One of the most sceptical facts about the existence of God is the existence of evil and suffering. If God can prevent evil but does not want to, then he is an evil god who is not worthy of worship. If he wants to prevent evil but cannot, then he is not omnipotent or worthy of worship, and therefore God does not exist. Or if he does exist, he is either incapable or evil and is thus not worthy of worship.
The previous article discussed that God is not the source of evil. But the controversial question remains… How can evil still exist if God is all-good and all-powerful? Why does God allow evil?
Most atheists assume that an all-loving, all-powerful God would only create a happy, comfortable universe like heaven or paradise. However, the universe’s purpose is not to be morally or physically perfect but to create the freedom to choose whether to love God or reject Him. It is God’s goodness which gives us free will. It would not be possible to make this choice in a universe where all moral decisions are limited to good options only.
But why did God create a temporary, imperfect universe to be replaced later by a perfect universe like Paradise? Why didn’t God create a perfect universe in the first place?
We find the reason for creating the universe in the early chapters of the Bible. God created human beings to establish a personal relationship with them that He had with Adam and Eve before they sinned (Genesis 2). Jesus said the first and most important commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your strength,” (Mark 12:30) A personal relationship, characterised by the possibility of love, can only be achieved if creatures are given free will. If God had created the universe with no possibility of evil or sin, then created beings would not have free will and, as such, would essentially be like programmed computers or robots. Such beings would not be capable of love, because love involves choice, which requires the ability to choose not to love.
God’s purposes in creating the universe go beyond simply creating a human being with free will to love Him in this temporary universe. Jesus explained God’s ultimate purpose in the parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:16–23). This parable tells us that God wants a relationship with humans in this universe, but with all humans, His entire creation. If God’s purpose is to love free-willed humans in a future creation, then there must be a way for these beings to decide whether or not to enter that relationship. How we can choose that way is explained within the message of the Scriptures.
The Bible says that God allows temporary, limited evil to give us the opportunity to choose love over hate, good over evil… and those choices are, to an extent, directly related to whether one has chosen to love God or reject Him. The Bible says that the existence of evil is due to the spiritual component of our nature. God gave His spiritual creatures (humans and angels) the free will to love God or oppose Him. The most powerful creature (the angel Satan) rebelled and led a third of the angels to oppose God. Those humans who oppose or ignore God are following Satan in rebellion—either consciously or unconsciously.
The atheist also assumes that all pain, suffering, and death are evil. When in fact, physical pain is essential to our survival. If we did not feel pain, we would do things that would be destructive to ourselves. For example, if we did not feel pain when touching fire, we would not move away from the fire until we were burned. Pain warns us to respond to the danger before serious damage occurs.
Conclusion:
Everyone’s decisions have consequences. [But not everyone likes to take, or even acknowledge, the responsibility for their actions.]
- God is not the author of evil. However, God rewards and punishes based on good and bad behaviour. Therefore, God brings judgment and calamities (either directly or through human authorities) upon those who rebel. God will eventually judge all people, as rebels will not be allowed to exist in the perfect new creation.
- God did not create man to be without free will. So, we are free-willed beings living in a temporary state where the outcomes of that free will determine whether we spend eternity in the perfect new Creation.
- All people will suffer to some degree at least because of the bad choices made by themselves or others. Additionally, because of the temporary nature of the universe, some bad things will happen to us. However, these things will teach us to be more sensitive to the needs of others and will prepare us to show God’s love to others when they suffer similar things. God wants us to learn from this life.
