Why is There Evil in the World?

Someone has suggested that beginning with the question, “Why is there evil in the world?” is to begin with the wrong question.  A better question to begin would be, “What is evil?”

At this point most people are probably thinking, “I know what evil is.  That is a silly question.”

Yet having some vague idea of what is evil is far easier than coming up with a precise definition of evil.  Is it evil because I don’t like it?  Is it evil because society decides that it is evil?  Is it evil because some political body has decided it is evil?  What, exactly is evil?

Different religions define evil in different ways.  For some, it is evil to eat a pig.  For others it is evil to eat any kind of red meat.  For still others it is evil to eat any kind of meat, including fish and fowl.  Some would even go so far as to say that it is evil to eat any living thing.  (Of course at that point, one either commits evil or dies of starvation.)

Some religions allow men to have several wives.  Others teach that any sexual relationship is evil and only tolerated to produce children.  Many people seem to have the view that sex is always good and there is no need for marriage at all.  Some claim that marriage is only for a man and a woman.  Others say that marriage between two people of the same sex is fine.

There are many seeming difficulties in the way of answering the question, “What is evil?”  Yet people plunge ahead to answer the question of why there is evil.  There is evil in the world because somebody has decided that what somebody else is doing is evil.

If that is true then quit deciding that things are evil.  “You do your thing and I’ll do mine” is a simple way of expressing that philosophy.  Or, “to each his own!”

The problem with such a solution is that there will be chaos as each decides for himself what he will and will not do.  The strong will survive and the weak will get “run over.”  (That is what happened in Nazi Germany during World War II.)  The “Aryans” were the strong and the Jewish people were the weak, at least in a political sense.

So it is that every society has imposed rules that define what is evil.  This is because everyone recognizes that there are boundaries that should not be crossed.  Evil is real.  Evil results in pain or harm to others.  Definitions are made and penalties are enforced.

From time to time, society changes the rules.  Things that were not evil become evil.  Things that once were considered evil are no longer defined as evil.  Again, we are forced to the same conclusion.  Evil exists because we have defined certain acts as evil.  If this is true, we may eliminate evil by ceasing to call things evil.  That does not seem a very good conclusion to me.

If changing the definition of evil does not satisfactorily solve the problem of where evil comes from, then we need to look for a different definition of evil.  That is precisely what Christians have been doing for 2000 years.

For a Christian, evil is not what somebody decides is evil, but is a result of a revelation from God.  The Christian looks to God as the One who defines evil.  For the Christian the definition does not change from time to time.  A Christian’s understanding of what is evil may change from time to time as that person comes to a better understanding of God’s standard, but evil is the same.

Over the past 50 years I have seen dramatic shifts in people’s views on divorce, sexual relationships outside of marriage, abortion, homosexuality, lying, foul language, cheating and probably many other things.  Many would view this as progress.  For many, whose practices were not acceptable, it means release from a guilty conscience.  For others it means heartache, depression and a sense of frustration and loss.

So we live in a world where the definition of evil varies between one religion and another.  The definition also varies with the time in which we live.  And we could further show that the definition varies from culture to culture and country to country.

Yet through all this variety there is a common thread.  Everyone believes that there is evil.  When one attempts to trace this idea back to its source, there is one answer that explains everything.  That answer is that God has created men with a conscience.  That conscience will either accuse or condemn.  Changing the definition of evil will only help a little.  It leaves unchanged the fundamental fact that evil is a course of conduct that God has condemned.

The Bible tells us clearly what God considers as evil.  When people do not want to accept God’s definition, they simply disregard the Bible and make all sorts of evil comments about it.

Archaeology has confirmed the accuracy of many of the things recorded in the Bible.  Many of these are things that men once thought were inaccurate, but further findings by archaeologists have confirmed over and over again that the Bible is true.

The Bible is filled with prophecies that have been fulfilled.  Others have tried to imitate the Bible in their predictions, but their attempts are marked by failures with an occasional success.  The Bible prophecies have never failed.  In great detail God has told us of the fate of cities and nations.  Especially did God lay out in detail the life of Jesus through the prophecies recorded in the Old Testament.  These may be confirmed whether reading from a Catholic Bible, a Protestant Bible, or a copy of a Jewish translation of the Old Testament scriptures.

The Bible tells us what is evil.  The Bible also answers clearly the question about the source of evil.  Evil comes from people exercising their free will.  God chose to make man in His likeness.  That means we have a choice.  God made us to be like Him, but whether we choose that path or not is up to us.

Some modern psychologists and theologians would have you believe that there are evils that some people cannot avoid.  They claim that it is in the nature of some individuals to commit particular sins and they cannot help themselves.

In contrast God offers hope to every sinner.  “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

And where there is failure to master sin and evil, God offers forgiveness through Jesus.  We should choose God instead of evil.