10-4-21<\/p>\n
Warning label; truth-in-packaging: I don\u2019t have the definitive answer to this eternal question about God allowing evil in the world, but I believe I have come the closest I will ever come to being satisfied. It is, of course, a challenge that has confronted every person who ever has drawn breath.<\/p>\n
We first must acknowledge that there is an aspect to the question Why does God allow evil in this world?<\/em> that essentially is a word game. It is similar to the question Can God create a rock so heavy that even He cannot lift it?<\/em> Those are questions framed, but also limited, by the constraints of logic. Logic is something we think is a tool that will explain all things. But ultimately it is a mere construct on a par with intuition, perceptions, deduction, traditions, and superstitions. Even Science frequently is disproven by Science; facts become fiction. The pertinent quickly can become impertinent.<\/p>\n Regarding questions that are as flimsy as a child\u2019s curiosity about nature or as \u201cprofound\u201d as a philosopher\u2019s life-work of deductions \u2013 which, in their contexts, are questions of equal validity, substance, and weight \u2013 we must be humble. If we question Almighty God, or have questions about His sovereign ways, we can do no other than put on cloaks of humility.<\/p>\n A step toward clarity is to view the sweep of humankind\u2019s history and recognize that life \u2013 Creation, the universe, the \u201cin the beginning\u201d \u2013 originally was innocent and perfect. And that life \u2013 the \u201cNew Creation,\u201d the end of time, Heaven \u2013 will someday again be peaceful and perfect. Paradise lost and paradise regained. In between, it pleased God to created humankind, and it pleased Him to endow us with intelligence and free will.<\/p>\n You might have noticed that human nature, thus set free to follow its inclinations and choices, invariably has ruined the Plan. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. When everyone chooses rebellion, we can expect corruption in our world. Sin is a stain that spreads through individuals\u2019 lives, and poisons the well of humanity in every aspect, every time, every place.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is perfect?\u201d and (after the Jesus-answer) people often think of Mother Teresa as a great example. St Paul called himself chief among sinners; as he wrote, \u201cNone is righteous, no, not one.\u201d Martin Luther was overwhelmed by the consciousness of the sin nature. And Mother Teresa herself strongly disclaimed any special possession of righteousness as she would stand before God.<\/p>\n So between Creation and Heaven \u2013 when God left us in charge, so to speak \u2013 we humans messed things up, and still do. The devil only tempts, but does not force anyone to sin. And as God in His dispensation sent Jesus to be the means of redemption and salvation, the promises of humanity\u2019s past and the promises of humanity\u2019s future were manifest. And still, the world rejected Him.<\/p>\n To our original question, some answers include:<\/p>\n Jesus came to us, not to eliminate sin, but to free us from the bondage of sin and its punishment.<\/p>\n The Holy Spirit was given so that we might have the power to resist the devil and all his ways. (I wonder if “evil” is the root of “devil.” I mean in philology.)<\/p>\n Confronting the question directly \u2013 and allowing for the technicalities of language and limitations of our \u201clogic\u201d \u2013 it is not really the case that God allows evil. God allowed humans to make choices in life\u2026 and, by making choices to sin, WE \u201callow\u201d evil. Again and again we allow it, exercise it, encourage it, perpetuate it<\/em>.<\/p>\n How dare we blame God? He \u201callows\u201d evil? He \u201cpermits\u201d it? HE created it?<\/p>\n In further examples of impertinence against the Holy God, we invariably tend to judge Him by our puny standards (which is the sad aspect of human history, our pride being the subtext of the Bible\u2019s entire story). By this arrogance we sin and expect no punishment. We permit evil and then blame God.<\/p>\n For misery and death, for disasters and sickness, there are indeed mysteries under a sovereign God… and the consequences of the corruption we ourselves have unleashed on the world. That God is Lord of all does not mean that He is the Master Puppeteer; He lovingly created human children, not robots.<\/p>\n For those of you who are mathematically inclined, think of how many times each day you might sin (\u201cminor\u201d or serious) or permit evil (allowing misconduct or tolerating injustice). It\u2019s not hard to do \u2013 Mother Teresa herself calculated such things in her life. Then multiply that number by seven days; then by the weeks in a month; then by the months in a year; then by the years in your life. Those are a lot of sins; that’s a lot of evil.<\/p>\n How quickly will people then continue to maintain that God<\/em> allows evil?<\/p>\n Not to avoid an answer to our question, but to draw closer to an answer, we should revisit what I mentioned about judging God by our self-righteous and self-delusional standards. We love free will until we need to shift the blame for the sins we commit and the evils we cause.<\/p>\n Let us not ask how God can allow evil in this world\u2026 but how we<\/em> can allow it.<\/p>\n How and why do we allow evil? How and why do we permit the evils of sin, hatred, injustice, abuse, intolerance, unforgiveness? Throughout history a rebellious human race has blamed God, and not ourselves, for these things.<\/p>\n