God and Evil

Chris and Dani, I almost laughed out loud at your posts...not because they are funny but because those were exactly the questions we discussed, wrestled with, even struggled with in our theology class. Isn't that THE question: "If God is good, how can evil exist?" So I don't have a clear and easy answer, and our entire class and Dr. Bart Box agreed there isn't one, but I have some thoughts that might be worth pondering.

1. Before my theology class, I had read a little on this question and one point was made (by Lee Strobel I think) that, philosophically speaking, in order for good to truly exist, evil must exist. Without evil, good is meaningless and everything in the universe is really morally neutral. Again, philosophically speaking.

2. The other thought I've always held (without giving it a whole lot of consideration) is that for humans to be truly free and be able to choose God, there has to be an alternative. We can't truly love God (which is His desire) if we don't have any other choice. So evil must exist.

3. In our class we agreed that it is difficult to fully understand God's relation to evil and we admitted that as finite humans we will never fully understand an infinite God (not even in heaven!). But here's what we do know:
- Nothing exists apart from God's will. God has ordained that evil exist. Otherwise there is a force out there outside of His control and that is not at all what the Bible teaches.
- God is all-powerful in the sense that nothing happens outside of His ultimate will. However, He does have one limitation - He cannot behave in ways contrary to His character. He cannot sin. He cannot commit evil.
- In the end, all things occur for God's glory (and ultimately our good).

So we must conclude that God allows evil to exist, God does not ever directly cause evil, and that He works all things, good and bad, for His glory.

Chris, I'm giving you a run for your money on lengthy posts here...

A couple more thoughts (aren't you glad you asked? :)

1. As a parent, I've found one analogy very helpful for understanding God's relation to our suffering. I remember taking our girls as babies to get their shots. I knew this was for their good. That in the end I was doing what was best by subjecting them to the pain and suffering of 3, 4, even 5 shots at once. But oh how I hated to see them hurt. And how hard it was that I could not possibly explain to my infant why they were hurting...why I was allowing them to hurt...appearing to just stand by and watch them suffer, or even worse appearing to participate in their suffering. All I could do was offer love and comfort and assure them (even though they couldn't understand) that it was for the best. I often believe that God feels just this way when suffer because of the evil in the world. He allows it knowing in the end it's for our best...but our small minds can't comprehend it. And I do believe He hurts with us. Jesus cried when Lazarus died because His friends were hurting, even though He knew He was going to raise Him from the dead. Sometimes I cried while my girls got shots even though I knew it's what they needed. God detests evil (more than I detest needles being poked into my babies) and He never delights in our suffering, but He does allow it and direct it and I believe someday we will better understand how it all fits together. For now I'm trusting that He is in control, that He is good, and that Satan's dirtiest schemes will only serve to bring God great glory in the end.

2. Finally, yes, finally, Randy Alcorn, one of my favorite authors has a new book out and I think the title is "If God is good..." and it addresses this issue. No idea what he says but it's on my list.

Just my thoughts...
:)
-holly