Question 18 – Why does God allow suffering and evil?

On the whole, this question belongs among the most important and most vital questions that I deal with in this book. The existence of evil occupies a key position among the reasons not to believe in the existence of a good God. Because of this question, I will dedicate much more space to it than to the other questions. Atheists and critics as well as many others who have been touched by evil in a tangible way are disposed to deal with this problem in many ways. Personally, I am very distressed when I hear about the many atrocities and disasters that take place in the world. It goes against the grain, particularly when evil affects me or those closest to me. Therefore, I find myself asking, "God how could you allow this?" Yet in spite of this, I truly believe that God is good.

Before I begin to answer this very difficult question, I want to assure you that I am aware of the immense seriousness of it. Though I have already experienced some difficulties, injustice and evil, I can in no way compare my experiences to those who have experienced very evil and serious situations, illnesses and adversities. Who knows, if I were to meet with a very evil thing, maybe I would succumb to unbelief. Therefore, I wish to approach this answer with respect and regard for those who have suffered or who are suffering in an abnormal way. Come with me, then and let us together try to consider this problem of evil and suffering from a wider perspective.

God and evil

That evil and injustice exist is a completely clear, sad and undeniable fact. There are so many people that are tyrannized, abused, tortured, murdered, raped, robbed, swindled and cheated that there has to be many innocent people that suffer and experience great pain. As a Christian, I believe that an all-powerful, perfect, holy and caring God exists above all of this and so the question that is before me is, "Why doesn't God intervene?"

Any critic could use the following accusation:

"If a person were the witness to an attempted murder, rape, theft or other crime and at the same time could stop it without any problem or risk to himself but did not act, then he would have committed a great ethical transgression against love, justice and solidarity with others, if not also against the law of that country. Therefore, if God is all-powerful and sees all these atrocities before they happen but does not do anything to prevent them, then it simply can not be the actions of a loving and good God. Either such a God does not exist or he does not have the power to intervene in some way."

Those are strong words; it is a serious and uncompromising accusation. Is it possible to respond to it at all? Let us try to look at this problem from various points of view.

I would like to notify you ahead of time that probably no simple answer of one sentence exists. Rather, it is necessary to consider more and various facts that are different and almost unconnected to each other. However, I believe that, as a whole, all the considered viewpoints will very markedly ease the severity of this objection against/to God. I have divided the answer into ten thematic points.

1) If God is all-powerful, why does he not intervene? This is about free will…

Why not intervene against…? We can fill in any kind of evil that comes to mind here from natural disasters, wars, assassinations, swindles thefts, to hate speech and abuse against the innocent. Why all of this suffering? He is all-powerful after all.

To be frank, I can not give a completely clear answer. I am not God. I do not know then, why He decides this or that. However, I believe that by mere logical consideration it is possible to conceive a probable answer. Jíří Lem has expressed it well:

"Let us look at the example of a serial murderer who brutally murders nine people without any apparent reason and is planning to murder another. Does God know what he is planning? Can He stop the murder from taking place? He is God, we say, therefore He knows and He can stop it. Whatever He does though, He can not avoid one thing. He must enter into the free decision of this deranged individual and overrule him. The murderer has, of course, the same free will that we all have and use numerous times a day. Let us say that we would not be against God doing this at all. A God who stops a murderous hand and pre-empts such unjust shedding of blood would be liked by almost all. Good. What about all other cruelties? Could God not intervene in the same way and pre-empt rape? What about the exploitation of children or torture? Even to these situations most would certainly agree to God's intervention even though it carried with it a necessary breech of the free will of the perpetrator. Actually, why should it stop here? What would the sense be to stop the leader of Al Kaida but not intervene in the sale of guns to this organisation through the mediation of the deputy minister who does nothing other than 'only deceive' or 'lie'? It occurs to me now… have you ever stolen something small? Have you ever told just a little lie or deceived anyone? I know the answer. If God is going to remove moral evil, He must intervene in the free will of us all because as each one of us knows deep down (or those who live with us will confirm), each of us has caught the smell of evil in our own lives." [16]

In other words, if God had to stop and eliminate evil, He would have to stop and eliminate you, dear reader! Evil is evil. Certainly some evil is worse and some less serious. God, however, opposes murder, a 'little' lie or 'simple' hate towards another in the same way. If, however, God were to fight against all evil, He would always have to step into the free will of someone when he/she only started to think about it. This, of course, would be a contradiction to what has already been said. God created mankind so that we would live with Him in a personal relationship that was filled with love. He gave us authority over all created things and made us, in a sense, His partners and co-workers. If however, He intervened in the actions of each person immediately and every time, we would only be puppets and we would not be able to exist as autonomous beings.

Maybe we can look for an answer about the existence of evil in a parable that Jesus told. Here we can catch a glimpse of God's suffering at the existence of evil.

"He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seen in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' He said to them, "An enemy has done this." So the servants said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?" But he said, "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn." (Matthew 13:24-30)

2) Our subconsciousness of the existence of moral values or evil proves the existence of God

This is a presumptuous assertion, is it not? Yet, what exactly is evil? How would you define it? I believe that just as darkness is only an insufficiency of light, so too evil is an insufficiency of good. Therefore if evil exists, it is only logical that good must also exist. In addition, how is it possible that we are aware of what is evil and what is good? Have you ever considered this circumstance?

How is it that we know it is wrong to trip up an old lady with crutches? How is it that we have compassion with the starving on the other side of the world? Why do we often have a thought that what we are doing is not good? Where has that awareness, that standard of good and evil come from? Who has 'encoded' this 'detector' into our hearts? If it was not God, do not say that that something is good or bad because evil can not exist!

It is only caused by chemistry in your brain that reacts to certain impulses or stimulation. No such thing as evil exists. There is no difference between murder and romantic love! It is only chemistry. It does not matter if the one brings joy and the other takes a life. So what? In the end we die and one day the whole galaxy will cease to exist and there will be no memory of anything. Besides, life is nothing, by chance a mistake. Why then should we be troubled by the systematic genocide of millions of Jews in the Second World War? Does this attitude sound crazy and absurd? Do you feel deep within yourself that life is not this way? I agree with you. However, this is exactly what is being said as a result of a materialistic world view that teaches that there is no God and we are only here by chance. It is such atheistic philosophers who rightly indulge unbelief in God resulting in statements such as, 'we are only mud on the planet' or 'a curious accident in stagnant waters' and so on. Why then get upset over mud, a chance event, a fluke of nature, a mistake of the universe?

Once again, I will borrow the words of Jíří Lem:

"However, if we accept that good and evil really exist, logically we must also have some- thing that helps us to distinguish the one from the other. The quality of a goalie in hockey, for instance is judged by the number of shots saved/stopped. All of us would probably agree that a goalie who stops 43 out of 45 shots during a game is better than one who stops only 5 out of the same number of shots on goal. Here we have a perfect and objective measurement. Similarly, there must also be something on the level of moral behaviour. All of us know very well that selfishness is evil and unselfishness is good. We can always agree on condemning an act of cowardice and valuing an altruistic act of courage. Certainly we know that to lie is wrong and to tell the truth is right. In short, we are almost always able to distinguish the value of moral acts clearly and assign them a place on a conceived value system. In order for us to be able to do this, we must judge individual motives or acts by a specific, universal standard that is not dependent on humans but has in some way been built into us." [17]

This suggests the question, where has this moral standard come from? What is its source? We Christians believe that this awareness has been stamped onto our consciences by God himself. These written standards are a reflection of God's very own nature. In my opinion, it is logical then and very possible that if evil exists, of which we are very well aware, by whatever moral standard that is set, then there also exists a great lawgiver. I would like to finish this point with another thought purporting the same idea:

"Is there another possibility? Yes, there is. You can also believe that this non-physical moral law along with everything else represented in the material world evolved by itself in the same way. You can believe that it happened in the moral sphere simply by the influence of natural processes just as erosion and gravitation from gases and rocks. I must confess that I am not fully able to imagine this suggestion. Also, I do not know why I should feel obliged by such a thing not to lie, for instance, especially if this little lie is to my advantage. If you are of the opinion that God does not exist, it would be better to stop talking about the evil in this world. This word does not make much sense in a universe full of rocks and dust." [17]

3) God's answer to the existence of evil

Philip Yancey, a Christian author known world-wide, in his book, Disappointment with God, pronounces the thought that the cross as the most universal picture of Christianity shows that God is not indifferent to our suffering and pain. He died on the cross. It is a unique symbol among all religious systems. These religious systems have gods as well but only one has a God who cared so much for mankind that he became a man and died.

The primary message of Christianity is about the suffering and evil that was laid upon God himself, on his Son. If He was willing to allow the results of evil (I emphasise our evil) to fall upon him so that He could save many from certain destruction, is it then appropriate to accuse Him for the existence of evil? It is the same as blaming an auto-mobile manufacturer for the fact that we crashed our car and continued the accusation even if the manufacturer towed our car away and offered us a completely new one for free.

Maybe we do not get an answer to the "why" by this act of God, however, we receive an answer of a completely different character which would take thousands of words. God is with us in it all and was willing (despite not having to) to intervene in this world. He agreed with the fact that he would have to be executed! Moreover, if this news is true, then this act points to the undeniable fact that He cares for us and loves us. God showed His love in this, that He died for us!

It is written in the Bible:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:16-17)

The existence of evil consequently, can not be an argument against the Christian God because Christianity has rightly and adequately answered this question. God understands our pain and troubles because He experienced them himself!

4) Satan

Many sceptics do not like the argument using Satan because they consider it to be attaching blame on an imaginary enemy. From a Biblical perspective however, Satan and his demons occupy a very important role in the question of evil and suffering in the world. It is sad that even some Christians do not believe in the existence of Satan, demons or even of angels. Of course, it is important that God himself – Jesus Christ 'believed' in them. For example, He said the following about Satan (the devil):

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do the father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)

It is not in vain therefore, that the Bible challenges Christians in the following way:

"Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:11-13)

Even the writer of the above text knew that all the persecution, torture, murder and other violence that the first Christians were exposed to was one of a spiritual nature. In what way do these beings function and influence our world? We do not have exact information. The Bible does not articulate their operations in great detail. From the experience of many Christians throughout history we can conclude that the greater influence people themselves give them, the greater the influence they have and it is the same in the case with God. There are many ways that they can have a greater influence in a person's life.

For simplicity, I will sum them up as follows:

• a person's sin (breaking God's commandments and principles)
• false religion and idolatry (service to and worship of whomever or whatever other than God Himself)
• participation in occultic practices (magic, calling forth spirits, horoscopes, yoga, witchcraft, various initiation rites, many methods of alternative medicine, etc.)
• conscious rebellion against God, rejection of Him, etc.

We will give time to some of these points in other places. Let us be content with the information here for the following purpose, that spiritual beings intervene in our physical world. They try to influence and encourage specific individuals to do whatever contradicts God's will or leads to various forms of destruction. They often act through people who, whether aware or unaware (this is most often the case), allow them. This intervention has as its primary goal to destroy and lead people away from a true knowledge of God and an intimate relationship with Him.

5) The change of evil into good or all evil brings something good

For many, this point will be a little controversial. However, I believe that it is supported by the experience of many different people. By this, I certainly do not want to make light of the seriousness of evil or in any way legitimise it. It is also not possible to apply the principle described below universally. Nevertheless, even this shade of meaning is allowed for in this viewpoint of the existence of evil. That is to say that when we look at the suffering of a person from the viewpoint of opportunity, a large area for our formation, growth and greater activity in the area of good is offered here.

Let us try to see it in several examples. Frankly speaking, every kind of evil that I experience is painful. Who would not experience pain?The fact is that you do not even have to be a Christian to affirm that when looking back on various difficult situations, a person sees them differently. We can see things from a different perspective and in retrospect identify that even some bad events or experiences or situations paradoxically brought us much good. I personally went through several unpleasant periods which if it had been up to me, I would not have wanted to experience. Nevertheless, I am thankful for many of them in the end! In my case, God changed evil into good. Evil did not have the last word, and I am thankful to God for this. Paradoxically, it is suffering and affliction that often move us further along and help to form our characters. We can learn a lot and be enlightened and possibly gain a new perspective on something. I have already met many people who have confirmed this principle to me. After a time, they were often thankful for the evil and suffering they had experienced. Included in this group is a man who was tortured over a long period, who was imprisoned, whose limbs were broken, but in spite of it all, was supernaturally healed by God and freed. I highly recommend his book, The Heavenly Man, in which he describes his experiences interwoven with miracles and suffering in the land of China. Another person, markedly different from others and whom I have had the privilege of meeting is Allan Buchanek. Allow me to give you a brief introduction to him and his story.

Allan Buchanek

Personally, I do not think I haver ever met another person who has survived more physical pain and suffering than Allan Buchanek from the USA. This man was a victim of a fire in an oil refinery. He had deep burns on 60% of his body, his girlfriend died. The doctors did not give him any hope of survival. Nevertheless to their astonishment, Allan did not die. Many people prayed for him. After a certain amount of time, the doctors decided to go ahead with a series of operations that would put him right. During the seventh operation, his heart stopped and he was clinically dead. The surgeon had to perform open cardiac massage (OCM). After seven minutes, he came back to life. There was no damage to his brain or heart. During the eighth operation, his heart failed again and his body was no longer able to receive anaesthetic. The surgeon massaged his heart once again. However, this time he was clinically dead much longer than the official time that is medically possible for a person to survive without repercussions (after five minutes without oxygen, the brain is irreversibly affected). During those difficult minutes as the Christian surgeon fought to save his life, he prayed aloud for God to save Allan's life. After ten minutes, the other doctors in the operating room emphatically rebuked him to let Allan 'leave' for he was already dead. Even if his heart started again, his brain would have certainly been damaged. After a long fifteen minutes which seemed like an eternity, Allan began to breathe. There were no repercussions or damage to his organs! The doctors were amazed. The following operation had to be done without anaesthetic. The whole hospital heard his shouts of pain. Twice he fell unconscious from the pain. However, he had to undergo the operation because there were serious complications (his fingers and mouth had grown together as well as his arms to the sides of his body because they were still without skin). After this horrific period, Allan had to convalesce. He went through a very difficult season. He blasphemed and cursed God. He mocked the idea that a loving God existed. He once said the following to the friend who cared for him when his burnt flesh stank and his wounds festered and who consistently told him about a loving God:

"I do not owe God anything! Look at what this loving God has done for me! He has destroyed my life's dream...and you want me to go to church and listen to how some- one explains Him to me? If your God is a God of love, then I certainly do not know such a God."

What happened to Allan? In the end God touched him inwardly, allowed him to know Him and Allan gave God his life. He experienced an inner conversion, experienced the freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ. From that time he has been travelling the world and telling his story about the God of love despite the suffering that he has gone through. Once, when I had the opportunity to ask several questions in private, I did not leave out asking him about how he looks on all the evil that he had met with. His answer surprised me. Although he does not like to recall that period, he is in his way thankful for it. If it had not happened, he would not have come to know God and he would not have experienced many of the other good things that followed! Allan is married now and has four children. His love towards people and his positive outlook are contagious.

You can also type the name 'Nick Vujicic in your computer search engine and listen to several of his lectures. This is a man who was born without hands or feet. You may be shocked at his positive approach to life, including his handicap. We could continue on in this vein. 

We could mention thousands of stories and personal testimonies one after the other that would confirm that a certain evil was changed into good or ultimately brought good. Many of them even say that some very painful evil was in fact the best thing that could have happened – that evil could acquire such an unbelievable appearance! However unfeeling this may sound, the loss of a loved-one can weld together and heal breached relationships among relatives. A home that was damaged by flood waters can give the opportunity for solidarity and show love to our friends. A close friend's injury can help us to put our priorities in order and be thankful for him/her. Where injustice takes place, we have the opportunity to bring justice, love, help and hope. Where pain and evil arise, there we have the opportunity to show compassion and do good.

By these statements, I am not proclaiming that evil is good and that we should seek it. I wanted to point out, however, that in these practical examples that God knows how to work in the evil and use it for good things, ultimately in the providence of His purposes.

6) The by-product – the function STOP

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." (C.S.Lewis) [19]

The substance of this quote is the sad fact that the only thing that stops us on our way to hell is something that truly shakes our comfortable, sometimes lazy and hard-headed lives. If God has created us for himself and his glory, then as fallen humanity we have a problem. We do not know God, we refuse Him and do not obey Him. We want to go our own way. We do not want anyone telling us what to do in 'our' lives. What if that way is the way to hell, though? We were created for God, but now we are separated from Him. What will happen to us after we die? God will expel us from His presence. When however, many know what they have lost, what they could have done and who God truly is, it will be too late. The feelings of these people may be expressed in the description Jesus gave when he spoke about their portion, '...In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 13:42). Try to think it through. What would you do if you were in God's place (respecting the earlier mentioned free will) if you knew that everyone was going away from you and plummeting to destruction? God respects our decision and even one that is painful. It might be for this reason He allows a full burden of evil to come upon us in order to make us aware that we are not all-powerful and independent as we often think we are! It is only then, when we are aware that we are lost, helpless that we understand who does have this power. It is only after this that we then turn to Him and look for Him. If the result of the short-term evil saves our souls from a life without God or we return to the right path, then the price is most acceptable. In other words, if we truly live separated from God and in active rebellion against Him (either aware or unaware of it), then reconciliation with God is the absolutely most important goal. If a very unpleasant experience which God allows (or even initiates) must bring us to this reconciliation, then, although it may be a painful evil from a human viewpoint, these evils are essential in order that absolute good is achieved.

7) We reap what we sow

A great part of the evil we experience and for which we accuse God can be assigned to our behaviour and actions. This reality was, among others, illustrated in the previous question in one single sad theme – world hunger. We could find tens of other similar themes (whether relating to our attitude to nature, the basic resources of our planet, pollution, politics, the exploitation of others, fluid sexuality and loose morals or our health) and could continue the list.

What about the evil and affliction that a person is demonstrably not responsible for?

Although we could, even here, find many cases that mankind himself is in the end the culprit(for example various natural disasters that are as a result of the destruction of our planet's ecosystem), it can not be denied that many misfortunes and pain can be objectively blamed on 'someone' (for example, accidents because of an unfortunate coincidence, the attack of a wild animal etc.). There are answers in other points of these questions, however, allow me still another viewpoint of this matter.

Just as pain is a signal to our bodies that something is wrong with our life (for example we are not eating the correct food, we are not getting enough sleep, we are under much stress etc.), we can consider these inevitable circumstances that bring pain and cause evil in the same way. They carry clear information – something is wrong with our planet, with our country, with our attitudes toward each other…

8) Allows or permits but does not leave…

The experience of many people who have undergone a radical change and met God have often followed a similar script – they were struck hard by some kind of evil. However, afterwards when they said yes to God, they were no longer alone in their problem. God had entered into this evil and helped them to solve it. Of course, He never promises that evil will steer clear of his children (so-called Christians). The experience of innumerable Christians (and my own experience) confirms this fact. God, however, gives us the strength and comfort to withstand it all. The apostle Paul, who is one of the main authors of the New Testament and who was in a close relationship with God, went through many trials. Once, he described them in one of his letters as follows:

"Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure." (2 Corinthians 11: 25-27)

He was a prisoner, persecuted in various ways and tortured, yet he himself described an unnatural peace that allowed him to praise God and even be joyful in situations that from a human perspective were hopeless. He expressed this reality in the following way:

"...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

In my opinion, each one of us has the possibility to look for God, even in the case when we do not know anything about Him or no one has told us anything about Him. We, ourselves come up short trying to solve problems in the world. If, however, we humbly accept God as our Father and Creator, God will give us the strength to face these problems. It is not easy and it is often painful, but there is Someone here who is greater and more powerful than any evil. In other words, God has everything under control, even evil. Not one raindrop falls on this earth without His knowledge. Therefore, even evil is often restricted and is held within set boundaries. If this fact were not true, we would have been destroyed and extinct long ago.

When all is said and done, God has promised the following to those who honour and follow Him:

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1. Corinthians 10:13)

Although it is true that suffering paralyses and steals the faith of many, there exists one completely opposite phenomenon which confirms the above Biblical statement. Philip Yancey, who conducted a wide survey on the theme of suffering, wrote that when he visited people who were suffering/had suffered great pain he was surprised by the effect that the pain had – it seemed that suffering strengthened the faith of the person rather than having the opposite affect. [18]

9) Atheism does not give any explanation nor does it give hope

Of course, it is understandable why people have a problem with the existence of a loving and powerful God in a world filled with evil. However, when we look at the ramifications, atheism does not help us much (as it is with many other philosophies and religions). It is the very opposite. That is to say, if we are only the result of an uncountable number of accidents of a biological and chemical nature, then why be upset by evil? As we have already noted in point #2 of this question, if we do not believe in God and accept the atheistic-evolutionary view of the world, then we need not be concerned about the question of evil because it does not make sense. Therefore, I agree with John Blanchard in his publication, Where is God When Bad Things Happen?

"Talk of a sovereign, loving God may not provide instant or totally satisfying answers to such people, but atheism is incapable of either explanation or consolation. Can thinking, feeling, hurting, grieving, questioning people live with this? Is it sufficient to tell the sufferers that tragedies and catastrophes are sick jokes and that truth, values and hope are figments of human imagination? Must we condemn hurting humanity to the total darkness that remains when God is discarded?" [20]

10) The temporary state of things

As a final point, I want to stress the fact that all evil going on under the sun is temporary! In view of eternity the whole course of human history from the viewpoint of time is negligible. It is necessary to recognise that the present state of the world is not God's design or objective! We live in a broken, corrupted world that is heading for extinction and a new recreation. This present state is not going to exist forever! Despite this fact, God is not standing to one side. Though it may seem insufficient, He often intervenes and saves individuals and even nations. If He had not acted in such a way, we would have disappeared long ago. We could, perhaps, therefore compare human suffering to the birth pains a mother has when she gives birth. Because of the joy of having her child, she forgets the pain and then there is only rejoicing...

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new. Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Revelation 21:3-5)

The Existence and Solution of Evil

What is there to say in conclusion? I believe that God appointed everything in such a way that people would be able to live in harmony with each other and the environment. However, mankind chose of his own free will to choose to live his own way – a life, a way without God. Of course, this way of life does not lead to prosperity, happiness and joy and it never will. Although this may sound harsh, we ourselves are responsible for all the evil and suffering in the final analysis! Yes, some more and others less responsible, however, we must all accept the responsibility in varying degrees (children, for example). Just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, so also through one man, Jesus Christ, we can be freed from the eternal results of this rebellion against God.

It is true that God does not answer all our "why" questions concerning evil purposefully. In a way He owes us nothing! It is we who have rebelled and are rebelling. In spite of this, He gives us information about how everything began and mainly where all of history is heading. The Bible goes deeper to the substance of that which we need to know.

Dear reader, evil and suffering will pass away. God has promised this. One day the whole of human history will end and God will not allow it to continue on. If time still exists, it is because He is patient with us and does not want you, along with this evil to be brushed away. For if you are not reconciled with God, you can not enter into His presence.

Summation

The existence of evil is generally regarded as one of the strongest arguments against the existence of a good (Christian) God. Though there are many serious arguments connected with evil against God's existence, we have many reasons to believe that a good God exists. That evil as such is something in which He would sadistically take delight is not His original will. Evil will, on the contrary, be defeated and its influence eliminated.