Tag: problem-of-evil

Problems of Evil

It’s been three years since I’ve written about the problem of evil.  Some of you have joined us in that time, so I’ll summarize the problem for you:

If God is all knowing, He would know how to end evil.

If God is all powerful, He would be able to end evil.

If God is all loving, He would want to end evil.

Evil exists.

Therefore, an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God does not exist.

The problem of evil (POE) has been around since three hundred years before Christ.  So long as someone believes there is a good, powerful, and loving God, the POE stands as an issue that needs to be dealt with.

This particular form addresses what is called the Moral Problem of Evil.  There are others, but this is the form most often presented to Christians to answer. 

“How can God allow planes to fly into towers and let 3,000 people die without cause?”  Usually it goes something like that.  There is something called the Freewill Defense first developed by the professor of philosophy, Alvin Plantinga of Notre Dame in his book, God, Freedom, and Evil.  He said that God loves us and wants us to love Him back.  True love must be freely given, so God would need to give us the ability both to love Him and to reject His love for us.  Those who reject God’s love are capable of doing ungodly things.  This would include flying into towers and killing people.

Another POE is The Natural Problem of Evil:

God is all-powerful

God is perfectly good

God knows all suffering

Natural disasters and diseases cause immense suffering

Therefore, such a God probably does not exist.

Natural disasters and diseases are not necessarily the result of someone’s sin:

Luke 13:4-5 (ESV)  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Here are some biblical reasons for the Natural Problem of Evil:

Creation was originally “very good” – Gen. 1:31

Human sin brought a curse upon creation – Rom. 8:20-22

God sometimes uses suffering for His purposes – John 9:1-3

God promises to remove natural evil – Rev. 22:3

Why is this important?

The problem of evil is the most frequently asked question of Christians and the question that most often goes unanswered.  We are to have an answer for those who ask of us:

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)  15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Another 10 Questions Christians Can’t Answer?

A while back, I said once in a while I’d offer some answers to the questions atheists say Christians can’t answer.  Here is the second installment of that quest.

  1. Why will God allow people to be born with defects?

The “Why questions” are often difficult ones since we are asked to read God’s infinite mind with our finite minds.  I think this one, though, is fairly clear: we have sin in the world.  Suffering is a result of the fall, of our own poor choices, sometimes it just has a specific purpose.  It can cause us to grow in Christ, for instance:

James 1:2-3 (ESV)  2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

John 9:1-5 (ESV) As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

  1. Why can’t dead sinners’ sins be forgiven?

I suppose for the same reasons dead murders can’t confess.  God’s requirement for salvation is to give our lives over to Jesus.  If we aren’t alive to do so, it seems clear we can’t ask forgiveness.  Death is separation.  The dead sinner is not just separated from his body but also from God due to his sin.  If he can’t connect with God, he can’t ask for forgiveness.

  1. Is God a tyrant for wanting everyone to worship Him alone?

No.  If He is the only God, and people are worshiping things or myths which are not the true God, it is only right to want them to act in line with the truth especially since the benefit is so great.  Are teachers tyrants for insisting 2 + 2 = 4?  Of course not.  Same reason.

  1. Since God knows and sees all, why did he deceive Eve?

I’m not sure why the questioner thinks God deceived Eve unless it is when He said she would die if she ate the forbidden fruit.  Death means “separation” in the Bible.  Eating the fruit was sinful.  Sin separates us from God.  Eve didn’t die physically but died spiritually at that moment.  Restoration was available through sacrifice and repentance, though.

  1. Since God is merciful, why can’t we all go to heaven?

Because God is also just.  It would be unjust for God to save those who spit on or even just ignored His Son and never repented.  We are accountable for our actions while here on earth.  This is also true when He forgives us of our sins: He must act justly.  The blood of Jesus makes it possible for Him to do this:

1 John 1:9 (ESV)  9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  1.  If doing evil for evil is wrong, should God be punishing us for our sins?    

This is another question I’m not clear about what is meant.  Maybe they think God’s punishment is sinful.  God cannot sin since He is holy and He is the standard of righteousness.  Loving punishment is meant for correction or rehabilitation, good things.

  1. If God loves only those who love him, does that make him a sinner?         

There is no human being God does not love.  The premise of the question is flawed.

  1. Why do daily atrocities exist?

Daily atrocities exist because man has the free choice to do as he wishes.  We can choose to follow God, to align with God’s nature, or we can choose to do ungodly acts: atrocities.

  1. How did Noah get all the various species of living organisms into the ark?

Interesting question.  First, the animals were not separated into species but into kinds.  A kind is a category of animals that can interbreed.  So, two of the horse kind, two of the dog kind, two of the rabbit kind (not for long, probably), etc. were all that would be needed.  Also they don’t need to be adult animals.  Fish or other water wildlife wouldn’t need to be on the ark.  The ark was pretty big: at least a football field and a half long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall.  That’s at least a million and a half cubic feet (169,000 cubic yards).  It could hold a lot of creatures.  According to Creation Ministries International, John Woodmorappe’s book, Noah’s Ark: a Feasibility Study, says there would only need to be about 8000 kinds on the ark: 16,000 since two of each were needed plus those needed for sacrifice.

  1. Why does the Bible give the earth only about 6000 years while scientific research has found objects to be millions of years older?

The Bible doesn’t say the earth is about 6,000 years old: another false premise.  Some men say the Bible says that.   By the way, it is also men who says the earth is older.  Even within the church this is a controversial topic. 

These questions were taken from this site