Why would God allow evil
such as the
terrorist attacks on 9-11?
This difficult and understandable question is asked by religious and
non religious alike. It is certainly hard to imagine an almighty
supreme being who is capable of stopping evil, yet decides not to do
so. Generally this is not so much a theoretical
inquiry as a deeply personal concern. We have all
experienced suffering to one degree or another, and some have suffered
a great deal more than others. When people loose loved ones,
whether through terrorism or in any other way, they are experiencing a
void in their lives beyond description. Too often, Christians
have supplied, quick, half hazard, artificial answers which help about
as much as a blasting stereo helps a headache. I hope I can
show
more sensitivity than that, but I must also be honest:
Nothing I
say in this short piece (or a longer piece for that matter)
will
offer a whole lot of comfort. But perhaps there are some
biblical
teachings that will at least offer a little bit of hope and a little
bit of perspective.
We must first of all remember that this is not a unique problem to
Christianity. Any concept you have of God, whether religious
or
philosophical, must wrestle with this same question. If you
believe in some kind of deity, you must also believe that this deity
allows suffering in the world. How do we conclude
this?
Quite simply because suffering does exist. I know I’m being
obvious, but sometimes in life, the obvious observation is
the
best place to start.
Second, suffering in the world is not a contradiction to the
Bible. If the Bible predicted that we would never again see
evil
in the world after the death and resurrection of Jesus, then certainly
this same Bible would have been disproved years ago. Quite
the
contrary, the Bible goes out of it’s way to predict
that
suffering will continue all the way up to the time of
Christ’s
second coming. (Incidentally, nobody knows when that is.)
Three
whole books of the Bible are dedicated to the theme of suffering, Job,
Ecclesiastes and 1 Peter. Peter puts it well:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are
suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter
4:12 NIV #
What then, does the Bible say about the relationship between God and
evil? Well, to start with, evil is not a substance that one
can
put in a test tube. Good and evil are choices and
actions.
Therefore, God did not create good or evil. He created
people. He
created free will. Unfortunately, the ability to do right includes the
ability to do wrong or it is not a true ability. The Bible tells us
that God made men and women in His own image. (Gen
1:27)
This means spiritual image. It does not mean that God has
fingers
and toes. It means we share some of God’s
qualities.
Like God, we are thinking, feeling, beings who create, who know right
from wrong and who are responsible for our own choices.
If God had wanted, he could have constructed mindless robots or puppets
on a string. Instead, he allowed us to be free
agents. If
God had wanted to force us into loving him, he could have whipped
together some kind of love potion. But how many of us would
want
to force another human being to love us?
Wouldn’t we
prefer that they get to know us and love us voluntarily?
Certainly, that is what God prefers.
My sister died in a car accident many years ago. I do not
blame
this horrible tragedy on Henry Ford because I realize that Ford
invented the American automobile for good. I do
however,
blame the drunk driver who ran a red light and killed my
sister.
Likewise, when I see people stealing, committing murder, or
perpetuating racism, I do not blame God. After all, the Bible
issues commands against such evil. (Exodus 20, Gal 3:26-29)
“Where is God,” I always hear, “when
people are being
victimized?” I have a better question.
“Where
are people, when their brothers and sisters are being
victimized?” Seeing people disobey God and seeing what that
has
done to the world, we should conclude that God knew what He was talking
about when He gave us the commandments. When terrorists
murder
men, women and babies, they, not God, are responsible.
Now, this doesn’t mean God sits back passively, uninterested
in
the world. When our lives are over, we will stand accountable
before God for the kind of life we led. He may be a
God who
gives us free will but He is also a God who insists that we
not
abuse our free wills. If He made no such demand, he would not
be
just or a loving God. Isn’t it comforting to know that an
Adolph
Hitler who did so many atrocious things, then tried a fast
get
away by quickly taking a few cyanide capsules, will still receive
justice for his actions? Doesn’t justice also
suggest that
the terrorists of 9-11 are answering to God for what they did, rather
than being rewarded by God with 70 virgins? Yes, rest
assured,
God will deal very drastically and very completely with evil.
But the Day of Judgment is only one of two ways in which God eradicates
sin. The truth is, all of us are guilty of sin (defined in Matt 7:12 as
selfishness.) We may never have murdered, but Jesus says that
if
we have been angry without cause we still have the instinct of a
murderer.(Matt. 5:21-22) Jesus spoke as much about our inward
thoughts and motivations as he did about our actions.
Initially, I had trouble viewing myself as a sinner because I
grew up as a law abiding citizen. But when I became honest
with
my inner self I realized that I needed to turn to God and accept his
forgiveness through Jesus’ atonement on the cross.
Some say to me, “Why doesn’t God just wipe out all
evil
right now?” The answer is that all of us (at times)
are
guilty of some kind of evil. So, you want God to wipe out all
evil today? Do you want him to start with you? Of
course
not. That’s why God came up with a better
plan, a
plan to accept those who are willing to repent of their selfishness.
But whether we deal with our sin through the cross or through a future
day of judgment, our sin will be dealt with. Make no mistake
about it. Those who turn from their sin will spend an
eternity
with God as resurrected beings, living forever, in a place where evil
will never be committed again, a place known as paradise, or heaven.
I’m sure I inspired more questions than
answers.
Perhaps in a future article we can dig into this with more
depth.
But for now, know that God is still on his throne and that He will
someday completely deliver our world from evil. I hope this helps a
little.
More Questions
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From the
column, "What About It, Bob?"
By Bob Siegel
© 2002 by Bob Siegel
This article is not to be reproduced without written permission from
the author.
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