First and foremost, Christians should not begin by accepting the atheist’s framing of the so-called problem of evil. Before answering the challenge, the atheist should be pressed to define evil in the first place. If there is no God, then there is no objective standard of right and wrong. Morality becomes just a matter of personal opinion, or worse, the arbitrary result of mindless chemical processes. But, if evil is real, if it truly exists and not just as a feeling or social construct, then it requires a moral standard. The atheist must borrow from the Christian worldview just to object to it and thus defeats himself by voicing the objection. In truth, it is not the Christian who has a "problem of evil". It is the atheist because they cannot define it, justify it, or explain its existence in a godless universe. So, the problem of evil, rather than challenging the existence of God, it exposes the weakness of atheism.
The typical atheist argument goes like this: If God is all-good and all-powerful, why does He allow evil? They present it as a contradiction, but their premises are wrong. They assume that power means control of everything at all times. They also assume that goodness means eliminating all pain and suffering, and they assume that God is obligated to act according to their own preferences and timetables. But the God of the Bible is not a puppeteer or a micromanager. He is a personal, relational, rational being who made us in His image, with reason, choice, and moral responsibility.
God could have created a world with no evil, but it would also be a world with no freedom, no love, no virtue, and no meaningful relationships. Love is only possible if it is chosen. Obedience only matters if rebellion is an actual option. Courage, sacrifice, redemption, and joy all require a context where pain and evil are possible. A world without the possibility of evil would be safe but sterile, orderly but lifeless. Instead, God chose to create a world where people could freely grow into greatness or fall into destruction. That choice is essential to the kind of beings we were made to be.
God does not cause evil, but He permits it for a time because He values the greater goods that come from a world with moral freedom. Evil is not a thing in itself. It is the absence or corruption of good, just as darkness is the absence of light. It is a parasite, not a product. It is what happens when created beings misuse the good faculties God has given them. And God, in His wisdom and patience, allows this brokenness temporarily so that redemption, restoration, and genuine love can emerge. The existence of evil is not an innate or necessary aspect of our existence nor is it a permanent one.
The clearest evidence that God has not abandoned us to evil is the cross. God Himself entered our world, endured suffering, and bore the weight of sin and death—not to excuse evil, but to overcome it. The execution of the innocent Son of God became the foundation of redemption for the entire world. This was not weakness. This was victory. Love proved stronger than evil, and life triumphed over death. Christ's suffering was not a failure in God's plan. It was the plan.
So evil exists because bad choices were made. Choice exists because love exists and love exists because God made us like Himself. That is not a flaw in the system, it's the very heart of it. The story ends not in chaos but in justice. Evil is not eternal, God is! He will not merely destroy evil, He will defeat it in the eyes of all creation; not by force, but by reason; not by programming minds, but by persuading hearts; not by overriding freedom, but by winning over sons and daughters who freely choose life.
Ironically, this answer to the problem of evil does not fit within the mouths of many Christians. It cannot be spoken from a pulpit that teaches that God decreed every event from eternity past. It cannot be taught by those who believe that God ordained evil for His own mysterious glory. Augustine would have choked on it and so would any of his doctrinal progeny (Catholicism, Calvinism, et al). The idea that God genuinely values human freedom, that He takes relational risks, and that He permits evil without causing it, is anathema to deterministic systems, which is why it is such a favored weapon for the atheists. But the God revealed in Scripture is a God who reasons, pleads, warns, grieves, relents, repents and even weeps. A God who does not fear the temporary presence of evil because He knows it will be overcome and that it will be He who overcomes it. Not by the application of mere brute force, but by the triumph of all the things that define His character and bring Him glory; truth and reason, righteousness and justice, relationship and love.
The typical atheist argument goes like this: If God is all-good and all-powerful, why does He allow evil? They present it as a contradiction, but their premises are wrong. They assume that power means control of everything at all times. They also assume that goodness means eliminating all pain and suffering, and they assume that God is obligated to act according to their own preferences and timetables. But the God of the Bible is not a puppeteer or a micromanager. He is a personal, relational, rational being who made us in His image, with reason, choice, and moral responsibility.
God could have created a world with no evil, but it would also be a world with no freedom, no love, no virtue, and no meaningful relationships. Love is only possible if it is chosen. Obedience only matters if rebellion is an actual option. Courage, sacrifice, redemption, and joy all require a context where pain and evil are possible. A world without the possibility of evil would be safe but sterile, orderly but lifeless. Instead, God chose to create a world where people could freely grow into greatness or fall into destruction. That choice is essential to the kind of beings we were made to be.
God does not cause evil, but He permits it for a time because He values the greater goods that come from a world with moral freedom. Evil is not a thing in itself. It is the absence or corruption of good, just as darkness is the absence of light. It is a parasite, not a product. It is what happens when created beings misuse the good faculties God has given them. And God, in His wisdom and patience, allows this brokenness temporarily so that redemption, restoration, and genuine love can emerge. The existence of evil is not an innate or necessary aspect of our existence nor is it a permanent one.
The clearest evidence that God has not abandoned us to evil is the cross. God Himself entered our world, endured suffering, and bore the weight of sin and death—not to excuse evil, but to overcome it. The execution of the innocent Son of God became the foundation of redemption for the entire world. This was not weakness. This was victory. Love proved stronger than evil, and life triumphed over death. Christ's suffering was not a failure in God's plan. It was the plan.
So evil exists because bad choices were made. Choice exists because love exists and love exists because God made us like Himself. That is not a flaw in the system, it's the very heart of it. The story ends not in chaos but in justice. Evil is not eternal, God is! He will not merely destroy evil, He will defeat it in the eyes of all creation; not by force, but by reason; not by programming minds, but by persuading hearts; not by overriding freedom, but by winning over sons and daughters who freely choose life.
Ironically, this answer to the problem of evil does not fit within the mouths of many Christians. It cannot be spoken from a pulpit that teaches that God decreed every event from eternity past. It cannot be taught by those who believe that God ordained evil for His own mysterious glory. Augustine would have choked on it and so would any of his doctrinal progeny (Catholicism, Calvinism, et al). The idea that God genuinely values human freedom, that He takes relational risks, and that He permits evil without causing it, is anathema to deterministic systems, which is why it is such a favored weapon for the atheists. But the God revealed in Scripture is a God who reasons, pleads, warns, grieves, relents, repents and even weeps. A God who does not fear the temporary presence of evil because He knows it will be overcome and that it will be He who overcomes it. Not by the application of mere brute force, but by the triumph of all the things that define His character and bring Him glory; truth and reason, righteousness and justice, relationship and love.
