www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology The Problem of Evil?

Hey All,

I'm taking a religion class at my college, taught by a "surfer dude" religion major who is at least agnostic and probably atheist.

He's an interesting guy and quite intelligent.

Many times, he has asked us this question: If God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent, why does evil exist? Evil exists (fact) and God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent (fact from a Christian perspective). Even if we take into account "free will," God created us, so God creates evil...so God can't be omnibenevolent, etc.

Anyway, y'all get the point. This has never troubled me, and still doesn't, but I can see that it gives pause to many of my classmates.

My problem is that I don't know how to answer his question in a clear manner. Anyone have some good ideas for clear arguments?

Logos Teen

Dear Teen Logo,

C.S. Lewis was an atheist and used to debate against Christians.

His main argument was that God doesn't exist because the world doesn't make sense - similar to the idea that if God is all-Good and there is evil, then God can't be etc.

But one day he thought to himself, if the world doesn't make sense - then I would never know about it. In other words, to say, "The world doesn't make sense" is to be "making sense" of it.

That actually converted him right then and there.

The point is not that there is evil in the world - we know there is.

But is there a "sense" to evil? I believe there is.

"Love" is not "love" at all if it is forced or imposed. There must be a free will involved to accept or reject love and goodness. If there is not, then there is evil already.

To reject love and goodness and their Source Who is God, is to choose the anti-thesis which is evil.

For God to "remain" good, He must respect that choice.

However, God's Will allows for our choices that we make.

God will respect those choices. But our choices that are evil will never circumvent God's Will for humanity from being realized.

God struggles with us against evil and comes to our assistance with His Grace to fight evil which He will overcome in the final analysis.

Your teacher is being rather nonsensical in saying that evil exists and God created evil.

God did not create evil. He created free will as a function of His Goodness. That we abuse and misuse free will is our doing, not God's.

Yet God will accept us against if we reject evil and fight it.

We respond differently to evil than to goodness (if we are on the side of good) and this also has to do with God.

His argument, nomatter how seemingly intelligent, has gaping moral holes that I personally find philosophically repugnant and even puerile.

If he is against evil, what is he doing about it apart from philosophizing?

Anyway, give him my regards . . .

Alex

Here is an interesting article on the reality of evil from the movement known as "Opus Sanctorum Angelorum" ("Work of the Holy Angels"). On a side note, I met Father William Wagner while in Fatima back in '89. Quite a good priest!

http://www.opusangelorum.org/English/deliverus.html

Dear Gordo,

Excellent site and I love their devotion to the Holy Angels!

We don't honour our Guardian Angels enough! I love that the Eastern Orthodox Churches have the Canon to the Guardian Angel as a daily prayer rule.

St John Chrysostom said he saw hundreds of Angels come down from heaven and stand around the Altar during the Divine Liturgy and there are many other examples.

We should be speaking to our Guardian Angel frequently, asking for its help and protection!

And then there are the Archangels - the Old Believers list nine: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Salaphiel, Yegediel, Barachiel, Hephiel and one more . . .

And then there are the nine Choirs of Angels - some Fathers have said there are more but only these nine have been revealed to us (ie. as noted in Fr. Pomazansky's Orthodox Dogmatic Theology).

I think we should also invoke the Guardian Angels of the cities and towns we live in and visit, and also of our country and other places that St Augustine says all have their guardian Angels.

We should also venerate the Guardian Angels of our family members and especially when one of them (family members that is) is upset with us.

We should all strive to live the Angelic life of being submissive to the Will of God, ready to spring into action as if we had wings and ceaselessly glorifying the Holy Trinity!

Thanks for this site, Gordo. You are a real angel!

Alex

The Problem with Evil is that WE do it!
Stephanos I

Dear Teen,

I agree with Father Stephanos, but maybe a more clear argument would be, that God gave us free will. For Him to interfere with us and our action would destroy this, and then we would not have the choice in whether we want to be with Him or not. It is like a parent that teaches us not to do something, yet knowing that only experience will teach us. The parent steps back and lets us have the experience, then embraces us when we come running back crying.

It is a rather simple answer, but I sure you can take it from there.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

The problem of evil should not be trivialized; there is no easy answer and attempts to provide one are an offense.
What I come back to is that of all the understandings, the Christian one is the only one that offers some hope.
No, it does not make sense, but yes, God Himself, the Source of all being, entered into it fully, took it upon Himself, and redeemed the whole creation by submitting to it.
Every other worldview ultimately leads to despair...
-Daniel

Please go to the Vatican web site or EWTN library and download Pope John Paul's Encyclical "On The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering." It will answer your question!

Vesty

To All,

To me 'evil' is 'negation'. Wherever there is creativity and productivity there exists the negation of it through the 'destructivness' of our prideful and sinful nature.

Therefore 'evil' can exist only because God exists. Of course there might be other 'powers' (demons) helping to 'negate' through us. Then again these powers are 'pure' negation.

As for me, I believed in God when I realized that my whole frame of thought was negative. I wanted this proved, that proved, etc. I was quite young.

Well one day I decided to think in a more positive way. I decided that I will accept everything until it's proven otherwise. I felt that if someone told me that there was gold in my back yard, it would be better to go and see for myself and risk being called a fool, than not seeing and risk losing it.

I have been growing in my faith ever since.

Zenovia