The Problem of Evil

The problem of evil has puzzled humanity for ages, its even recorded in one of the oldest texts in the bible, the book of Job. Job's friends were as confused as many are today, not comprehending how an all powerful God would allow evil to take place. There are obviously diverse reasons for evil and human suffering, some of which cannot be explained in this place or time. This devotion will be an attempt to go through some of the more general reasons for evil in this world. With the power of the Holy Spirit, let us uncover some of them. We need to recall that in the beginning, when God created all things, from start to finish, He persistently saw that it was GOOD. Our ancestors, did not know good and evil but only good, i.e. Adam and Eve. They knew good and evil after having disobeying God. Things became lesser good than initially were. This explains how evil started from the perspective of human beings. In the angelic realm, the rebellious acts of Satan and his angels can be defined as evil which pre existed that of Adam and Eve. Some would say, well why didn't God destroy Satan when he rebelled? Or why did create Lucifer in the first place knowing through His providence and omniscience that he would rebel? Interestingly, that would not have worked, not just for Satan but for us as well. No one is good before God, not even one, so we can be sure that none of us would have existed today. Still, this has not answered the long anticipated response which we might never get to understand. Why God watches so much torture and suffering happening in this world without putting it to an end. It's not so much, why God allows evil but why God allows evil I the lives of good people. Evil is not a thing, it's a lack. Similar to darkness, which is void of light, evil is what remains when we take out good. Evil is something which automatically occurs when good is taken out, mainly if what God defines as good is taken out. So, humanity has removed God and has decided that it can decide what good and evil are without turning to God. This in turn, makes each individual choose for themselves what good and evil are, which may in time be altered, and differs from one society to another as well as individuals. To say that God is not good because there's evil, is to evade the fact that we're hpbeings created with the ability to choose and the choices we make bear consequences. God is not so much incapable of stopping evil but rather chooses not violate freedom of choice. God is love and created us with the ability to hate of love, bless of curse etc. In monotheistic society, there is only one moral centre of the universe, who decides what good and evil are. So, the definition of evil in this question has more to do with what a society or individual may consider evil. For example, the question is often asked, "why would a God of love create eternal hell?" While the believer asks "Why would a God of love not create eternal hell?" Someone thinks that evil people should not be punished while questioning the goodness of God, another person questions the goodness of people and relies on that of God. In the polytheistic society, it was even more complicated, one god would define somethings as good and the other overturn him, and when things God wrong, any god could shift the blame. But fortunately we have One God, Who says "Come let us reason together, I Am God and besides Me there is no other". So things go wrong, we know where to turn to, no banging our heads against the walls wondering which god or goddess is or are responsible for our troubles. Here are some of the specific reasons there is suffering in the world 1. Consequences of sin. Suffering May arise from the sin or effects of the sin on ourselves and on others. It can be seen as a punishment, where even those who may hate or have hated God praise Him. If somebody commits a crime, they get sentenced to prison, that is suffering as punishment. When someone commits a crime, there is usually a victim, who suffers as a result of the perpetrators wrong doing. It doesn't mean they did something wrong, but they are suffering because of the abuse of freedom by somebody else. The perpetrators, have friends and family who suffer when they are put away, they may have been breadwinners at home and leaving their children suffering as a result. The point I'm making here is that the consequences of sin go far beyond just affecting the criminal. It affects every individual. If the person above, stole a car, and crashed while getting away, they may be found alive and arrested but in addition, bystanders also suffer. The road had to be closed for that day, someone lost a job because they got delayed for their job interview, another one missed a test, the tree the car crushed into had a family of birds which now lost their home. In effect, a lot of things go wrong because of one person, who decided to steal. The consequences are non avoidable, unless in a system closed by time and space, where one person can be deald with without involving victims,bystanders etc. 2. Evil will one day end. In order for God to end evil, He would have to destroy the sources not just the symptom. He would have to destroy all evil creatures in His sight, which basically means all human beings, and all angels including those working for Him. God does intend to one day put all evil to an end, until then, we live in a world which is somewhat in between heaven and hell. We get in touch with experiences on a temporal scale, peace, happiness, love ,gratitude, patience, which are glimpses of heaven. On the other hand, pain, betrayal, sickness etc. are glimpses of hell. This are not as bad or good as the real thing, but help us make informed decisions. God allows evil to get informed consent from us, because we cannot go to hell or heaven until we have got hints of both. I have an idea what hell fire would be like because in this earth, we have all once been burned, have been choked by smoke and experienced the pain of fire. This is a hint or glimpse or hell. All the things that ever deeply possessed your soul are hints of heaven, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear, promises never quite fulfilled. If I find in my self a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, it shows I was made for another world. Happiness was never meant to satisfy us but to make us want to have the real thing. Pain was never meant to crush us but to help us understand that we were not created for that world, which is hell. These things are not permanent, they are there to help us decide which one we would want to spend eternity in. Goodness without evil or evil without good, light and day exist in this world, a Time will come when some will have day without night while others night without day. We have pain but with comfort, we have to choose comfort without pain or pain without comfort in eternity. We have people in this world willing to help us in needs, we have to choose either needs without help or help without needs in eternity. We have death in this world but we have to choose between death to resurrection and death to death. God placed both evil and good in this world and will one day separate them, including people. Some complain that God should take none believers to heaven as well. Which doesn't make sense, God spends time with us in this world, its not eternity, He is not always with us but will always be there forever. Hell is God's final gesture to respect autonomy of humanity, hell will be free from God's "Thou shall nots". In heaven people who enjoyed a relationship with God will freely follow His commands and be permanently with Him, forever and ever. Those who didn't want to spend some of their time on earth with Him will be permanently separated from Him. God will put evil to an end, maybe tonight 3.