The Problem of Evil
It is typically called, “The problem of evil.” Here is a simple, yet precise, definition from J.L. Mackie, “Evil and Omnipotence,” in The Problem of Evil, ed. by Michael L. Peterson (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992) p. 89-90:
“God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true, the third would be false.”
Typically, it is a philosophical argument that we talk about when things are going great. Life isn’t really going too badly so, we just go on and think about the problems the world faces. We see the suffering of others sometimes and just wonder why that happens.
Aside from the perhaps obvious atheistic answer being “God does not exist,” (I don’t mean to simplify this so easily as their arguments are complex, but this is the basic point from which there is an attempt to defeat any defenses from the theistic point of view) there are theistic answers such as the free will defense, possible world theory (i.e., maybe this is the best of all possible worlds that God could have created), redemptive value in suffering, a theology that suggests that God is not completely omnipotent (process theology), or is at least open to the future (theology of God’s openness), and there are even attempts to separate out the issue into categories such as “natural evil” and “moral evil.”
Rather than going into detail about all these theories, I’d rather pose what is perhaps a more important question, namely, “Why does evil happen to me?” I’m not saying we don’t care when it happens to others, but we care more deeply when something goes wrong in our own lives. We addressed this somewhat last week with the idea of “obstinate faith,” as an answer to life’s situations, but we never really addressed this from a “God” point of view, in the sense of dealing with God’s culpability.
An even different approach sometimes occurs to us in the form of, “Why is that scoundrel (fill in whatever name you like here) doing so well in life after all the bad he/she has done?”
But even from another perspective we could ask, “Why does all this good happen to me?” Or even, “Why does good happen to anyone?”
You see, I feel like we’re asking for a fair system based upon merit, which, when we really think about it, that is not the way the world works, does it? At its very basic level, this is what we experience as what is most problematic. In other words, “If I knew what it was I was doing to deserve this, I’d stop doing it so that things would go better for me. What am I doing wrong? And if I’m not doing anything to deserve this, why is it happening?” It does come down to the question, “Why isn’t God running things more to my liking?” and, “Why isn’t there a system of rewards and punishments so I could at least know where I stand?” From the other point of view, “There must not be a God because a loving one sure couldn’t let the world run this way.”
An interesting guy named Habakkuk had that same question, but did not get the answer he either wanted or expected. Instead, he pretty much got more questions than answers. Here’s how the basic storyline goes:
Habakkuk: God, haven’t you seen all the injustice happening in my little corner of the world today? Why don’t you fix it? I thought you hated evil.
God: So, you’ve noticed, huh? Well, I intend to do something about it, but something so ridiculous that you wouldn’t believe it even if I described it in detail from beginning to end. I’m bringing a ruthless nation in to destroy your nation and take everyone into exile.
Habakkuk: What?! Now you really don’t know what you’re doing! I thought it was bad before, but how can you let a people more evil destroy people less evil than them? I thought you couldn’t tolerate evil. What are you thinking, God? Let me wait here and see if you will answer me again.
God: I see the evil going on and one way or another, my people will see it, too. By this punishment, they will come to know that I will not tolerate the way they oppress the powerless. As for the righteous ones, I’m not so worried about them. This is the necessary way to do it and those who understand me will live by their trust in me anyway. I don’t expect you to understand completely, but this is how it has to be.
Habakkuk: Why can’t you just save us like you always did in the past? I know the stories. Why don’t you just do it that way? Why all this horror? Here we are in the midst of your punishment and I can’t understand why you don’t save us now. But even in this calamity, I will still trust you. You know what is best even if I don’t agree with it.
[End of my paraphrased understanding of the conversation between God and Habakkuk in the book of the Bible called Habakkuk.]
What is your answer? What are some other answers you have heard? Are they satisfying? Is the answer Habakkuk gets satisfying? Do you have problems with the way I characterize the book of Habakkuk?
As always, let me know what you think.
“God is omnipotent; God is wholly good; and yet evil exists. There seems to be some contradiction between these three propositions, so that if any two of them were true, the third would be false.”
Typically, it is a philosophical argument that we talk about when things are going great. Life isn’t really going too badly so, we just go on and think about the problems the world faces. We see the suffering of others sometimes and just wonder why that happens.
Aside from the perhaps obvious atheistic answer being “God does not exist,” (I don’t mean to simplify this so easily as their arguments are complex, but this is the basic point from which there is an attempt to defeat any defenses from the theistic point of view) there are theistic answers such as the free will defense, possible world theory (i.e., maybe this is the best of all possible worlds that God could have created), redemptive value in suffering, a theology that suggests that God is not completely omnipotent (process theology), or is at least open to the future (theology of God’s openness), and there are even attempts to separate out the issue into categories such as “natural evil” and “moral evil.”
Rather than going into detail about all these theories, I’d rather pose what is perhaps a more important question, namely, “Why does evil happen to me?” I’m not saying we don’t care when it happens to others, but we care more deeply when something goes wrong in our own lives. We addressed this somewhat last week with the idea of “obstinate faith,” as an answer to life’s situations, but we never really addressed this from a “God” point of view, in the sense of dealing with God’s culpability.
An even different approach sometimes occurs to us in the form of, “Why is that scoundrel (fill in whatever name you like here) doing so well in life after all the bad he/she has done?”
But even from another perspective we could ask, “Why does all this good happen to me?” Or even, “Why does good happen to anyone?”
You see, I feel like we’re asking for a fair system based upon merit, which, when we really think about it, that is not the way the world works, does it? At its very basic level, this is what we experience as what is most problematic. In other words, “If I knew what it was I was doing to deserve this, I’d stop doing it so that things would go better for me. What am I doing wrong? And if I’m not doing anything to deserve this, why is it happening?” It does come down to the question, “Why isn’t God running things more to my liking?” and, “Why isn’t there a system of rewards and punishments so I could at least know where I stand?” From the other point of view, “There must not be a God because a loving one sure couldn’t let the world run this way.”
An interesting guy named Habakkuk had that same question, but did not get the answer he either wanted or expected. Instead, he pretty much got more questions than answers. Here’s how the basic storyline goes:
Habakkuk: God, haven’t you seen all the injustice happening in my little corner of the world today? Why don’t you fix it? I thought you hated evil.
God: So, you’ve noticed, huh? Well, I intend to do something about it, but something so ridiculous that you wouldn’t believe it even if I described it in detail from beginning to end. I’m bringing a ruthless nation in to destroy your nation and take everyone into exile.
Habakkuk: What?! Now you really don’t know what you’re doing! I thought it was bad before, but how can you let a people more evil destroy people less evil than them? I thought you couldn’t tolerate evil. What are you thinking, God? Let me wait here and see if you will answer me again.
God: I see the evil going on and one way or another, my people will see it, too. By this punishment, they will come to know that I will not tolerate the way they oppress the powerless. As for the righteous ones, I’m not so worried about them. This is the necessary way to do it and those who understand me will live by their trust in me anyway. I don’t expect you to understand completely, but this is how it has to be.
Habakkuk: Why can’t you just save us like you always did in the past? I know the stories. Why don’t you just do it that way? Why all this horror? Here we are in the midst of your punishment and I can’t understand why you don’t save us now. But even in this calamity, I will still trust you. You know what is best even if I don’t agree with it.
[End of my paraphrased understanding of the conversation between God and Habakkuk in the book of the Bible called Habakkuk.]
What is your answer? What are some other answers you have heard? Are they satisfying? Is the answer Habakkuk gets satisfying? Do you have problems with the way I characterize the book of Habakkuk?
As always, let me know what you think.
posted by Duane | 1:32 PM
7 Comments:
I guess you scared us all off with this one, Duane! I'll give it a whirl...
After years and years of deep thoughts and intellectual consideration, my reasoned theory on why evil exists is: "I don't know, but it sure does!"
Now, don't let the big words scare you away. I'm really not that smart.
But I'm somewhat serious. The existence of evil is undeniable, and combined with my gnawing belief that there is more to life than just what we see here forces me to develop some sort of an answer.
So...
Referring back to my comment last week in response to your last "deep" question, the best answer-giver I've found is Jesus. And to just tick me off (possibly), he doesn't answer this question!!!! But he does recognize the existence of evil, does not propose that it will go away in this life, and then goes on to teach how to live with it all around.
Thus, the crux of my answer: I don't know.
:-)
While my paraphrased version of this conversation contains a more frustrated, emotional, and imploring Habakkuk, I agree with your interpretation. The clash between human and divine understanding culminate in a powerful, moving, and personal conversation. It is the conversation, the fact that God responds to this human plea, that makes this book so powerful. Habakkuk, the representative of man, cries out to God, his creator and the creator of the universe, and God responds! He responds to a man who brings a case before him in which he is both judge and defendant; accusations of injustice brought against the divine judge. And God responds. What an image! But God responds, "You would not believe, even if you were told" (1:5).
Not only is this his response to Habakkuk but it is his response to me and I am equally unsatisfied. Habakkuk ends his case with a final plea for God to renew his deeds of mercy (deliverance) “in our day” (3:2); despite God’s unsatisfying response Habakkuk renews his plea. He knows that there is no other option but to trust God.
We see evidence of God’s plan from the beginning of time in the scriptures; God's resume (if you will) that he truly does know what he is doing... And if the answer to my personal plea to God is "this can only be solved with pain", do I really want to be enlightened? I think of the cross. The cross required pain. And if God did not spare his son from pain, knowing that it was necessary, why should I think myself above my Lord that I should be spared pain? And yet, even after such reflections, I am still unsatisfied. My human understanding of justice cannot reconcile God’s action (or inaction depending on the stance you take). No system of merit would have ever permitted such consequences for an innocent man. So my pleas, like Habakkuk’s, are renewed again and again. I see no way out of this cycle. And I begin to wonder if perhaps that is the point: turning to God again and again, choosing to participate in that divine conversation, having God remind me that he is God and I am not. While I am trapped in my own humanity I will never be able to comprehend God’s plan.
I know these are not words of comfort, just my reflection and take on my favorite book of the Bible. It is always comforting to know that we are not alone in our struggles and that they are not an indication of spiritual immaturity but a desire to seek and know God more fully. And, Duane, I always appreciate and admire your spiritual openness; you have an amazing ability to challenge people to reflect with you.
Al,
Thanks for starting the comment thread by taking this on! When you say the answer is "Jesus," I'm unclear as to what that answer entails. Could you clarify? Thanks!
Alayna,
Would you be able to post your paraphrase as a comment? I'd be interested to see it. In an attempt to get a conversation started, my ad hoc version did not bring to light all that is there and I appreciate your clarification. There is a lot of emotion, frustration, etc. from Habakkuk and it is amazing that God did respond to his challenges. How do you think God responds today? Does he?
Sometimes I feel like my struggles are so self-centered as opposed to being a concern for others like Habakkuk. Habakkuk is expressing frustration with the problems in Israel, and while his problem is somewhat personal in that it is perplexing for him to try to discern what God is doing and then not to agree with God, but he's not complaining about a personal loss or a problem of having to prophesy or anything like that. I'm not saying such encounters don't occur in the Bible; they do, particularly in many Psalms. But I get the feeling that we focus inwardly so much and don't always struggle with the issue of the problem of evil on a larger scale like I think Habakkuk did.
I do believe that God is with us in our struggles and that is comforting to know, but there are times I wish he would respond verbally as he appears to respond to Habakkuk. I also agree that doubting or questioning is a sign of a desire to know God deeper and not spiritual immaturity. Thanks for the great comments!
Joe,
I appreciate that you brought in the idea of the Yin and Yang. That seems to make a lot of sense and is one answer to the problem of evil that is discussed in the book to which I refer.
I need some clarification on the latter part of your comment, though. You seem to suggest at first that perhaps God is not "wholly good," but then go on to say that the problem is that we do not understand what is truly "good." This part seems to insinuate that your problem is not so much with saying that God is "wholly good", i.e. you seem to be okay with that if we understand "good" correctly. Am I mistaken?
(I just realized how many times I used "seem to" because I don't want to read too much into what you are saying. I guess I'm just not sure what you mean.)
You're welcome, Duane!
I miscommunicated: I meant to say that my answer to evil is "I don't know."
But my answer to life is "Jesus." He doesn't really seem to offer an explanation as to how evil can co-exist with an omnipotent-yet-loving God. Instead, he simply acknowledges the existence of both evil and an all-powerful, all-loving God, and then teaches us how to live in a world alongside evil (the tares growing alongside the wheat) until all is said & done.
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!"
I don't understand how both can exist simultaneously (which is why my answer is "I don't know"). I can't make sense of it. I simply find myself trying to determine how to live in a world where my heart tells me there's something more than Planet Earth. I call that "something more" God. And given all the attempts at making sense of God, I believe in Jesus as God made visible.
Duane,
Sometimes I feel like my struggles are self-centered, too. I wonder what God’s will for me is and where he is trying to lead me, or even if he is trying to lead me. But it is “the big picture” that makes my heart ache, that makes me question what God is doing. My heart screams at God when I witness the hurting of others; when I see people who are struggling to survive endure a natural disaster like a famine or earthquake. Or see those close to me enduring trials only to have them multiplied. It is like that balance of forces shifts and all I can see is the negative. I cannot see God at work because my understanding of God does not coincide with the reality in front of me. This kick-‘em-while-they’re-down business is the kind of injustice God spoke out against through the mouths of his prophets. My reaction is similar to Habakkuk. I reach that point where all I can do is harness that frustration and scream at God.
That is when I come face to face with my faith. I know what I believe: that God is creator, that he is faithful to keep his promises, that he is love – not solely in word but in deed for the sacrifice of his son. But I wish I did not believe. It would be so much easier to deny his existence… yet I see too much evidence to the contrary (a discussion for another time perhaps) so that is not an option. Since my struggle is between my understanding of God and the physical reality I witness, the only option that remains is to alter one of them. As I have no control of the physical, I can only strive to understand God more.
And what if God did respond to us verbally? Do you think that his response would be any different today than it was in the time of Job or Habakkuk? I doubt it. It is slightly discouraging to think that we would receive the same old answer, but slightly encouraging to know that we are not missing something critical. Perhaps the comfort we desire would not be in the words of God’s response but in existence of his response; not so much what he said, but that he chose to speak at all. I believe that God does speak to us. I believe that he speaks to us through his scriptures, through discourse between believers, through the juxtaposition of different circumstances, and through his holy spirit. In some ways I guess you could say that we are at a disadvantage because we do not have the advantage of instant two-way communication. But even the apostles, though having Jesus among them, did not always understand his communication. Even the prophets struggled to understand the God who chose them.
I agree with Joe’s comment about our inability to wholly understand God. We use human adjectives to describe God because we have no other way to understand him. But he cannot be limited to those human descriptions since he is not human. Yet that does not make the question any easier. How do you tell a suffering human being who has no faith in God that God is good? This is not a hypothetical question for me right now. Some things were revealed to me this weekend about a woman to whom I am becoming close; she has experienced deep, unbelievable suffering and pain. I did not know how to respond to her. I wanted to tell her that even though she feels rejected by the world that God loves her. But I did not. Later I felt guilty for not taking that advantage of the opportunity to share God with her, but I felt that it was not the appropriate time. How do I share with her and answer her questions about the pain in her life when I am still struggling to find those answers myself?
I am sorry that this comment is so long; I get long winded sometimes. Maybe I will save my Habakkuk paraphrase for a later post or maybe talk to you about it off line.
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