Trying To Make Sense Of The Evil In This World

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

I’m still closely following what’s happening in Ukraine. And some of the reports that are coming out of there are absolutely heart-wrenching.

War is a terrible thing!

The invaders tend to do horrific things to the vulnerable such as murder, torture and rape.

I’m finding it difficult to reconcile as to how and what good could possibly come out of all this suffering.

Especially for the innocent children and the unprotected girls and women.

Not to mention all the other kinds of evil that occur in our own country.

Not to mention all the sudden losses and traumatic experiences suffered via natural and man-made disasters.

What kind of good could possibly come from any of these?

What kind of God allows these to happen to us?

WHAT IS EVIL?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, evil is defined as “profoundly immoral and wicked.”

Other words for evil are sinful, depraved, vicious, corrupt, base, and vile.

Another way of looking at evil is through the Privation theory of evil – where evil isn’t an entity but rather an absence of something — the absence of good.

I’ve read there are essentially two kinds of evil. Per the KJV Dictionary:

“Natural evil is any thing which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.“

“Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.”

The KJV Dictionary provided further clarification:

“All wickedness, all crimes, all violations of law and right are moral evils. Diseases are natural evils, but they often proceed from moral evils.”

WAS IT GOD WHO CREATED EVIL?

The answer to this question is – No. God did NOT create evil.

Then, how do one explain this particular passage in the Bible?

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. – Isaiah 45:7 (KJV)

The answer to this comes from an article on blueletterbible.org:

“This is not what the original Hebrew says. The word translated “evil” is the word ra. It also means sorrow, calamity, disaster, afflictions, and adversity. Modern translations have correctly translated the passage with a different English word such as the following example.

I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7).

Therefore the Scriptures do not teach that God was the originator of evil.” (Did God Create Evil? by Don Stewart)

SO, WHERE DID EVIL COME FROM?

When God created the universe, evil was not a part of that creation.

When God created the angels, again evil was not a part of that creation.

When God created the world, like all the other creations, evil was not a part of them.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

Lucifer, the highest ranking among the angels and the most beautiful, desired to be first in everything. So, when he learned that God and the Son went ahead to decide, without consulting him, to create man in God’s image, he rebelled.

Through Lucifer’s rebellion and the eventual expulsion of him and a third of all angels from heaven, sin was introduced into the universe. (Source: Ministry Magazine)

When Lucifer, now known as Satan, tempted Eve to disobey God who then convinced Adam to disobey, sin was introduced to the world.

“The origin of evil lies not with God but with humanity. When God created human beings He gave them a choice to obey or disobey. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God they brought evil into the universe. Evil is an action or relationship, not a created substance.” (Did God Create Evil? by Don Stewart)

Because of this disobedience, the nature of man became a sinful one. And because we’ve been given the freedom of choice, we can choose our action whether it be for good or for evil.

Satan knows man’s weakness and have chosen to prey on it, to exploit it hence countless civilizations have fallen due to the evil action of man.

History is full of wars and human suffering because of the men (and even women) who chose to do evil.

HOW CAN A LOVING GOD ALLOW EVIL TO CONTINUE?

This is a question that has been asked by so many since the fall of man.

Even the writers of the Bible wrestled with this question:

Evils have encompassed me without number (Psalm 40:12)

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now (Romans 8:22)

The world in which we now live in is not the same world created by God. Man became separated from God through disobedience (by choice) hence creating a fallen, imperfect and abnormal world. All of which Satan has capitalized on.

To answer the above question – even though God has the ability to stop and end all evil, up to this point, He has chosen not to.

For most, this is an unacceptable answer.

How can a loving, all-powerful God allow evil to continue. Allow the innocent and vulnerable to suffer?

The Bible tells us that God’s purposes are sometimes beyond our understanding:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55: 8,9)

Paul, in his letter to Rome, also expressed similar sentiment:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!

Romans 11:33

Through the Bible, we’ve learned how and why evil came about – but, it does not provide an answer as to why God allowed it to happen.

SO, THAT’S IT?

For the believers, there is hope!

We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)

Because of Jesus, and through His sacrifice for our sins, we know that evil and all suffering are temporary.

Evil will eventually be destroyed. This is the hope that the believer has. There is a new world coming in which there will be no more tears and pain because all things will be made new (Revelations 21:5). Paradise lost will be paradise regained. God will right every wrong and put away evil once and for all, in His time.

A LIGHT IN A WORLD FULL OF PAIN AND DARKNESS

For the fallen, God provided a way out – the way of redemption – the way out of eternal darkness, pain and death.

Through His son, Jesus.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV) Read full chapter

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)

As believers, we tend to forget (I am definitely one of them) that Jesus was not only God, but he was fully human. This means he has experienced all that we as humans experience.

Pain. Suffering. Loss. Torture. Death.

Satan tried to tempt Jesus (for forty days in a desert while Jesus fasted as told in Matthew 4:1-11) as he had tempted Adam and Eve – and failed.

Through fear and misunderstanding (even misinformation), humans tortured and hung Jesus on a wooden cross until He died.

But, Jesus would conquered death and arose three days later.

Satan and all the evil in this world couldn’t defeat Jesus.

And it is through Jesus, we can face what this fallen world will throw at us. Yes, this includes pain, suffering, torture and death. It is our faith and hope in Jesus that sustain us, give us the strength and courage to face both moral and natural evils of this world.

It is through these trials and suffering that we can then help the lost, the unbelievers as we can understand their struggles – but, not only we can empathize with their suffering, we can offer them hope and the true Light in their darkness.

Jesus said:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

THIS POST HAS GONE ON A LOT LONGER THAN I’D INTENDED!

Entire libraries of books can be (and have been) written on this. I began this post with questions and doubts, but through reading and studying various texts, I have a better understanding of what evil is, and why it’s here. Even though I’m still feeling frustrated with the state of things in the current society (Ukraine, our own country), I realize that I need to trust in God more than I have – for He alone knows what He’s doing, and that everything that’s happening, and have happened, are a part of His Master Plan – and that through His Plan, everything – including all the pain and suffering – He will use to advance this Plan.

We, as believers, are not meant to understand all the whys and hows, but instead we are to place our trust in Him, and He will take care of everything else.

Our roles in this world are be a light to the lost, and to fight for things that are good and pure.

Good can exist without evil, whereas evil cannot exist without good. – Thomas Aquinas

“Whereas evil is the absence of good, darkness is the absence of light.” – unknown

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”– Anne Frank

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (John 3:19 ESV)

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. – (Ephesians 5:11 ESV)

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. – (Romans 13:12 ESV)