Research Paper.
I. INTRODUCTION
I. INTRODUCTION
Why Does A Good God Allow Evil to Exist? Why is there evil in the world if there is God? Why isn't He doing something about it? Many assume that the existence of evil disproves the existence of God. Sometimes the problem of evil is put to the Christians in the form of a complex question, "If God is good, and then He must not be powerful enough to deal with all the evil and injustice in the world since it is still going on. If He is powerful enough to stop wrong doing then He must be evil since He's not doing any thing about it. So which is it? Is He a bad God or a God that's not all power?
The word ‘Evil’ is generally used in two separate connotations. Firstly, it is used for reference to the bad deeds of people: for instance lying, injustice, oppression etc. Secondly, it is used for circumstances and conditions, which people consider as ‘not good’, for instance: poverty, earthquakes, natural calamities, drought etc. The question “If God is all-good, why does He allow evil to exist” is generally asked from both perspectives: ‘if God is All-good, then why does He allow people to do evil?’ and ‘if God is all-good, then why is there is so much suffering in this world?”
To answer these haunting and crucial issues about the goodness of God and the existence of evil, it is necessary to look on several views of different authors regarding this topic.
II. INTERACTION WITH THE DIFFERENT AUTHORS
If God does indeed cause, through his providential activity, everything that comes about in the world, then the question arises, “What is the relationship between God and evil in the world?” “Does God actually cause the evil actions that people do? If He does, then is God not responsible for sin? Several passages affirm that God did, indeed cause evil events to come about and evil deeds to be done. But we must remember that in all these passages it is very clear that Scripture nowhere shows God as “directly doing anything evil,” but rather as bringing about evil deeds through the willing actions of moral creatures. Moreover, “Scripture never blames God for evil or shows God as taking pleasure in evil” and Scripture never excuses human beings for the wrong they do.
Wayne Grudem gave the analysis of verses relating to God and evil. This will help Christians to understand the topic related to the goodness of God and the existence of evil. (1) God uses all things to fulfil His purposes and even uses evil for His glory and for our good (Rom. 8:28 ; Gen. 50:20; Rom. 9:14 -24). (2) Nevertheless, God never does evil, and is never to be blamed for evil (James 1:13 -14; Matt. 18:7). These verses all make it clear that “secondary causes” (human beings, and angels, and demons) are real, and that human beings do cause evil and are responsible for it. Though God ordained that it would come about, both in general terms and in details, yet “God is removed from actually doing evil and his bringing it about through ‘secondary causes’ does not impugn his holiness or render him blameworthy.” If we were to say that God Himself does evil, we would have to conclude that He is not a good and righteous God, and therefore that he is not really God at all. (3) God rightfully blames and judges moral creatures for the evil they do (Isa.66:3-4; Eccle.7:29). The blame for the evil is always responsible creature whether man or demon, who does it, and the creature who does evil is always worthy of punishment. (4) Evil is real, not an illusion, and we should never do evil, for it will always harm us and others. Scripture consistently teaches that we never have a right to do evil, and that we should persistently oppose it in ourselves and in the world. We are to pray “deliver us from evil” (Matt.6:13) and if we see anyone wandering from the truth and doing wrong, we should attempt to bring him back (James 5:19 -20). We should never even “will” evil to be done, for entertaining sinful desires in our minds is to allow them to be done, for entertaining sinful desires in our minds is to allow them to “wage war” against our souls(1Pet.2:11) and thereby to do us spiritual harm. (5) In spite of the foregoing statements, we have to come to the point where we confess that we do not understand how it is that God can ordain that we carry out evil deeds and yet hold us accountable for them and not to be blamed himself. We can affirm that all of these things are true because Scripture teaches them. But Scripture does not tell us exactly how God brings this situation about or how it can be that holds us accountable for what He ordains to come to pass. Here Scripture is silent, and we have to agree with Berkhof that ultimately “the problem of God’s relation to sin remains a mystery.”
A. MILLARD ERICKSON
Millard Erickson noted that the problem of evil arises to varying degrees for theologies and takes in differing forms. The problem of evil may occur as either a religious or a theological problem or both. The religious form of the problem of evil occurs when some particular aspect of ones experience has had the effect of calling into question the greatness or goodness of God, and hence threatens the relationship between the believer and God.
Erickson made a re-evaluation of what constitutes good and evil. He said that “some of what we term good and evil may not be actually be that. It is therefore necessary to take a hard look at what constitute s good or evil. We are inclined to identify good with whatever is pleasant to us at the present and evil with what is personally unpleasant, uncomfortable, or disturbing.” There are three points which indicate that the identification of evil with the unpleasant is incorrect. First, the divine dimension, God is not to be defined in terms of what brings personal pleasure to man in a direct fashion. Good is to be defined in relationship to the will and being of God. Good is that which glorifies Him, fulfils His will, and conforms to H9is nature. To the Christians, what is good is not personal health or wealth, but being conformed to the image of God’s Son. It is the long range welfare of man. Second, the dimension of time or duration. Some of the evils which we experience are actually very disturbing on a short term basis, but in the long term work a much larger good. Apostle Paul said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom.8:18). He also wrote “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2Cor.4:17; 1Pet.1:6-7). A problem is often magnified by its proximity to us now, so that it becomes disproportionate to other pertinent matters. Third, there is the question of extent of the evil. We tend to be very individualistic in our assessment of good and evil. What is evil from one narrow perspective may therefore be only an inconvenience and, from a larger frame of reference, a much greater good to a much larger number. Certainly God can perform miracles so that everyone gets just what he needs and wants, but that would not necessarily be the best course, since there is a need for constancy in the creation. In other words, because God’s plans are good, they have good consequences. Good consequences may indicate that these actions have promoted the plan of God, and hence should be regarded as good, but good consequences do not make these actions good. What makes the action good is the fact that God willed them.
