The Problem of Evil – Why Christianity

Evil[1] is terrible. It is a horrible part of life that we all face. Every worldview needs to try and make sense of suffering;[2] however, for theists who believe in a God who is all-powerful and all-loving, like Christians do, the issue is amplified. There are multiple problems of evil: the logical problem argues that God and evil are mutually exclusive; you cannot have both. The evidential problem argues that given the amount of evil in this world, it is improbable that God exists, and the emotional problem of evil, which is not an intellectual challenge to theism but, in fact, can be raised by a Christian, who asks why this particular evil occurred and how can I trust a God who permits such evils. Here I can only give an overview of the issues.

The Logical Problem of Evil

The logical problem of evil states that you cannot have both God and evil, it is an either-or, and since there clearly is evil,[3] it follows that there is no God. While I can feel the force of this argument, as an academic challenge, it must be gently stated that there is no contradiction between the two premises: 1) God exists, and 2) evil exists. So, this argument assumes a third hidden premise, namely 3) An omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good being would have no good reason for allowing evil. Being a logical challenge, the theist does not have to prove a theodicy, that is God’s actual reason for allowing evil; rather, all that the theist has to show is a defence, that is a possible reason why God might have permitted evil. One possible reason could be free will.[4] Free will is understood here in the libertarian sense. Libertarians are incompatibilists (i.e., they think free will is not compatible with determinism), and they think at least some actions or choices are freely performed.[5] However, it is still logically possible (although not necessarily true) that free creatures always freely only make good choices.[6] In response, it could be that for any set of creatures, at least one of those creatures would freely go astray, thereby introducing evil into that world.[7] Thus, we can conclude, “It is now acknowledged on (almost) all sides that the logical argument is bankrupt.”[8]

The Evidential Problem of Evil

However, given all the evidence of evil in this world, one might argue that the existence of evil renders God’s existence improbable. The Christian could actually agree that when one only looks at the evil in this world, it does give one reason to doubt.[9] However, if we were to take into account the full scope of evidence, including things like the cosmological argument or fine-tuning of the universe or Jesus’ resurrection, then God’s existence is probable.[10] Others have also added that since humans are finite, we are not in the best position to evaluate whether an omniscient being might have morally sufficient reasons for allowing evil.[11] Finally, Craig argues that “The Christian faith entails doctrines that increase the probability of the co-existence of God and evil. a. The chief purpose of life is not happiness, but the knowledge of God. b. Mankind is in a state of rebellion against God and His purpose. c. The knowledge of God spills over into eternal life. d. The knowledge of God is an incommensurable good.”[12] Consequently, as a scholarly challenge, evil does not make God’s existence less likely.

The Emotional Problem of Evil

The question remains why then does God allow such evils? Unless one has a word from the Lord, we cannot know; however, some principles from Scripture can help one trust God through the turmoil. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, reminds us that God created a good world, and it was because of human sin and rebellion that suffering took hold. Yet, God demonstrates his love in that even while we were still far from him, Christ died for us to restore us (cf. Rom 5:8; Isa 53:5). Revelation, the last book of the Bible, promises that God will set things right. “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev 21:4, NIV2011). Till then, God’s Spirit is at work, and Jesus knows the struggles we face (cf. Heb 2:18; 4:15; 5:7–9). Further, in his book, Where Is God When It Hurts? Yancey asks, “Where is the church”?[13] Meaning that the body of Christ is active to serve this hurting world right now. The Bible also teaches that sometimes people suffer not because they did anything to deserve it (cf. John 9:1–3; Job 1–2; Psa 59:3–4). Many more points could be made about how the Christian God comforts those who suffer (cf. 2 Cor 1:3–5), but this briefly illustrates that even the emotional problem of evil need not be overwhelming.

Conclusion

Evil is horrendous. This short article does not take the matter lightly, but it does believe that the Christian worldview has a hopeful response that can provide solace to a hurting world. I would encourage you to seek out a friend because they can offer support that an article cannot, and I pray that at all times, you will know Christ’s peace and grace. God bless.

By David Graieg 21 Apr 2022

[1] Evil refers to “any bad state of affairs, wrongful action, or character flaw” (Calder, “The Concept of Evil”). There are two broad categories of evil: moral evil and natural evil. Moral evils (e.g., lying and murder) “are bad states of affairs which result from the intentions or negligence of moral agents” (Loke, Evil, Sin, and Christian Theism, 16). Natural evil is suffering due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, which are not due to moral agents.

[2] I would encourage the reader to investigate how other worldviews understand evil. There are a variety of opinions, but to briefly simplify, atheism generally argues that evil is subjective and is a natural part of nature; pantheism typically states that evil is subjective and is part of the illusion of reality; Buddhism generally says evil is subjective and is caused by your attachment or desire; Hinduism generally argues that evil is subjective and is because of one’s karma; Deism maintains that God created the world but is not involved in the world and so this is just how He made the world, and He does not care about what happens in it; Islam normally points to the sovereign will of Allah as determining all that happens. Out of fairness, if I were to give a one-sentence response for Christianity, I could say Christians think that evil is objective, God has permitted free agents to bring about evil, but God has overcome it in the cross of Christ.

[3] It could be pointed out that some worldviews, such as some forms of pantheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and atheism argue that morality is subjective; hence, also evil. However, the argument might be that Christians think that morality is objective; therefore, on the Christian view, there is obviously evil.

[4] Other suggested reasons include a soul-making defence: the existence of evil allows one to develop character. Cf. Spiegel, “The Irenaean Soul-Making Theodicy,” 80–93.

[5] Incompatibilists hold that “free will and determinism are mutually exclusive and, consequently, that we act freely (i.e., with free will) only if determinism is false” (Clarke, Capes, and Swenson, “Incompatibilist (Nondeterministic) Theories of Free Will”). Determinism is “the idea that every event is necessitated by antecedent events and conditions” (Hoefer, “Causal Determinism”). Compatiblistic understandings of free will, will not work since, according to compatibilism, “free will is compatible with determinism” (McKenna and Coates, “Compatibilism”). Accordingly, God could have determined that people always freely do good.

[6] Cf. Mackie, “Evil and Omnipotence,” 200–12; Bernstein and Helms, “A Simpler Free Will Defence,” 197–203.

[7] Many formulations of the free will defence argue that it is possible that all creatures suffer from transworld depravity and so go wrong. “An essence suffers from transworld depravity iff [if and only if] for every world W such that E entails the properties is significantly free in W and always does what is right in W, there is a time t and action A at t such that (1) A is morally significant for E’s instantiation in W at t, and (2) If God had (weakly) actualized the initial segment of W up to t, E’s instantiation would have gone wrong with respect to A” (Loke, Evil, Sin, and Christian Theism, 19, italics original). Cf. Plantinga, “Transworld Depravity, Transworld Sanctity, & Uncooperative Essences,” 178–91; Otte, “Transworld Depravity and Unobtainable Worlds,” 165–77.

[8] Alston, “The Inductive Argument from Evil and the Human Cognitive Condition,” 29.

[9] Alternatively, along the lines of the moral argument, a theist might argue that God is the best explanation of objective moral facts, and evil is an example of an objective moral fact. Cf. Evans, “Moral Arguments for the Existence of God.”

[10] Cf. Ruloff and Horban, eds., Contemporary Arguments in Natural Theology; Loke, Investigating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[11] Cf. Loke, Evil, Sin, and Christian Theism, 22–30.

[12] Craig, “The Problem of Evil.”

[13] Yancey, Where Is God When It Hurts?, 247.

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