Articles
The Problem of Evil
One of the most frequently used arguments against the existence of God is called the problem of evil. Basically, the doubters look at everything that is wrong in the world—the violence, the pain, the natural disasters—and they wonder how God could allow such a thing to happen. Maybe He isn’t loving enough to care. Maybe He doesn’t have the power to stop the bad things from happening. Either way, to them, a god who can’t or won’t stop evil is no god at all. He may exist, but they won’t worship Him or serve Him in any way.
We, who believe, are not ignorant of all the horrible things that happen in the world. We are impacted by the disasters and are disgusted by the violence. We ask the same questions, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” and we don’t have all of the answers.
The Bible does deal with this problem. Job is a book about friends grappling to understand if a person who was suffering was actually good. (He was.) The prophet Habakkuk struggled to understand how a good God can allow evil nations to thrive. (He does.) The audience of I Peter feared that the suffering and persecution they were facing was an indication that God was displeased with them. (He wasn’t.) The apostles questioned who was to blame for a child being born blind. (No one.) The point is, the Bible deals with some of our difficult questions, but there is not one simple answer. There are many answers to the problem of suffering.
In the book of Revelation, we are given one answer for some of the suffering. Unfortunately, the answer does not lead to comfort, but instead, it leads to an unfortunate realization. The book of Revelation depicts a world that has embraced evil and has joined with Satan in a war against God. Suffering, then, is a result of our choice to rebel. However, the plagues and disasters that ensued weren’t necessarily punishments; they were calls to repent—warnings to stop fighting against God. “Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory…They gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds” (Rev. 16:9-11).
So, what is the unfortunate realization? The frequent argument of the problem of evil is exactly the wrong response to suffering! Rather than repenting, and striving towards peace with God, people today continue to blaspheme. Claiming God does not exist or that He is an awful, evil God who they will never serve is blasphemy.
Put another way, sometimes suffering is a warning from God to change course. The pain is just a small sample of what awaits those who finally and ultimately reject God. Therefore, those who blaspheme God because of the suffering, are ignorantly and foolishly embracing the pain that they despise. It would be like a child who disobeyed his parents and was then grounded from his phone for a month. If the child is upset at the punishment, does it make sense for him to rebel more and more out of protest and disdain? Will that help? Of course not. It will only make everyone miserable and the punishment will intensify. On the other hand, if the child chooses to be obedient to his parents, he will be able to enjoy his phone privileges again and the conflict at home will come to an end. Which path will you choose?
To be clear, I am not saying that all natural disasters and all suffering are calls from God to repent. Remember, there is not one simple answer as to why bad things happen that will apply to every situation. The issue is more complex than that.
Two things are stated repeatedly throughout the Bible though. God has the power to inflict or prevent suffering. This is not a power problem. There is no limit to God’s love, even sacrificing His own Son for our sake. This is not a love problem. Violence, disasters and suffering are not an indication that there is no God or that God is not good. There is a God and He is worthy of our devotion and worship. Regardless of why we suffer, blasphemy is the worst way to respond.
