“Moral evil is significant pain and suffering in the world that is caused by free persons either intentionally or through culpable neglect of their responsibilities. These include such things as murder, adultery, disobedience to parents, rejecting wise counsel, and human hatred. As surprising as it may seem, the Bible presents God as having such meticulous control over the course of human history that each of the moral evils just named can be regarded as ‘of the LORD.’ Even as God doesn’t merely permit nature to ‘do its thing,’ so he doesn’t merely permit humans to do their thing. Without erasing or suppressing the intentionality of creatures–and this includes their deliberations, their reasoning, their choosing between alternatives they consider and reflect upon–God’s own intentionality stands above and behind the responsible choices of his creatures…
Greg Welty
It is not evil to ordain that evil be, especially if one has the requisite knowledge and power to ensure the greater good (having knowledge to consider relevant alternatives, and having power to assure that evils will not be in vain with respect to providential purposes). We humans have neither the knowledge nor the power to do these things and rarely the right—and so it would be positively immoral for us to ordain suffering that good may come. (Again, except within very narrow limits, such as the very limited kinds of discipline we impose for the rearing of children or the reformation of criminals.) But if God has the right to impose suffering, and the requisite knowledge and power to ensure greater goods out of it, it would not only not be evil for God to so ordain suffering, it would be positively good for him to do so.”
Reflection:
The “problem of evil,” as it’s often called, questions the reality of God based on the existence of bad things in the world. But the Bible doesn’t back down—God is in control. To wrap our minds around this, though, we must think beyond human categories. We don’t have the power, wisdom, or knowledge to fully understand how the world works, but God does.
While it’s hard for us to grasp why certain bad things happen, it’s not difficult to see how God can bring about difficult things that lead to good outcomes. The Bible provides many examples, but the most important is the cross of Jesus Christ. On the cross, the worst evil occurred, yet, at the same time, the greatest good took place. This teaches us how God can bring good out of evil. Though we may not be able to piece it all together now, we can trust that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him.
Get your copy of Why Is There Evil In The World (And So Much Of It)? by Greg Welty HERE!
