Ethics and Evil

Perhaps the most frequent concern raised in the study of ethics is the problem of evil. It even has its own shorthand: POE – The Problem of Evil. Unfortunately, most common conversations regarding evil don’t actually try to deal with the ethical questions surrounding its origin, presence, and meaning. Rather, most use the very presence of evil as an argument against the existence of a sovereign, personal God who is the source of all things, rules over all things, and is superintending all things for His purposes. In other words, the most common use of the POE is to deny the existence of the God of the Bible.

But this raises a very important question. If God does not exist, if there is nothing more than natural law by which to order our universe, and our lives, and the specifics and ends of history, then how do we explain evil? In my mind, taking God out of the equation doesn’t solve any of the problems surrounding the existence of evil; it only makes them more difficult both to formulate and to solve.

Some might attack the problem by suggesting that evil really doesn’t exist. And in some sense, they may be right. What we call evil may not really be evil. For example, a forest fire that is begun by a lightening strike may have devastating consequences, including loss of property and life. But by what measure can we say it is evil? Is every negative circumstance an evil circumstance? Ethically the answer is no. Lightening strikes, forest fires, and even death are all part of the natural order of things in our universe. These may be tragic, but there is not ethically a sense that they are morally evil.

Yet, there are circumstances that can truly be judged to be morally evil. If an arsonist purposely starts the forest fire, we would judge it as evil, and the criminal would be held responsible for an evil, criminal act. So, we truly can’t say that evil does not exist. Human atrocities continue to demand that we find a more reasonable answer.

Some might suggest that evil can be explained as the result of human free will. We choose to do evil things, and thus, evil exists. And while this has some amount of truth to it, we have to go deeper. Can evil decisions arise from a nature, a heart and mind that are not evil? Certainly we would have to say that those who choose to do evil are themselves, in some sense, evil. And then we’re stuck asking the question: just where did evil originate? And this sends us back beyond ourselves to some theory that can explain the origin of evil, which I will take up in next week’s column.

The vast majority of folks just decide not to think about all this, until something really evil happens. Then, having no other place to put blame, they march up to God and hold Him accountable. So, if God and those of us who believe in Him are going to be challenged every time an atrocity happens, it seems only fair to listen to our answer.

Here it is: God is sovereign over all things, and that includes evil. Ultimately God created all things in order to demonstrate His greatness and His glory through the rescue of sinful, broken people who could neither rescue themselves, nor do anything to deserve being rescued. In order for this amazing display of God’s nature to happen there had to be something from which we needed rescue, and that “something” is disobedience to Him and its consequences. The first disobedience happened in Eden, and as a result a “virus” called sin entered into the operating system of our universe and our human nature bringing with it all the natural disasters and human evil that we see everyday. But the good news is that God’s rescue mission will ultimately overwhelm all that sin has corrupted, and evil will be no more. That’s why we Christ-followers call it “good news” when we share the story of God’s redemptive plan. Evil exists, but the existence of God is the best answer as to how it will eventually be overcome, abolished, and replaced with righteousness and peace.