Does Evil Exist?
By Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
5/9/20205
The following is a modification of a post seen on the internet:
Student 1: “Why did God create evil?”
Professor: Was everything that exists created by God?
Student 1: Yes,
Professor: If God created everything, then God created evil. And according to the principle that our deeds define ourselves, then God is evil. This proves that God is not good and that the Bible is a lie because this disproves the Biblical declaration of God’s goodness as seen in the following verses:
Old Testament
- Psalm 34:8
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”- This verse invites people to experience God’s goodness firsthand.
- Psalm 100:5
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”- God’s goodness is linked to His enduring love and faithfulness.
- Psalm 145:9
“The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”- This verse highlights God’s universal goodness and mercy to all creation.
- Exodus 33:19
“And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.'”- God’s goodness is so central to His nature that it is part of what He reveals to Moses.
- Nahum 1:7
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”- God’s goodness is tied to His protection and care for His people.
New Testament
- Mark 10:18
“‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good—except God alone.'”- Jesus affirms that ultimate goodness belongs to God alone.
- Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”- This verse reflects God’s active role in bringing about good in the lives of His followers.
- James 1:17
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”- God is the source of all goodness, and His character is unchanging.
- 1 John 1:5
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”- While not using the word “good,” this verse emphasizes God’s purity and moral perfection.
Student 2: Professor, does cold exist?
Professor: Yes, cold exists, but only as a definition of a relative state. Cold is a term applied to indicate that one body has less heat than another. The ultimate cold is absolute zero. Heat is defined as the lack of thermal kinetic energy.
Student 2: Does darkness exist?
Professor: Darkness is likewise a relative term. Darkness is the lack of light. White light is a combination of many wavelengths, and when passed through a prism, the wavelengths are seen as multiple colors. Darkness is a term used to describe what happens in the absence of light.
Student 2: Now let us revisit the question, “Does evil exist?”
Professor: Yes, evil exists and manifests as cruelty, crime, and violence.
Student 2: Using the examples of cold and darkness, evil likewise exists, but only as a relative term defined in relationship to the goodness of God. Evil exists only because God and goodness exist as the comparison which defines the polarity which we name as evil.
If God did not exist, most of us would still call many of the same behaviors evil. If God had not revealed His standard of goodness, we would define evil according to our definition of good. To a large degree, our definition of evil would correspond to God’s revealed definition. Still, because men are short-sighted, we would undoubtedly make some errors and suffer because of our errors. You can believe there is no God, that matter sprang out of nothing, that life evolved randomly, that everything is relative, and there are no divinely defined absolutes, and that life has no point other than what men decide. I don’t have enough faith to believe in a world as miraculous as ours that arose out of nothing and formed itself. I believe God created the creation to satisfy His need for love. I believe the universe arose from God. I have no idea how God could arise from nothing nor how the innumerable particles of mass and associated energy could arise from nothing. I believe God’s nature is love and that He was alone in the vast nothingness of the universe before He created the creation. I believe He desires companionship. I believe God was alone and created the universe in the hope of experiencing love, and such a desire can be satisfied when there is the freedom to accept or reject that love. I believe He created the universe and created us with His nature. In this world, we express our love of Him by acting out the behaviors that please Him.
I believe God defined goodness as the behaviors that please Him. Evil is simply the set of all behaviors that are opposite to God’s nature. God did not create evil in the sense that He desired evil. Rather, He defined goodness as the actions that please Him and evil exists unavoidably by defining good. Evil is like darkness and cold; both definitions have meanings only as relative terms, given as names to identify the state associated with the absence of something. God created creation so we could choose to love evil or to love Him by emulating His way. We are free because we have a choice, and we can choose to love Him by following His way or acting out our animal nature. Faith, hope, and love are Godly traits, and He calls us to act on them. Evil is a concept, a category of action, that appears only from the absence of divinely approved action. Evil is a distinction that arises naturally because God has defined His goodness. Evil, thus, is in the same category as cold, which comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there’s no light.