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"Why Is There Evil In The World"
In the September 2004 edition of the Today In The Word devotional published by the Moody Bible Institute, the September 16th article addresses the question that theologians call “theodicy” – “Why is there evil in the world?” This is a subject that has troubled me for many years so I found the article very thought provoking at this time especially in light of our current Church wide effort to determine God’s purpose for our lives.
The article begins with the world in the 1945-1949 time period intently watching the Nuremberg war crimes trials. Hundreds of Nazi officers, such as Hans Frank, known as the “Butcher of Krakow,” and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop were tried and convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The atrocities committed by these men and hundreds of other Nazi loyalists were of great interest to people around the world. They wanted these men to pay for the horrible crimes they committed against Europeans of Jewish decent. However, despite the best efforts of many people of many nations to track down and bring to justice all the loyalist and collaborators of the Nazi holocaust, many perpetrators escaped justice and quietly blended back into mainstream society in countries around the world. Over the years since the end of World War II, these guilty perpetrators died and never paid their “debt to society” for their horrific crimes. This example of evil men escaping justice is cited in addressing the difficult questions surrounding “Why is there evil in the world? A related question is “Why the wicked seem to get away with their wrongdoing?”
There is, of course, no easy answer to these questions. As we know, Job faced these types of questions from his friends during his time of suffering. Job in addressing the retribution theology of his friends in addressing his suffering is that it really doesn’t explain the ways of the world. As Job surveys the world around him, he finds numerous examples of the wicked prospering. He notes that they grow old, they are safe from punishment, and they are successful and prosper. What is more confusing and troubling for Job, is that these wicked people die happy even though they deny God and reject God’s love and grace. The picture Job paints for his friends and refuting they claims and accusations are similar to the one that Eliphaz drew of the good man so it is possible that Job in his dialogue with his friends was attempting to provide a deliberate contrast in order to refute their claims against him. It is ironic that his friends are and have accused Job of opposing God by challenging God’s ways when it is his friends who have been, in essence, telling God how the world should run. Job continues his dialogue and provides three additional points that challenge his friends’ views of sin and suffering. First, Job challenges the idea that judgment of the wicked should fall upon their children. Second, Job notes that the wicked and the righteous both end up in the grave. Finally, Job notes that visitors from distant lands also attest that the wicked prosper.
Of course, the Book of Job doesn’t answer the problem of evil. We need to look at other books in the Bible to consider the various aspects of this difficult question. In Psalm 73, the psalmist considers the apparent success of the wicked and wonders if he has been faithful in vain. The turning point in the Psalm, however, comes in verse 17 as the psalmist begins to appreciate and understand the final destiny of the wicked beyond this life. After all, the Lord is clear in advising us all that every deed and action in our lifetime, our temporary time here on earth, will be reviewed and assessed on the Day of Judgment after we die. The Psalmist in thinking about God’s judgment beyond this life is encouraged as he considers his own eternal destiny with the Lord.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
So “Why Is There Evil in The World?” I believe the answer began with Satan’s fall and the fact that Satan, since his fall, is always there tempting men and women to be evil instead of good. Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give in to his kind of life and give up God’s kind of life. Satan tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness. He implied that God was strict, stingy, and selfish for not wanting Eve to share his knowledge of good and evil. Satan made Eve forget all that God had given her, and instead, focus on the one thing she couldn’t have. Sound familiar to the “temptations” of our lives? After all, don’t we fall into trouble, too, when we dwell on the few things we don’t have rather than on the countless things God has given us. Don’t we fall into trouble when we imitate others and get caught up in the materialistic, “me first” society we live in. By focusing on God, we won’t be led into sin and won’t be part of the evil in the world.
Remember that God loves you and wants you to be insulated from sin and from the evils of the world we live in. As Christ said in addressing the greatest commandment for believers, we are to
Ron Forrester, UMMen President
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