If there is a God, and God is good, why is there evil in the world? That is the premise of the problem of evil, and it’s overwhelmingly why people move in the direction of atheism. But I’ll challenge that idea by considering life through the lens of different worldviews.
The Problem with the Problem of Evil
If there is a God, and God is good, why is there evil in the world? That is the premise of the problem of evil. But I’ll challenge that idea by considering life through the lens of different worldviews. Listen in, and let me know what you think.
What challenges do you have to my argument? What questions does it bring up? I want to hear them! You can send in your thoughts here.
Doesn’t God allow bad things to happen to bring back people to him?
Thank you for your question! Two keywords in your question need to be addressed.
First, the word “allow” is used by people in an attempt to relieve God of responsibility for bad things. But does that work? Why would someone allow something bad to happen if they could do something about it? Thus, that would make God either unable or unwilling to prevent bad things from happening. Either way, this is the problem that makes people give up on faith in God. Ultimately, God must be responsible for all things that take place or something else is god. But this is only a problem in a material-only, time-only universe (one-dimensional red pyramid world).
Please note also that when we talk about allowing something to happen, we need to know which will is at work. God has two wills—a proper will and an alien will (so do we). God’s proper will is to love and give life to the fullest. God’s alien will is to allow things to go on that are contrary to His proper will in order for us to learn. Parents do the same thing. A parent’s proper will is to love and give life to their children, but sometimes it is necessary for us to correct our children either by disciplining them ourselves or by allowing them to experience the consequences of their own actions.
Second, the word “people” must be more specific. Corrupt human nature in all people is incapable of being corrected. It will never come back to God, no matter what, which is why it must die and return to the dust. Only a soul regenerated by God and honest about dependence (faith, belief, trust) can be in a close, positive, and enduring relationship with God. A regenerate soul does not come back to God, but is generated by God and never leaves. Thus, in God’s creation, the material life in time is where we learn the despicable nature of our own ego and “bad things” (of which we are the source) press us back into honesty about dependence. God makes (not allows) all things to work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Corrupt human nature is incapable of love of God or neighbor. Only a regenerate soul loves God, and that soul recognizes the value of how God manages, orders, and limits the trouble we have in a material world so we stay close to God. We are safe and blessed with Him and by Him.
Consider the example of a cancer surgeon. The surgeon does not allow the knife to cut. Rather, the surgeon himself does the cutting, but cuts to restore life, distinguishing between healthy cells (of God’s creation) and cancer (the work of devil, world, and corrupt human flesh). When the patient awakens from surgery, he is in pain; not pain that the surgeon allowed, but inflicted … but with good cause and good result.