Apologetics 8 - The Problem of Pain/Evil and the Solution



Why do bad things happen to good people?

First of all, what good people? Everyone is sinful and deserves God's punishment. It is no surprise that God allows very bad things to happen to some, what is amazing is that extremely bad things don’t happen to everyone. But where do these bad things come from? As, Christians, we do not believe that God does evil things to people since God is good. We, therefore, often resort to cliché answers about why bad things happen to good people, such as it was meant to be, things happen for a reason, or God has a plan. Those have never been very satisfying to me. What about murder, rape, adultery, and all of the other things God forbids? Is it His plan that these things happen, even if we deserve them? Did he cause them? Did they really happen for a good reason? To know this, two other things must first be discussed? Did God create evil, and if not, why does he allow it?

Did God Create Evil?

The common argument for this is:

God is the source of all that exists

Evil Exists

Therefore, God is the source of evil

What is evil? Evil is just a perversion or a lack of what is good and perfect. God did create a perfect universe without evil in it. It was perfect when created. God created the capacity for evil and corruption (ie. the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), or Adam’s obedience would be meaningless. Perfection would require the opportunity to reject that which is perfect. That opportunity was taken by Adam and Eve. As a consequence we are all born with Original Sin, and into Total Depravity. We are no longer perfect. God could have miraculously started over, but to what end? The fall would have come again. However, knowing we are fallen and the source of pain should make us confess and repent, as well as show us our need for a savior.

Why does God allow pain and suffering?

This immediately creates another problem:

God is Omnipotent (All Powerful)

God is Omnibenevolent (All Good)

Evil Exists

This only implies contradiction. To make it implicit instead of just implied, some assumptions must be added. The argument would then state:

If God were good he would not want people to suffer.

If God could do anything, he would stop suffering.

Suffering exists, therefore, God lacks either goodness, or he is not all powerful.

At most, two of the three can be true, so at least one must be false. Yet, a Christian would claim that all three original statements are true. Thus, we will look at the two assumptions:

1.    An omnibenevolent being would want to eliminate evil.

2.    An omnipotent being could do anything.

The Muslim conception of God easily renders the first argument false. As Christians we will accept the first, stating that God, by nature, opposes evil and does desire its end with his perceptive will. However God has two distinct types of wills:

Perceptive Will – What God wants man to do.

Decretive Will – What God will do.

God's perceptive will is that people help each other, rather than inflict harm on each other during all times of human history. God's decretive will is that through His son's death and resurrection, He has defeated sin, death, and the devil. This will be fully realized on the last day, when there is no more pain or suffering.

The second premise then, must be false. For this to be so, the proper understanding of omnipotence must be different than at first apparent. We usually think of it as meaning “no limits”. This is not so. God can only do whatever does not contradict his nature or what is self-contradictory. For example, can God create something so heavy that he cannot lift it? This is meaningless. It is a trick of words and language.

• God can’t count to infinity.

• God can’t create a being greater than himself.

• God can’t change or oppose his nature.

• He can’t lie.

• He can’t be unfaithful to his promises.

• God can’t change the past.

• God can’t cease to exist.

• God can’t make a circle whose center isn’t equidistant to all points on its circumference.

• God can’t change the way nature is, or human nature.

Therefore

God did not create evil, nor does he wish it, or cause it. In fact, he opposes it and hates it. He does have a plan, however, and can use it for good, when it does happen. God also has a plan to eliminate suffering and evil for all time, that has already been accomplished, but is yet to be fulfilled (as it will on the last day). To turn the argument around, the fact that not all people perish and go to hell proves that God is good.