The Problem of Evil-4

Yesterday I was talking with other pastors and ministers about this series of lessons.

I told them what I told you last week —

This is NOT about being an academic or just to add to our storehouse of knowledge, so we can hoard it.

No!

we need to know how to answer those who question our faith:

1 Peter 3:15–16 (NLT) … worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

We need to study to be prepared to answer the questions and confront anti-God rhetoric:

2 Timothy 2:15 (LSB) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Peter 1:10–15 (LSB) Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and choosing sure; for in doing these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has indicated to me. 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

No matter how much we study, we will ALWAYS need the Holy Spirit to give us the right thing, at the right time, to speak in the right way, to the right person.

John 16:13–15 (LSB) “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Luke 12:11–12 (LSB) “Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

(Promised in ALL of the synoptic Gospels)

So, our goal, these past few weeks is to answer one of the biggest reason (excuses) people use for:

Refusing to believe in God initially

or

Causes them to turn from faith in God (how deep was it really?)

Review: There are only about a half-dozen worldviews concerning evil and suffering.

From a purely practical viewpoint (NOT a standpoint of what is true and what is false — because I will tell you that the Christian belief in God aligns with reality — others in some subjective fantasy):

Christianity offers the best way to explain and cope with evil and suffering

An atheistic, secularistic, humanistic worldview (very prominent in U.S. offers the worst way of explaining and coping with evil and suffering

Yesterday, we ministers continued to discuss the (seeming) problem of:

How can evil exist if (since!) we have a completely good God who is absolutely, ALL-powerful

When I realized, we have NOT defined evil. What is evil?

Your thoughts?

When Augustine talks about evil, he distinguishes between natural evil—or evil manifested in nature (e.g., natural catastrophes, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc.)—which is not subject to the human will, and moral evil, which results from actions under the control of the human will.

Lexham Theological Wordbook provides a Theological Overview of evil

The concept of evil is generally used to describe behavior or attitudes of people that are characterized by wickedness and intent to cause harm.

The first references to “evil” (רַע, raʿ) in the OT canon define the concept in opposition to “good” (ṭôb), with reference to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:9, 17; 3:5, 22).

The identification of something as evil or bad depends on one’s perspective with relation to what is considered good or right.

The biblical standard of “good” is established by God (Gen 1:31; 2:9), so anything that deviates from divine expectations of goodness is evil (Gen 6:5; Eph 5:16; 6:13).

After the Eden narrative, the book of Genesis emphasizes the damage that the knowledge of evil caused for humankind (Gen 6:5; 8:21; 13:13).

People are often referred to as doing evil (רָעָה, rāʿâ; 2 Sam 3:39; 1 Kgs 11:6), and the book of Proverbs repeatedly contrasts the wicked (רָשָׁע, rāšāʿ) and evil (רַע, raʿ) behavior that people should avoid with the righteous and good behavior that people should emulate (e.g., Prov 11:21; 12:12–13).

In the NT, Paul contrasts the evil behavior of unbelievers with the godliness associated with following Jesus, indicating that the evil in the world will undoubtedly result in persecution for those who are following God (2 Tim 3:12–13). Jesus identifies good or evil as the fundamental condition of one’s heart (Matt 12:33–37; compare Gen 6:5).

The OT sometimes uses terms for evil to describe situations or events that may cause distress or inflict pain and suffering; in these situations, the word is not being used to describe something as morally bad but simply as adverse.

For instance, Job says that when he expected good, evil came upon him (Job 30:26). That is, he found himself in the midst of misery and calamity. Unfavorable or unpleasant conditions are evil, in that they represent horrible conditions (Job 42:11).

While Scripture affirms that God cannot be evil or do evil (Psa 5:4; Jas 1:13), in Exod 32:12 Moses expresses his concern that if God destroys the Israelites, the Egyptians will say that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with evil intent.

Some passages speak to God’s covenant promises to bring disaster if the covenant is broken (Deut 30:15; 31:17–21) and emphasize God’s ultimate power over evil (Isa 45:7), ultimately realized through Christ (1 Cor 15:24–26).

What about Christianity?

When it comes to Christianity, we do not deny the existence of evil:

Chad V. Meister & James K. Dew, Jr. in their book God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views say:

Evil abounds. Regardless of when or where we look—in the feudal systems of the Middle Ages or the cyber world of the twenty-first century, in the posh suburbs of a major city or the poor slums found across the globe, in the practice of organized crime or the peccancy in organized religion—in all times and in all places we find pain, we find suffering, we find evil. Evil is no less present, no less pernicious, and no less perplexing in the modern world than it has ever been. This poses a tenacious problem for those who believe in a God who is perfectly good and loving, all-powerful, and infinitely smart. For surely a God who is good and loving would not want there to be widespread pain and suffering in the world. And surely a God who is omniscient and omnipotent could ensure that no such world would exist. But such a world does exist. Our world.

Last week we looked at how God gave/gives freewill:

To the angels (Lucifer and 1/3 of angels fell) Illustration

To humans (those a little lower than angels)

Psalm 8:3–6 (LSB) When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have established; 4 What is man that You remember him, And the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

Biblical Beliefs: Doctrines Believers Should Know:

Humans were created lower than the angels. Angels are invisible and immortal, and moreover are not as people confined to this earth. Angels are spirits created apart from their habitations. God gave heaven to the angels for a home, but “the earth hath he given to the children of men.”

Also:

Smarter than humans (Angels guide people not vice versa)

Mighty and powerful (Can protect, can deliver)

Can give comfort to humans

More often God’s agents for His judgment

We talked about how even though there is freewill, God is in control

1 Timothy 6:15 (LSB) which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

GOD’S CONTROL Israel prospered as long as the people regarded God as their true King. When the leaders strayed from God and his law, he intervened in their lives and overruled their actions. This way, God maintained ultimate control.

God is always at work in this world, even when we can’t see what he is doing. No matter what kinds of pressures we must endure or how many changes we must face, ultimately God is in control. When we grow confident of God’s sovereignty, we can face the difficult situations in our life with boldness.

1. As King, God is in control of the world. Has there been a time you felt God was not in control? How did you feel? What were you thinking? How did you choose to deal with the situation?

2. God is in control, even when you do not feel like he is. How can you be sure this is true?

3. What difference does it make for you that God is in control of the world?

4. In what areas of your life do you feel the need to know that he is in control? How will you deal with those times when it seems like he is not in control? How can you prepare yourself for those times? (Student’s Life Application Bible Notes)

If God is in control, then why does He let or allow (synonyms) bad things to happen?

Rick pointed out: Jesus didn’t stop evil when He walked the earth although He did heal people.

Jay: God gives free-will. People choose to be mean.

Theodicy. An answer to the problem of evil that attempts to “justify the ways of God to man” by explaining God’s reasons for allowing evil. Two of the more important theodicies are the “soul-making theodicy,” which argues that God allows evil so as to make it possible for humans to develop certain desirable virtues, and the “free will theodicy,” which argues that God had to allow for the possibility of evil if he wished to give humans (and angelic beings) free will.

Evans, C. S. (2002). Pocket dictionary of apologetics & philosophy of religion (p. 114). InterVarsity Press.

It wasn’t asked, but if God IS in control can we trust Him?

Is God good?

Is God all-powerful?

Is God good? Omnibenevolent

Nancy Kesinger Prophecy

Charnock, S. (1853). The existence and attributes of God:

God is only originally good, good of himself. All created goodness is a rivulet from this fountain, but Divine goodness hath no spring; God depends upon no other for His goodness; He hath it in, and of, Himself: man hath no goodness from himself, God hath no goodness from without Himself: His goodness is no more derived from another than His being: if we were good by any external thing, that thing must be in being before Him, or after Him; if before Him, He was not then Himself from eternity; if after Him, He was not good in Himself from eternity

God only is infinitely good. A boundless goodness that knows no limits, a goodness as infinite as His essence, not only good, but best; not only good, but goodness itself, the supreme inconceivable goodness.

Pure and perfect goodness is only the royal prerogative of God; goodness is a choice perfection of the Divine nature. This is the true and genuine character of God; He is good, He is goodness, good in Himself, good in His essence, good in the highest degree, possessing whatsoever is comely, excellent, desirable; the highest good, because first good: whatsoever is perfect goodness, is God; whatsoever is truly goodness in any creature, is a resemblance of God.

The holiness of God is the rectitude of His nature, whereby He is pure, and without spot in Himself; the goodness of God is the efflux of His will, whereby He is beneficial to His creatures: the holiness of God is manifest in His rational creatures; but the goodness of God extends to all the works of His hands. His holiness beams most in His law; His goodness reacheth to everything that had a being from Him.

Tozer, A. W., & Fessenden, D. E. (2003–). The attributes of God: Study guide:

The answer to every question, Tozer contends, is “God out of His goodness willed it” (p. 46). It is the reason why we were created, why God did not destroy Adam and Eve when they fell and why God sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. The operative word here is grace—God’s undeserved favor, showered on us for no other reason than that He is good.

It is also why God answers our prayers. It is probably a great blow to the theology of some people to hear Tozer declare, “Nobody ever got anything from God on the grounds that he deserved it”

Mark 10:17–18 (LSB) And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

Psalm 34:8 (LSB) O taste and see that Yahweh is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Psalm 119:68 (LSB) You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 145:9 (LSB) Yahweh is good to all, And His compassions are over all His works.

Exodus 33:19 (LSB) And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

James 1:13–17 (LSB) Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully matured, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Is God all-powerful?

Storms, S. (2006). Attributes of God. Sam Storms: A highly simplistic definition of “power” would be that it is the ability to produce effects, or to accomplish what one wills. The Scriptures clearly affirm not only that God has such an ability but that He has it without limitations. Hence, we speak of God as being omnipotent, infinite in power.

Jeremiah 32:17 (LSB) ‘Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,

2 Chronicles 20:6 (LSB) and he said, “O Yahweh, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can take their stand against You.

Isaiah 43:13 (LSB) “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

(Already Read)1 Timothy 6:15–16 (LSB) which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen.

The Christian worldview should shape our perspective. Evil and suffering are reasons to believe the Good News, not to reject it. Because it's the only explanation and even more importantly, the only solution to evil and suffering.

Here is a suggested biblical solution.

1. God did not create evil because it is not created

Did God create a perfect world and then get it wrong? Or did God create a perfect world that he allowed to go wrong? I love Augustine's answer to this question.

a. God created all things.

b. Evil is not a created thing – it is the absence of good.

c. God did not create evil, but permits it for the good.

2. God permitted evil but brings even greater good out of that evil

"And, in the universe, even that which is called evil, when it is regulated and put in its own place, only enhances our admiration of the good; for we enjoy and value the good more when we compare it with the evil. For the Almighty God, who, as even the heathen acknowledge, has supreme power over all things, being Himself supremely good, would never permit the existence of anything evil among His works, if he were not so omnipotent and good that he can bring good even out of evil" (Augustine's Enchiridion, ch. 11).

"For he judged it better to bring good out of evil, than not to permit any evil to exist" (Enchiridion, ch. 27).

I sometimes ask people whether, if I could create them in a world in which they experienced no pain, no suffering, no existential angst, no broken relationships, no cancer, no tears, they would want that. "Oh yes." "In that case I will create you as a chair." "Oh no, I want to be human."

And there is the rub. Maybe in order to be human there needs to be an element of free will, moral choice and love that is not just chemically pre-destined. Maybe for that to happen God created this world to be a 'vale for soul making', a physical and moral environment which allows us to live as free moral agents and to learn what we need to learn.

So God did not create evil, but permitted it. Why? For a greater purpose than if had not permitted it. The next step...

3. God alone knows the end from the beginning and how to bring good out of evil.

Sometimes we set ourselves up as though we were the judge and God had to answer to us – a complete reversal of the real situation. Consider how God answered a man who suffered more than most of us: Job.

"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great? Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? (Job 38:2-4,18,21; 40:2,8).

The infinite, eternal, omniscient Creator is far more likely to know about good and evil, and its consequences than his finite, limited, ignorant creatures.

But this is not enough. We do not want to be Job's comforters or to be comforted by Job's friends. We need to know not just the how and why of evil, but do we have a better solution than 'suck it up and see'?

Chad V. Meister & James K. Dew, Jr. in their book God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views say:

A Classic View: The basic answer to the problem of evil given by the classic view is that no evil takes place unless God permits it, and that God has a good reason for permitting each evil, which takes the form of a greater good that he uses the evil to bring about.

A Molinist View: God’s absolute intentions are thus often frustrated by sinful creatures, but his conditional intentions, which take into account creatures’ free actions, are always fulfilled. Even sin serves God’s conditional intentions in that it manifests his overflowing goodness in the incarnation of Christ for the purpose of rescuing humanity from sin, his power in his redeeming humanity from sin, and his justice in punishing sin.

God’s providence, then, extends to everything that happens, but it does not follow that God wills positively everything that happens. God wills positively every good creaturely decision, but evil decisions he does not will but merely permits[1]

An Open Theist View: The most distinctive tenet of open theism, and the one that has generated much of the controversy about the view, is open theism’s conception of dynamic omniscience (the term is due to John Sanders), in particular of God’s knowledge of the future. We hold that much (not all) of the future is known by God as what might happen, and as what will probably happen, but not as what will definitely take place. And this has important implications for divine providence and for the problem of evil: it means that God is a risk taker. When God decides to bring about a particular situation, one that involves his creatures in making free choices, it is impossible even for God to know with certainty how those creatures will respond; there is a genuine possibility that they will not respond in the way he intended and desired for them to do. (Of course, there is much in the Bible that indicates that this not only could but also often does happen.)

An Essential Kenosis View: Essential kenosis says God cannot totally control lesser entities or interrupt law-like regularities and thereby prevent genuine evil. In the case of less complex entities, God necessarily gives the gifts of agency and self-organization. Doing so is part of divine love, because God loves all creation. This means God cannot withdraw, override, or fail to provide the agency and self-organizing of any simpler organism or entity. The love of God is also uncontrolling among the less complex creatures and entities of our universe.

A Skeptical Theist View: First, there is the claim that if the God of theism exists, we humans should not expect to see or grasp very much of God’s purposes for divine actions—including the divine actions of allowing or even causing events that bring much of the horrific suffering around us. Second, there is the claim that if the first claim is true, then much of what otherwise looks like strong evidence against theism isn’t very strong at all.

God's answer to evil and suffering:

The great writers, poets and thinkers have always wrestled with this subject. Dostoevsky, for example, wrote: "Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth" (Crime and Punishment).

A poem by Ben Okri in the National Portrait Gallery in London:

Freedom is a difficult lesson to learn, I have tasted the language of death Till it became the water of life. I have shaped a little my canvas of time I have crossed seas of fires And seen with these African eyes The one light which neither empires Nor all the might of men obscure. Man is the sickness, God the cure.

That is God's answer.

He himself is the cure. Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, the Resurrection, the Healer, the Good Shepherd. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

The atheist is compelled to say it's just luck and there is no answer.

The Christian says (like David did in Psalm 23), "I fear no evil."

There is the fundamental difference between the two worldviews.

The atheist says good and evil are an illusion.

The Christian faces up to reality and says there is real evil, real darkness, real despair, but there is a real Saviour, who came to free those who all their lives are held in slavery by their fear of death.

The practical consequences of these beliefs are phenomenal.

The atheist puts a band-aid on the problem, the Christian gets to the heart of the matter.