Why is there evil in the world?

Why is there evil in the world?

The classic Christian answer is this: When God created people, He gave them the power to choose. If the power to choose was real, then people could choose bad things, with bad consequences. The first, and most profound, bad choice was when Adam and Eve disobeyed God about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, whatever may have happened then. That choice resulted in a fallen creation, with human death, necessity to work, diseases, extinctions, parasites, hurricanes, earthquakes, pollution, wars, exploitation of other people, and of animals, other types of sin, and violence of all kinds.

God’s answer to bad human choice (sin) is Himself. Christ, who was God and man, paid the price for our sin by personally suffering on the cross, a voluntary, sinless sacrifice. (The resurrection shows that the sacrifice was acceptable.)

There will come a time when human suffering, for those who have chosen to accept Christ’s sacrifice, and accept Him as Lord, will be over. Our bodies will be restored to the state God planned for them in the first place, free from aches and pains, aging and death. The earth will also be restored to the state God planned for it.

God doesn’t send anyone to hell, a place of eternal suffering. People choose to go there, and God honors that choice.

Suffering builds character. We can’t achieve salvation by suffering, but undergoing suffering may help us serve God better.

“I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?” – Orual, the main character of Till We Have Faces, by C. S. Lewis.

The book of Job is largely about the previous paragraph. Bad things happened to Job. They weren't his fault. He blamed God. (See here, for example.) But, in the end, Job realized that God was infinitely more wise, and good, than he was. (See here.) God also allowed Job to live a long time, restored his health, and replaced the possessions and children that he had lost. (However, there is no promise of that sort of earthly recompense for the suffering of all of God's followers. See Hebrews 11.)

Thanks for reading. Bad things will happen. The most important result of them is what my response will be.

Snippets from the book of Job

9:10 He does great things past finding out;
    yes, marvelous things without number.

10:10 Haven’t you poured me out like milk,
    and curdled me like cheese?
11 You have clothed me with skin and flesh,
    and knit me together with bones and sinews.

12:13 With God is wisdom and might.
    He has counsel and understanding. 

Christians generally believe that Job's trials were so that God could show His greatness, and that He had a loyal servant, who was loyal in spite of circumstances. In other words, Job's trials were a great example to us. But, as far as we know, Job was never told that. He went through great trial, and had a revelation from God at the end of it, but he didn't know the reason for his trials.

Did Job re-marry, or did he have ten more children with his first wife, the one who told him to curse God and die?

How did Job make all the money it must have taken to build up his herds and flocks to twice their original numbers? Clearly, God blessed him.

Elihu spoke to Job, and to Job's friends. The last part of Elihu's speech was about how powerful and wise God is, based on observing nature. Then God spoke, and He followed the same theme -- "OK, Job, look at natural phenomena. Can you do that?"

It's not a parallel passage, but this section of the Faith Chapter of Hebrews seems instructive: 11:35b Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 11:38 (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth. 11:39 These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn’t receive the promise
Following God is no guarantee of health or prosperity. It is a guarantee of God's love and care.

As Orual said in Till We Have Faces, by C. S. Lewis: "I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?"  

God's plan is more important than my comfort.

Thanks for reading.