DOES GOD WILL EVIL?
"The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." Proverbs 16:4a (KJV)
The Author of All Things
The affirmation that God permits evil things to happen, and that He does not will for them to happen seems to be better accepted among some believers who were surveyed about God’s will. Nevertheless, in Revelation 4:11b Scripture says, “for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created;” and in Colossians 1:16, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
The affirmation that everything has flowed from God opens room for debate about the appearance of evil, consequently implicating the will of God to the presence of evil on a time previous or contemporary to the rebellion of Satan and the Fall of Adam. If evil is real and everything there is has originated from God, God gave origin to evil. On the other hand, if God has not given origin to evil and evil exists, not all that exist have come from God; thus the creation account presented in Scripture may be open to questioning. Affirmation can also be made that evil was not part of God’s initial plan in creation. But the biblical texts cited above state that God is in control, therefore He rules over all things. If evil appeared, and if it were not part of God’s plan in the beginning, than it happened outside of His control; therefore God is not in control and does not rule over all things; thus His omnipotence may be questionable or deniable; otherwise, he may have meant evil to exist and rules over it.
And lastly, according to the text found in Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” God had foreknowledge of the existence of evil and the consequences therein for men. Even before the Fall of men, Satan had fallen from Heaven due his wickedness, the evil within him, and his rebellion against God manifested by his idolatry and the desire to be like God. To affirm that God had not willed that evil to sprout is to affirm that God was possibly surprised by Satan’s fall, and consequently, also by Adam’s fall, thus opening room for a case against God’s omniscience.
Greater Good
Question number two was: “what would be preferable, a world without evil or a world filled with it?” The initial consensus on the preference for a world without evil was doomed to a short life right after the introduction of the third question, which was, “what would be preferable, a world without evil and without a redeemer or a world with evil, but with a redeemer?” Taking into consideration the latter scenario proposed, the preference then shifted to a world with evil, but with a redeemer. The consensus noted seemed to pertain not only to lay people, but also to well-read ministers and students who immediately changed their position in the presence of the denial of the necessity of a Redeemer. Most agreed that this present world, to which evil has been introduced, is better than a world where the Son of God would not have come.
Although, statement was also made that men’s condition before committing evil was already of sharing from God’s constant presence and pleasure, and of being eternal. It is found in the Bible the account of God’s presence with men to walk and talk daily, as Genesis 2:8 reads, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” This opens precedent for the possibility of a situation of completeness and worship before the Fall as it is now for the Redeemed, after the coming of the Messiah. But this statement may also give reason for some to think that Christ’s coming was conditional to sin alone and not to God’s initial plan. Then again, this would put God in a situation of response to the circumstance of sin only, as if the coming of the Redeemer would have been wrought as a consequence of sin alone, and not as the initial plan under God’s foreknowledge and control, under His awareness and ruling even before the foundation of the World.
Therefore, no affirmation can be made of which world would have been better, once there is only one person who could describe a world with the absence of evil: God. And from what can be observed, His pleasure and choice was to carry out the plan which included the coming of the Redeemer; thus a plan that included the Fall.
In The Theodicy, responding to questionings related to God’s ability to choose, Leibnitz justifies, “I have shown that the ancients called Adam’s fall felix culpa, a happy sin, because it had been retrieved with immense advantage by the incarnation of the Son of God, who has given to the universe something nobler than anything that ever would have been among creatures except for this.” Leibnitz argument referred to this present world alone as being the “best of all worlds.”1
According to Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand,” God chose to make use of what corrupted and limited human minds consider evil to accomplish greater good, which is effective to all who were set to believe. Jesus conquered evil through His death and resurrection; and yes, one might expressed that this is the best world there is, yet not in the material realm. Through Christ, and what He accomplished in His first coming, the Kingdom has come, and it is present/future, and it blends together the sufferings of this age and, for the believer, the fulfillment which is achieved through spiritual growth. In this sense, the outcome of evil has been overthrown; but the best is yet to come.
Accounts of evil which had good outcome can be found in many places in Scripture. A great example is the life of Joseph as it is presented in the Old Testament. Joseph faced twelve years of suffering even though he was favored by God. Though some may appeal against the evil that affected him as being the will of God, there is not much that can be used to justify the events involving Joseph as not having been coordinated by God. As for comfort to Joseph, God had already shown him, in dreams, that his victory was sure, and he trusted the Lord. In Genesis 50, over seventeen years after Joseph had confronted and forgiven his brothers, who betrayed him and sold him as a slave and lied about his death to his father, he was exposed to a remorseful display by them, to what he wisely expressed in verse 20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people.” Indeed, many were saved, and the line of the Messiah was preserved by an act that seemed evil from the perspective of Joseph’s brothers, but fully known by God.
In view of the possibilities related to evil, and different than the human perception of time, God sees the greater picture in a timeless setting and knows the outcome of facts from the present, to which, sometimes, there is not a shadow of goodness at the sight of limited eyes and minds pertaining to men. Presuming on God’s perspective of evil, and when it is assumedly perpetrated by Him, what seems evil to the human eye, in reality is good, for it always gives chance to the manifestation of God’s justice. Therefore, the question should be “Is evil really evil?” or “What is evil?” anyway.
When Evil Struck
What is evil? The 1828 Webster Dictionary defines evil firstly as:
1- “Having bad qualities of a natural kind; mischievous; having qualities which tend to injury, or to produce mischief;” then it goes on to defining evil also as,
2- “Having bad qualities of a moral kind; wicked; corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking; an evil generation;” and it continues,
3- “Unfortunate; unhappy; producing sorrow, distress, injury or calamity; as evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days.”
Based on the definitions presented above, it can be concluded that there are at least two distinct kinds of evil: Natural evil or “Physical evil,” as defined in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, and Moral evil. Both Webster and ISBE bring very detailed expositions on the Natural and Moral evils; and it needs to be noted that the ISBE makes a clear defense of God by stating “Neither is God the author of moral evil,” and by using the text of James 1:13 as the base for such defense. Although, Dr. John Mahony, in his handout, “The Problem of Evil: Theodicy,” brings more succinct explanations for Natural and Moral evils, which read:
a- Natural Evil as “not the intended result of a person’s deliberate choices,” but as “caused by what we typically categorize as natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, storms, & diseases;” and
b- Moral Evil as “synonymous with sin,” and being so “any act that fails to conform to the moral law of God. Thus, it is anything that a person or a group of persons freely choose to do that is morally wrong or unjust.”
Several points of view are presented in the attempt to enlighten the problem of evil, but at the end of the day there is not an absolute, persuasive explanation that can be given about evil. A common trait among many who decide to discuss the subject is to classify evil as sin alone. But further comment will be made about sin and evil and about “perspective” as the factor of confusion.
In his book, God & Evil, the author William Fitch makes an attempt to explain evil by comparing it to what is good. He says, “True goodness consists in being in the center of the will of God. True evil consists in separation from the will of God and in refusal to return. The will of God is expressed in his word.”2 By using the word “true” for good or evil, Fitch weakens his argument more than he makes it strong. In view of “true goodness” or “true evil” one may need to decipher, if they existed, what would “false goodness” or “false evil” be. Anyway... he continues with his argument, “To doubt that word and to disobey God’s will is an evil thing. To part company with the word and will of God is to walk away from God into the dark. This is what evil is, according to the Word of God.”3 According to his perspective of what the Bible says, evil begun in Genesis 3:1, when the serpent inquired from Eve, “Yea, hath God said?” He would be right if evil were limited to an earthly realm, and if evil were synonymous to sin. The context chosen by Fitch speaks more of when sin entered the history of humanity, but it does very little in finding an explanation for evil or its origin. Evil definitely pre-existed men as did sin.
As previously quoted, God had already established prohibitions involving the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and sin had already affected Satan. Maybe frustrated by the complexity of the argument, Fitch finds an easy way out by determining that that tree could have simply been a regular tree lacking of any supernatural essence, merely representing the Law of God. Then again, all this argumentation gets too near mere speculation without bringing a clear explanation for evil, and when and where it began. Though this is not the occasion for such debate, based on Fitch’s arbitrary view of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, what to do with God’s determination that man should not stay in the Garden of Eden, and the fact that God protected the place with Cherubims, and the Tree of Life with a flaming sword to avoid man’s access to such tree, so that now that man knew good and evil he would not, as expressed in Genesis 3:22, also “live for ever?” Was the Tree of Life also symbolic?
Evil vs. Sin
Is all evil sin?
Evil, as best as it could be done in a limited realm, was already defined above. Then, as a matter of fairness, sin, according to the lengthy but satisfactory definition from the Webster Dictionary is:
“The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law.”
And in summary, the ISBN brings an impressively detailed outline defining “sin as disobedience” or “the transgression of the Law of God;” and it goes further to explain that the whole of the Bible is the Law of God. It affirms that sin “Affects de Inner Life” by predisposing the individual to commit evil even before an act would take place; it also affirms that sin “Involves All Men,” considering the fact of sin’s heredity.
Having the distinction made, this is where the journey goes through a very subtle field. If all evil where sin, statement could be made that all who perpetrates evil is a sinner. Are plagues which affect and cause destruction over water and earth, vegetation and animals, boys and girls, men and women, elderly and all evil? Yes! It may not be for the one who watches while a foe’s house burns, but to most common, simplistic mind it is not a challenge to identify evil. Exactly! Common, simplistic is not an inaccurate definition of the spectator’s minds, present and of old, who watch (and watched) “evils” affect their neighbors and sometimes themselves. But Believers are held in a different position of the ones who have no sight and ears for the reality of the justice of God.
How would this command from Deuteronomy 29:23 sound, if given by the president of the United States during a situation of war somewhere in the Globe: “And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath?” That would definitely sound evil and would also be sinful, especially when coming from the mouth of a president, no matter from what country on earth. An extra dose of care, however, must be the premise of studious minds in what regards to the matter of “evil” as it is found in the Bible. For what one reads is not always what he gets.
Though the Hebrew word “רע” (rah) the word chosen for the proverb used at the beginning of this research paper (Proverbs 16:4b) may translate “evil,” it also appears in many situations as “affliction” or “destruction.” On the other hand, the Septuagint uses the Greek word “κακῇ,” (kakos) which translates primarily “wicked” or “wrong.” Therefore, context and a good lexicon are great company in such a time as this. Still, the limited perspective of the human mind will only admit the character of comparison, and apply judgment based on human standards, seldom taking into consideration God’s vantage point.
Almost every reasonable person considers death an evil thing to happen to anyone. Pain, particularly physical, can be considered an evil thing. Death and pain are not good things! Pause here. Aren’t they, really? What if the death of some individuals happened (or was caused) right before they boarded on airplanes which, by the action of those individuals, would become weapons of calamitous destruction? What if Hitler would have been run over by a truck and would have become tetraplegic in an early age? In what regards to pain, what if a child would never burn those soft little fingers when touching on hot surfaces? Would not the child possibly perish in view of the need to judge between running into fire to save a stuffed animal or staying out of it? In another scenario, it is also through pain that healing can be offered. A cancer surgery may be painful, but when successful, gives an individual the chance to enjoy longer life.
And it would not be redundant to say that it was through the shame, pain and death of the Son of God that the door was opened so that “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” as written in John 1:12; and because it was pleasing to God to bruise the Son, now many are and will be regenerated, justified, sanctified and ultimately glorified to be like Christ in a place where death, suffering and evil will be no more.
Sin vs. Man & Choices
Would the suppression of man’s free-will have kept sin out of the picture and avoided evil to come to this earth? It could have. In any case, all evidences show that freedom of choice was what God has meant to offer through His plan and purpose for humanity and its development; and it has less to do with evil than it has with purpose.
A world without evil would in nothing have challenged free-will. The Bible offers little about how life was before sin; but one thing is sure: the absence of sin would pay for the absence of freedom of choice. It is necessary to make it clear that corruptibility and the impossibility to choose “good” came from sin. Sin has limited free will to the extent that humanity, after the Fall, will only choose evil and walk purposeless until God’s interference with a greater call.
Rambling on evil again, a matter of very little importance should also be related to who has originated evil or if God is its author or if God should have prevented it of existing. If evil even is a problem, the solution for it is not on the fact that it exists, but on whose perspective will be taken into consideration when analyzing its outcome. Yes, evil is real and effective, but in what way is the Name of God glorified through it? Or in what way is the Name of God glorified if it does not exist?
The Purpose
The answer is, yes. God has created all things, and by His word they came to existence with the sole purpose to bring glory to his Name. Therefore, the real question should be much more related to what brings glory to God other than why history has turned out the way it is today.
Asaph, when succumbed by his indignation for the fact that the wicked ones were prospering, questioned God about the purpose of his own self-denial and dedication to God and His worship, while others were “being blessed” without remembering to give glory to God. In Psalm 73:22, after he was made aware of what sort of terrors God would use to destroy those who did not draw near to Him. Asaph later declared, “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.”
Job, through the torment, pain and agony that he was facing when put to test, could only remember of himself and pity on his own misery and righteousness, justifying even the fact that he should indeed cry and complain. It was not until God come down to ask him about greatness that Job realized how small and feeble he was in face of the God who has created all things and who keeps all things together. Nothing more than “Where wast thou when I…” (Job 38:4) was necessary for Job's conviction.
No explanation why “bad things happen to good people” would be necessary if all men could grasp the fact that God does not owe anyone an explanation for anything. By the depth of the words that God permitted him to write, the prophet Habakkuk understood the concept of God’s autonomy. In Habakkuk 3:17-18, he wrote, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
And the last words left for all humanity to read and for the Redeemed to understand, those words are found in Revelation 4:11, which read “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Conclusion
Based on Scripture that in James 1:13 reads, “God cannot be tempted with evil,” the conclusion is that whenever God does it, even when it seems evil to the eyes and understanding of men, it is the manifestation of his righteous justice, then it is good. On the other hand, when men or the Adversary do it, then it is plain and wicked evil that goes against the will of a Holy and Righteous God, who would never jeopardize neither go against his nature of good. God only wills evil when it is good!
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28 (KJV)
"Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"
Romans 9:20 (KJV)
Bibliography
All Scripture verses are quoted from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Public Domain;
Dictionary citations are from e-Sword’s copy of:
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary & International Standard Bible Encyclopedia;
Hebrew and Greek references from e-Sword’s copy of:
Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
1 Leibnitz, Gottfried W. The Theodicy – The Philosophical Works of Leibnitz, Translated by George M. Duncan. Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1890, Public Domain.
2 & 3 Fitch, William. God and Evil. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1967.
Griffin, David. God, Power, and Evil – A Process Theodicy. The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1976.
Frame, John M. Apologetics To The Glory Of God. P & R Publishing, Phillipsburg, NJ,1994.
Primary Sources: (Not informed for privacy purposes).
The Author of All Things
The affirmation that God permits evil things to happen, and that He does not will for them to happen seems to be better accepted among some believers who were surveyed about God’s will. Nevertheless, in Revelation 4:11b Scripture says, “for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created;” and in Colossians 1:16, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
The affirmation that everything has flowed from God opens room for debate about the appearance of evil, consequently implicating the will of God to the presence of evil on a time previous or contemporary to the rebellion of Satan and the Fall of Adam. If evil is real and everything there is has originated from God, God gave origin to evil. On the other hand, if God has not given origin to evil and evil exists, not all that exist have come from God; thus the creation account presented in Scripture may be open to questioning. Affirmation can also be made that evil was not part of God’s initial plan in creation. But the biblical texts cited above state that God is in control, therefore He rules over all things. If evil appeared, and if it were not part of God’s plan in the beginning, than it happened outside of His control; therefore God is not in control and does not rule over all things; thus His omnipotence may be questionable or deniable; otherwise, he may have meant evil to exist and rules over it.
And lastly, according to the text found in Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” God had foreknowledge of the existence of evil and the consequences therein for men. Even before the Fall of men, Satan had fallen from Heaven due his wickedness, the evil within him, and his rebellion against God manifested by his idolatry and the desire to be like God. To affirm that God had not willed that evil to sprout is to affirm that God was possibly surprised by Satan’s fall, and consequently, also by Adam’s fall, thus opening room for a case against God’s omniscience.
Greater Good
Question number two was: “what would be preferable, a world without evil or a world filled with it?” The initial consensus on the preference for a world without evil was doomed to a short life right after the introduction of the third question, which was, “what would be preferable, a world without evil and without a redeemer or a world with evil, but with a redeemer?” Taking into consideration the latter scenario proposed, the preference then shifted to a world with evil, but with a redeemer. The consensus noted seemed to pertain not only to lay people, but also to well-read ministers and students who immediately changed their position in the presence of the denial of the necessity of a Redeemer. Most agreed that this present world, to which evil has been introduced, is better than a world where the Son of God would not have come.
Although, statement was also made that men’s condition before committing evil was already of sharing from God’s constant presence and pleasure, and of being eternal. It is found in the Bible the account of God’s presence with men to walk and talk daily, as Genesis 2:8 reads, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” This opens precedent for the possibility of a situation of completeness and worship before the Fall as it is now for the Redeemed, after the coming of the Messiah. But this statement may also give reason for some to think that Christ’s coming was conditional to sin alone and not to God’s initial plan. Then again, this would put God in a situation of response to the circumstance of sin only, as if the coming of the Redeemer would have been wrought as a consequence of sin alone, and not as the initial plan under God’s foreknowledge and control, under His awareness and ruling even before the foundation of the World.
Therefore, no affirmation can be made of which world would have been better, once there is only one person who could describe a world with the absence of evil: God. And from what can be observed, His pleasure and choice was to carry out the plan which included the coming of the Redeemer; thus a plan that included the Fall.
In The Theodicy, responding to questionings related to God’s ability to choose, Leibnitz justifies, “I have shown that the ancients called Adam’s fall felix culpa, a happy sin, because it had been retrieved with immense advantage by the incarnation of the Son of God, who has given to the universe something nobler than anything that ever would have been among creatures except for this.” Leibnitz argument referred to this present world alone as being the “best of all worlds.”1
According to Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand,” God chose to make use of what corrupted and limited human minds consider evil to accomplish greater good, which is effective to all who were set to believe. Jesus conquered evil through His death and resurrection; and yes, one might expressed that this is the best world there is, yet not in the material realm. Through Christ, and what He accomplished in His first coming, the Kingdom has come, and it is present/future, and it blends together the sufferings of this age and, for the believer, the fulfillment which is achieved through spiritual growth. In this sense, the outcome of evil has been overthrown; but the best is yet to come.
Accounts of evil which had good outcome can be found in many places in Scripture. A great example is the life of Joseph as it is presented in the Old Testament. Joseph faced twelve years of suffering even though he was favored by God. Though some may appeal against the evil that affected him as being the will of God, there is not much that can be used to justify the events involving Joseph as not having been coordinated by God. As for comfort to Joseph, God had already shown him, in dreams, that his victory was sure, and he trusted the Lord. In Genesis 50, over seventeen years after Joseph had confronted and forgiven his brothers, who betrayed him and sold him as a slave and lied about his death to his father, he was exposed to a remorseful display by them, to what he wisely expressed in verse 20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people.” Indeed, many were saved, and the line of the Messiah was preserved by an act that seemed evil from the perspective of Joseph’s brothers, but fully known by God.
In view of the possibilities related to evil, and different than the human perception of time, God sees the greater picture in a timeless setting and knows the outcome of facts from the present, to which, sometimes, there is not a shadow of goodness at the sight of limited eyes and minds pertaining to men. Presuming on God’s perspective of evil, and when it is assumedly perpetrated by Him, what seems evil to the human eye, in reality is good, for it always gives chance to the manifestation of God’s justice. Therefore, the question should be “Is evil really evil?” or “What is evil?” anyway.
When Evil Struck
What is evil? The 1828 Webster Dictionary defines evil firstly as:
1- “Having bad qualities of a natural kind; mischievous; having qualities which tend to injury, or to produce mischief;” then it goes on to defining evil also as,
2- “Having bad qualities of a moral kind; wicked; corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking; an evil generation;” and it continues,
3- “Unfortunate; unhappy; producing sorrow, distress, injury or calamity; as evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days.”
Based on the definitions presented above, it can be concluded that there are at least two distinct kinds of evil: Natural evil or “Physical evil,” as defined in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, and Moral evil. Both Webster and ISBE bring very detailed expositions on the Natural and Moral evils; and it needs to be noted that the ISBE makes a clear defense of God by stating “Neither is God the author of moral evil,” and by using the text of James 1:13 as the base for such defense. Although, Dr. John Mahony, in his handout, “The Problem of Evil: Theodicy,” brings more succinct explanations for Natural and Moral evils, which read:
a- Natural Evil as “not the intended result of a person’s deliberate choices,” but as “caused by what we typically categorize as natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, storms, & diseases;” and
b- Moral Evil as “synonymous with sin,” and being so “any act that fails to conform to the moral law of God. Thus, it is anything that a person or a group of persons freely choose to do that is morally wrong or unjust.”
Several points of view are presented in the attempt to enlighten the problem of evil, but at the end of the day there is not an absolute, persuasive explanation that can be given about evil. A common trait among many who decide to discuss the subject is to classify evil as sin alone. But further comment will be made about sin and evil and about “perspective” as the factor of confusion.
In his book, God & Evil, the author William Fitch makes an attempt to explain evil by comparing it to what is good. He says, “True goodness consists in being in the center of the will of God. True evil consists in separation from the will of God and in refusal to return. The will of God is expressed in his word.”2 By using the word “true” for good or evil, Fitch weakens his argument more than he makes it strong. In view of “true goodness” or “true evil” one may need to decipher, if they existed, what would “false goodness” or “false evil” be. Anyway... he continues with his argument, “To doubt that word and to disobey God’s will is an evil thing. To part company with the word and will of God is to walk away from God into the dark. This is what evil is, according to the Word of God.”3 According to his perspective of what the Bible says, evil begun in Genesis 3:1, when the serpent inquired from Eve, “Yea, hath God said?” He would be right if evil were limited to an earthly realm, and if evil were synonymous to sin. The context chosen by Fitch speaks more of when sin entered the history of humanity, but it does very little in finding an explanation for evil or its origin. Evil definitely pre-existed men as did sin.
As previously quoted, God had already established prohibitions involving the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and sin had already affected Satan. Maybe frustrated by the complexity of the argument, Fitch finds an easy way out by determining that that tree could have simply been a regular tree lacking of any supernatural essence, merely representing the Law of God. Then again, all this argumentation gets too near mere speculation without bringing a clear explanation for evil, and when and where it began. Though this is not the occasion for such debate, based on Fitch’s arbitrary view of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, what to do with God’s determination that man should not stay in the Garden of Eden, and the fact that God protected the place with Cherubims, and the Tree of Life with a flaming sword to avoid man’s access to such tree, so that now that man knew good and evil he would not, as expressed in Genesis 3:22, also “live for ever?” Was the Tree of Life also symbolic?
Evil vs. Sin
Is all evil sin?
Evil, as best as it could be done in a limited realm, was already defined above. Then, as a matter of fairness, sin, according to the lengthy but satisfactory definition from the Webster Dictionary is:
“The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law.”
And in summary, the ISBN brings an impressively detailed outline defining “sin as disobedience” or “the transgression of the Law of God;” and it goes further to explain that the whole of the Bible is the Law of God. It affirms that sin “Affects de Inner Life” by predisposing the individual to commit evil even before an act would take place; it also affirms that sin “Involves All Men,” considering the fact of sin’s heredity.
Having the distinction made, this is where the journey goes through a very subtle field. If all evil where sin, statement could be made that all who perpetrates evil is a sinner. Are plagues which affect and cause destruction over water and earth, vegetation and animals, boys and girls, men and women, elderly and all evil? Yes! It may not be for the one who watches while a foe’s house burns, but to most common, simplistic mind it is not a challenge to identify evil. Exactly! Common, simplistic is not an inaccurate definition of the spectator’s minds, present and of old, who watch (and watched) “evils” affect their neighbors and sometimes themselves. But Believers are held in a different position of the ones who have no sight and ears for the reality of the justice of God.
How would this command from Deuteronomy 29:23 sound, if given by the president of the United States during a situation of war somewhere in the Globe: “And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath?” That would definitely sound evil and would also be sinful, especially when coming from the mouth of a president, no matter from what country on earth. An extra dose of care, however, must be the premise of studious minds in what regards to the matter of “evil” as it is found in the Bible. For what one reads is not always what he gets.
Though the Hebrew word “רע” (rah) the word chosen for the proverb used at the beginning of this research paper (Proverbs 16:4b) may translate “evil,” it also appears in many situations as “affliction” or “destruction.” On the other hand, the Septuagint uses the Greek word “κακῇ,” (kakos) which translates primarily “wicked” or “wrong.” Therefore, context and a good lexicon are great company in such a time as this. Still, the limited perspective of the human mind will only admit the character of comparison, and apply judgment based on human standards, seldom taking into consideration God’s vantage point.
Almost every reasonable person considers death an evil thing to happen to anyone. Pain, particularly physical, can be considered an evil thing. Death and pain are not good things! Pause here. Aren’t they, really? What if the death of some individuals happened (or was caused) right before they boarded on airplanes which, by the action of those individuals, would become weapons of calamitous destruction? What if Hitler would have been run over by a truck and would have become tetraplegic in an early age? In what regards to pain, what if a child would never burn those soft little fingers when touching on hot surfaces? Would not the child possibly perish in view of the need to judge between running into fire to save a stuffed animal or staying out of it? In another scenario, it is also through pain that healing can be offered. A cancer surgery may be painful, but when successful, gives an individual the chance to enjoy longer life.
And it would not be redundant to say that it was through the shame, pain and death of the Son of God that the door was opened so that “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” as written in John 1:12; and because it was pleasing to God to bruise the Son, now many are and will be regenerated, justified, sanctified and ultimately glorified to be like Christ in a place where death, suffering and evil will be no more.
Sin vs. Man & Choices
Would the suppression of man’s free-will have kept sin out of the picture and avoided evil to come to this earth? It could have. In any case, all evidences show that freedom of choice was what God has meant to offer through His plan and purpose for humanity and its development; and it has less to do with evil than it has with purpose.
A world without evil would in nothing have challenged free-will. The Bible offers little about how life was before sin; but one thing is sure: the absence of sin would pay for the absence of freedom of choice. It is necessary to make it clear that corruptibility and the impossibility to choose “good” came from sin. Sin has limited free will to the extent that humanity, after the Fall, will only choose evil and walk purposeless until God’s interference with a greater call.
Rambling on evil again, a matter of very little importance should also be related to who has originated evil or if God is its author or if God should have prevented it of existing. If evil even is a problem, the solution for it is not on the fact that it exists, but on whose perspective will be taken into consideration when analyzing its outcome. Yes, evil is real and effective, but in what way is the Name of God glorified through it? Or in what way is the Name of God glorified if it does not exist?
The Purpose
The answer is, yes. God has created all things, and by His word they came to existence with the sole purpose to bring glory to his Name. Therefore, the real question should be much more related to what brings glory to God other than why history has turned out the way it is today.
Asaph, when succumbed by his indignation for the fact that the wicked ones were prospering, questioned God about the purpose of his own self-denial and dedication to God and His worship, while others were “being blessed” without remembering to give glory to God. In Psalm 73:22, after he was made aware of what sort of terrors God would use to destroy those who did not draw near to Him. Asaph later declared, “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.”
Job, through the torment, pain and agony that he was facing when put to test, could only remember of himself and pity on his own misery and righteousness, justifying even the fact that he should indeed cry and complain. It was not until God come down to ask him about greatness that Job realized how small and feeble he was in face of the God who has created all things and who keeps all things together. Nothing more than “Where wast thou when I…” (Job 38:4) was necessary for Job's conviction.
No explanation why “bad things happen to good people” would be necessary if all men could grasp the fact that God does not owe anyone an explanation for anything. By the depth of the words that God permitted him to write, the prophet Habakkuk understood the concept of God’s autonomy. In Habakkuk 3:17-18, he wrote, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
And the last words left for all humanity to read and for the Redeemed to understand, those words are found in Revelation 4:11, which read “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Conclusion
Based on Scripture that in James 1:13 reads, “God cannot be tempted with evil,” the conclusion is that whenever God does it, even when it seems evil to the eyes and understanding of men, it is the manifestation of his righteous justice, then it is good. On the other hand, when men or the Adversary do it, then it is plain and wicked evil that goes against the will of a Holy and Righteous God, who would never jeopardize neither go against his nature of good. God only wills evil when it is good!
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28 (KJV)
"Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"
Romans 9:20 (KJV)
Bibliography
All Scripture verses are quoted from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Public Domain;
Dictionary citations are from e-Sword’s copy of:
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary & International Standard Bible Encyclopedia;
Hebrew and Greek references from e-Sword’s copy of:
Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries
1 Leibnitz, Gottfried W. The Theodicy – The Philosophical Works of Leibnitz, Translated by George M. Duncan. Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1890, Public Domain.
2 & 3 Fitch, William. God and Evil. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1967.
Griffin, David. God, Power, and Evil – A Process Theodicy. The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1976.
Frame, John M. Apologetics To The Glory Of God. P & R Publishing, Phillipsburg, NJ,1994.
Primary Sources: (Not informed for privacy purposes).
posted by ΙΧΘΥΣ at 11:40 AM
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