Since an omniscient god must be aware of evil, an omnipotent god could prevent evil, and a benevolent god would not tolerate evil, it should follow that there is no evil. Yet there is evil, from which atheists conclude that there is no omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent god. What's more, people of all religion and nationality experience evil, and Christians may regard evil as a source of contrast to their beliefs.
The problem arises from the expectation, that the world should, being so purposeful and meaningful, be one in which goodwill and "truth prevail."(p.144) The more powerful God's significance to us is, the more vexing does the problem of evil strike us. We may look to the Bible for an answer, but evil seems rampant even in the Bible. Evil is definitely not a recent occurrence. The New Testament extends to depict the very son of God as seemingly powerless to overcome or defy the "mighty" evil that eventually executes him.
Of the many common misconceptions of evil, two of the most prevailing are that "all suffering is consequence of sin"(p.145), and that "God sends suffering to help us grow."(p.146). These simple equations fail to justify the fact that many innocent children are suffering, while at the same time trifling religion as a means of insuring oneself against future uncertainties. The second, especially, concludes in regarding all medical practise as worthless and trivial. Other views of evil either fail to recognize evil as a problem, provide a credible solution, or see evil as a reward or necessity; something that need not be expunged.
Before we have a look at the Biblical explanations to evil, the following are some common sense answers to the problem of evil that aid in our understanding of evil:
1. As rain falls on everyone, and not just on the guilty, God can not alter the way of entirety to selectively do the righteous good. 2. Taking risks is inevitable in order to experience the joys. 3. A person who has undergone the suffering can in turn use this experience to help others. 4. Much of the suffering can be attributed to the fact that we have chosen the paths along the branches God has given us freedom to choose from.
As can be witnessed in everyday life, evil comes regardless. No single person lives without hardship, although the intensity does differ from one person to another. An individual experiences it, and so does a whole nation. The world as a whole is experiencing it in a sense, especially nowadays when many cultures of the different races are so intricately close. The Bible tries to solve these questions in a way that ultimately leaves us in hope and faith rather than despair that such evil has befallen us. If we were to use the inauspicious experience as a guideline to help others, the suffering we have experienced will ultimately benefit the society as a whole.
When the suffering is not imposed by God in this socially beneficial context, God does so with a purpose. In other words, God punishes with the intention of "winning his people back to him", and for a "redeeming purpose."(p.154) The anguish that should be meted out to the guilty can also be voluntarily undertaken by the individual, who is willing to suffer "vicariously", in place of others.
God is, however, victorious over evil and this is displayed in the event of crucifixion-resurrection. He is also "the Lord of life and death"(p.163), meaning that he has the both the ability and means to conquer evil and death. The Lord is intricately involved in our struggle; he oversees all of our throes, and helps us overcome them. Sure, evil and suffering are inevitable, but the unfaltering faith that God is always there with us presents us with a new, more courageous perspective when confronted with hardship. With the knowledge that God presides over all of our ordeals, we have a given assurance that evil is not something to fear, but something to challenge and conquer.
What's more, once we have been endowed with the capability to conquer evil, and accordingly have the power to overcome similar difficulties, we can then share this knowledge with others so that they acquire the same power and valor to conquer evil.
It can then be said, that in order for one to be able to transform an arduous experience by faith, one needs to be personally related to God. A superficial relationship only lures us away from the true belief. Knowing, and acknowledging that God is genuinely involved and all the while concerned with what we are going through will irrefutably point towards a more concrete confidence in first God and then ourselves. God has a purpose for everything in this world and evil is something that will interfere with our steps in regard to this purpose. The transformation from fearing evil to challenging it and eventually conquering it will be a process that would reveal the loving, caring and redeeming God to us.
personal opinion on
When Christians today search for answers in the world, and find themselves turning to the scriptures for guidance and help. Some people want to be assured that they are getting the most accurate and literal translation possible for religious purposes. Others want a bible that is easy to read and understand. More still look for a bible as an example of the first work of prose, and wish to learn from it as a piece of literature. Brown tells us in his book "The Bible Speaks to You", of the most significant way to read the Bible; not as a spectator who would watch the situations of the Bible as if watching a football game, but rather an active participant who understands that words or events in the Bible are in relation to our own situations.
The varying purposes a person may look through the Bible, in addition to the hundreds of different versions of the Bible available today, makes some of the messages somewhat ambiguous to the different readers, and leads to misinterpretations that could hinder the original message conveyed to us. In other words, the exact meaning of the text is sometimes not clear to the translators, which can create many problems. Even though they are clearly experts in their field, these Biblical scholars often find themselves “far from certain about the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit, the primary Author of Scripture” (Burton L. Goddard, member of Committee on Bible Translation)
Brown deals with such an issue, and many more directly related to the Christian belief, and it has been of much help personally. Much of the doubts and wavering regarding God and his words have been expunged through careful reading of the textbook. His explanations, detailed though in some cases too specific in their allegories, have been helpful in ascertaining the validity and relevance of the scriptures to my life.