By James Rochford.

Many skeptics believe that the problem of evil is good evidence against the existence of the Christian God. Of course, this criticism carries a certain amount of weight. If an all-loving and all-powerful God exists, it is difficult to understand why he would permit so much evil in the world. How should Christians respond to this difficult issue?

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

Deductive Arguments (The Impossibility of God)

Inductive Arguments (The Improbability of God)

The Beginning of Evil

The Bible teaches that God is not responsible for the origin of Evil, because he created humans in a morally perfect state. However, due to their free volitional decision, human beings revolted against God, sending humanity into moral corruption. Let’s consider a number of objections to this biblical claim.

OBJECTION #1: “How could the moral Fall be true if we know that Pain and Death existed for millennia before the Fall?”

OBJECTION #2: “Doesn’t modern Archaeology and Science disprove that humanity began with two literal people, who were without sin?”

OBJECTION #3: “Isn’t it unfair that the human race would be judged for the decision of these two people?”

OBJECTION #4: “What about Natural Evil? Why does God allow disease, tornadoes, and earthquakes?”

OBJECTION #5: “Why didn’t God create freewill beings that only chose good and not evil?”

OBJECTION #6: “If God created freewill, and freewill led to Evil, then didn’t God create Evil?”

OBJECTION #7: “It would have been better if God hadn’t created freewill.”

The End of Evil

God is not responsible for the beginning of evil, but this isn’t the end of the story. According to the Bible, God is going to permanently fix the problem of evil in the historical future. In fact, the Bible teaches we can’t fathom the extent of what God has prepared for us in eternity (1 Cor. 2:9; 2 Cor. 12:4). God will wipe away every tear (Rev. 21:4), and he will bring every evil to justice (Rom. 12:19; Rev. 21). While the world is currently in a broken and deranged state, Jesus taught that there would be a “regeneration” of this fallen world (Mt. 19:28). One day, in the historical future, God will personally triumph over evil, restoring the scales of justice to balance (Rev. 11:17; 20:11-15; 21:8; 27; 22:3-5). Let’s consider a number of objections to this biblical claim.

OBJECTION #1: “There is no reason to believe God is going to end evil.”

OBJECTION #2: “It is impossible that God could justify the evil on Earth in the afterlife.”

OBJECTION #3: “It is impossible that God could use our suffering for a sufficient purpose.”

OBJECTION #4: “Why is God allowed to permit terrible acts of evil, when this would be immoral for a person to do?”

The Middle of Evil