The blind man and the existence of Evil

The argument for Evil

John 9:1–2 NKJV

1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Natural desire to understand suffering? Why is there suffering?

Question has evolved over the centuries.

In a survey of the world, it is easy to see that a significant portion of suffering is due to the existence of evil.

The question evolved to “can there be an All-Loving-God when there is so much evil in the world”

at face value its a seems like a logical/natural question

When further dissected, it doesn’t hold much ground

The Logic behind the question of Evil and God

If God is all-POWERFUL, He CAN get rid of evil

If God is all-LOVING, He would WANT to get rid of evil

Evil exists

CONCLUSION: An all-POWER and all-LOVING God doesn’t exist

Premise 1 - If God is all-POWERFUL, He CAN get rid of evil

C.S. Lewis

“Why then did God give us free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that make possible any love or goodness or joy work having....Of course, God knew what would happen if we used our freedoms in the wrong way. Apparently, He thought it worth the risk.”

In this same vein, God being infinitely more knowledgeable than us can have a morally sufficient reason to allow evil and suffering, which we cannot understand. So its existence doesn’t negate God’s existence

John 9:3 NKJV

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

Even humanity knows this as we can willing subject our selves to pain and suffering in order to get to something better.

Premise 2 - If God is all-LOVING, He would WANT to get rid of evil

All-loving God created us out of love.

Free will is an essential part of love.

To ‘rid’ the world of evil would be to revoke free will - This would contradict an All-Loving God.

French philosopher John Paul Sartre

The man who wants to be loved does not desire the enslavement of the beloved, if the beloved is transformed into an automaton, the lover finds himself alone.

If God, were to get ‘rid’ of evil what would that look like and who would that include?

in our minds drug deals, rapists, thieves, murders etc.

But scripture warns us that evil and sin are inside of us all

Mark 7:21–22 NKJV

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.

Premise 3 - Evil exists

Yes, we can see that evil exists

But we only know evil is there BECAUSE of the existence of good.

For us to have a context to say that something is evil, we must have an anchor point of good.

God, becomes the anchor of what is good. Absolute source of good by which everything is measured.

ex.

Lying is the absence of truth

Adultery is the lack of fidelity

immoral is the lack of morality

unjust is the lack of justice

Frank Turek

“There can be sunshine without shadows, but there cannot be shadows without sunshine. In other words, there can be good without evil bu there cannot be evil without good and there cannot be objective good without God.”

Conclusion

The logical argument against God based on the existence of evil doesn’t stand up....it actually brings more trouble for the person because they have no grounds to hold on to the existence of evil.

But what is more important, is that this discussion highlights the free will we have to engage and experience a loving relationship with God. That means we will have to deal with suffering, but we also have to work through the evil and sin inside of us. But that is where we meet God most intimately. Its on this internal battle ground that a divine illumination happens.

John 9:35–38 NKJV

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” 38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.