Luke Baumgarten
THEO202_D04_LUO
Short Essay 1
Short Essay Hamartiology: The Problem of Evil The problem of evil says that there is a God and if he created all things then he had to have created evil. There is also a thought that God created evil and does not do enough good to over power all evil (Elwell, 413). So if God is all powerful, knowing, loving and has no limits how can evil exist? There are multiple problems with evil, not just one.
There are two kinds of evil; first there is moral evil that is “evil produced by activities of moral agents” (Elwell, 414). An example of this would be the devil sending his agents (demons) to infiltrate and do his work in this world. Natural evil is “evil that occurs in the process of the functioning of the natural order” (Elwell, 414). An example of being robbed is natural because as people we are evil at heart and will do things to have our way. There is no lesser degree of evil; evil is evil there is no distinction of what is worse in evil because it is all the same.
When God first created the world, there was no evil, everything was good (Genesis 1:31). Until the fall of Adam and Eve, there was no evil. Since we are born into sin at birth we need Jesus to wipe away and cleanse us from our sins. The reason bad things happen in this world is because we make the choice to do right and wrong. We have no right in us without Jesus, and so we make wrong decisions without Him. When bad things happen in nature is because God has ordained things to happen and knows everything to happen. There is no real explanation for nature and why God allows anything to happen, because we do not have the mind to even grasp the tip of what God is really doing. There are several theodicies, “there are not only reasons that God does whatever He does, but such reasons are necessary laws” (Elwell, 1185). This thought is saying that God is the only physical being, the problem with this is saying that God created evil, even though He did not, He allows it. The free-will defense points out that God cannot cause evil, but that humans free will is (Elwell, 1186). I do not see too much wrong with this thought because we are the reason there is evil besides Satan. Soul-building theodicy which says that God had no intention of creating perfect human beings so that we would need Him and depend on Him (Elwell, 1186). This is false because the Bible clearly states that God created everything good so this could not be possible.
Theodicy has to be consistent because if it is not then it is not true. The Bible is inerrant and therefore is consistent, the same applies to theodicy, if it does not align with the Bible then it is inconsistent and false.
Evil influences everyone in the world, especially Christians. Satan tries to bring Christians down and even away from God. I myself have seen strong Christian men walk away from God many times. Evil is very powerful and can take control of a person’s life if they let it. When it comes to a belief about God, there is one way to Him and only one true answer to who He is, God is not evil He is only good. Though He allows evil into the world we (humans) are ultimately the ones that do it. Satan does have something to do with it God is not the cause. We all attack God; we blame Him for bad things that happen to us. Evil is very real and should never ever be taken lightly. We must put on the full armor of God to keep us from falling away from Him.
Bibliography
Elwell, W. A. (2001). Evangelical dictionary of theology. (second ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Publishing Group.
Bible