Why Does God Allow Evil, Part 1: Free Will or God's Will

One of the most common objections to Christianity is, "If God is all-good and all-powerful, why does He allow evil?" I've addressed why this is not a good argument against the existence of God in "I Don't Believe in Speed Bumps", but not everyone asks this question as a challenge to the existence of God. Many of us ask because we want to know God more, and while there is a lot to say about this, a few things must be considered at the outset.

First, God is not the source of evil. God created everything good.1 Evil is the result of rebellion against God, beginning with Lucifer and multitudes of angels, followed by Adam and Eve, and continuing with every person ever to live, save one.

Therefore, the problem of evil is the problem of you and me. It is not merely "those people" who do evil, but it is every one of us who ever lied, cheated, stole, deceived, envied, dishonored our parents, failed to love God with our whole being, or failed to love our neighbors as ourselves (and by the way, your neighbor includes your worst enemy).2 Just because we have become desensitized to our own sin does not make it any less heinous or harmful. The standard by which we determine whether we are sinful is not the angry old man next door, the middle school bully, the drug dealers across town, the murderers on television, or Adolf Hitler. The standard is Jesus of Nazareth, and we all stand condemned. When we ask why God allows evil, we're asking why He puts up with us!

If we're honest, we may realize we really just want God to take care of other people's sin. Or perhaps we just want Him to take care of the evil that is reprehensible to us, according to our own subjective feelings of what qualifies as truly awful. Yet our sin is at least as reprehensible to God as other people's sin is to us.3

Furthermore, permitting evil does not necessarily compromise God's goodness or power. If He has the power to stop evil but chooses to allow it in order to accomplish a greater good (or prevent a greater evil), then He still may be fully powerful and fully good.

Finally, not everything we dislike is evil. I've traveled to African villages in which people didn't have private faucets bringing running water into their homes, but they valued community gatherings at the local well more than they valued privacy or convenience. I've eaten in the homes of Afghan families who choose to dine on the floor and eat with their hands, not because they can't afford tables and forks, but because they prefer their cultural ways. We must remember that America is not the standard for what is good, and our preferences are not universal.

Having said that, I think we would all agree that evil does exist. So why would God allow it? The most common answer is free will. In order to be able to choose good, we must also be able to choose evil. God doesn't force anyone to love or obey Him, and we humans have used our good, God-given freedom to choose evil. But this leaves me with a few questions: Isn't God free to do whatever He chooses? Of course He is! If He wasn't free He wouldn't be God.4 But is God able to do evil? No, because evil is diametrically opposed to His character. God can't even be tempted with evil.5 This isn't a defect in His power, for it isn't a matter of power. It's a matter of character, and God is always, only, perfectly good. So if God is free yet unable to do evil then why didn't He create us that way? Why can't we be free and yet inherently opposed to evil, lacking any and all desire ever to do bad?

Additionally, why would God be so committed to our free will if it wasn't what was best for us? When your toddler wants to run in front of a car, do you let him go in order to preserve his all-important free will? No! You restrain him in order to protect him, even if it compromises his freedom. And if you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to His children?! 6

Free will is certainly a convenient explanation for the existence of evil, but I don't think it's sufficient, and more importantly, I don't think it's biblical. Throughout the Bible God changes people's hearts and minds, leading them to want and do what He desires, and even restraining and preventing evil.7 The human will is not absolutely, uninhibitedly free, but God's will is. So the question is, what good thing does God value that could possibly justify allowing evil? To answer this, we must next examine the purpose for which we were created.

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[1] Genesis 1:31

[2] Luke 10:25-37

[3] Isaiah 64:6-9; Romans 3:10-18

[4] Job 23:13-14; Job 42:2; Proverbs 16:33; Daniel 4:35; Romans 9:6-29; Ephesians 1:11; Psalm 135:6

[5] James 1:13

[6] Matthew 7:11

[7] Psalm 105:25; Ephesians 1:11; Jeremiah 10:23; Jeremiah 32:40; Acts 4:27-28; Genesis 20:6; Exodus 4:21; Deuteronomy 2:30; Ezra 1:1-4; Ezra 6:22; Ezra 7:27; Proverbs 16:9; Proverbs 21:1; Acts 4:27-28; Job 1:9-12