Ever Wonder Why?
Week two - Evil Exists
Isaiah 5:20 and Romans 12:21
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. —Isaiah 5:20
Evil exists
There is darkness. It’s not an illusion. It can’t be explained away or ignored, and it shouldn’t.
New Age philosophy would have us believe evil is simply an illusion
Hinduism tells us it’s karma and evil and suffering are therefore deserved
Atheism claims evil is the definitive proof that our universe lacks a good God, but has no basis for identifying good and evil
Can evil and God both exist? If evil and God both exist, how is it possible for God to be good?
Five basic premises about God (from a Christian perspective):
1. God exists.
2. God is omnipotent (all-powerful)
3. God is omniscient (all-knowing)
4. God is wholly good.
5. Evil exists.
Assumption - a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can. Ergo, if God is good and all-powerful, He should eliminate all evil. But what if eliminating some cases of evil simultaneously eliminates a greater good? Of, what if stopping an act of evil meant God had to violate free will? Or what if stopping an evil act day sets in motion a butterfly effect that either creates a greater evil or even a lesser good?
God doesn’t
What if the best news is that while evil is real in a fallen world, God hates it and stopped at nothing short of sending His only Son to end it? What if evil is real, but God’s determination to name it and stick with us is one of the most powerful acts of love we could imagine?
The
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. —Romans 12:21
So what do we do about evil?
- We have to
- We have to practice and pursue
- We have to remember that evil doesn’t have the final say - Jesus made sure of it!
- We have to