not a full answer… but it is an answer!
