No

by Trevor Warren

Created on: March 27, 2012

This question has been one that theologians and other religious leaders of countless faiths have wrestled with for centuries. It's a question that defines our belief in God; it is the source of the very image that we see when we think of some sort of transcendent being. And why shouldn't it?

Every aspect of God that makes Him intriguing and approachable to humanity is the idea of an all powerful deity that created the heavens and earth and yet, is somehow a sort of manifestation of goodness, compassion, and love. If he were something demonic or menacing, I doubt many people would be as drawn to him. So if this is true, then how do we explain the existence of evil in this world? I mean, if God is creator of all things, then he must have created evil, pain, suffering, etc. as well, right?

Now, for some, this idea is fine and manageable. But others, including myself at one point in my life, are ultimately turned away from the concept of God as a result of this seemingly contradicting idea of God's creation of evil. They come to the conclusion that the idea of God is too conflicting in it's message, and therefore takes away the possibility of His existence. And even if there is a God, they certainly do not believe that he is by any means "good" or "loving".

So how do we reconcile with this notion that God is transcendent, good and loving, yet the architect of evil, pain and suffering as well? Well, the first thing we must understand is what evil is. By definition, evil is the violation of moral code. Keep in mind that this means that evil is directly correlated with human consciousness; it only relates to humanity.

As a whole, people have made evil seem like some physical entity that reaps and defiles the earth of all good. We have come to label it as a sort of character such as Dracula, Frankenstein, the Boogeyman, etc. that is always out to hurt people and that destroys everything good. Now this is not to say that I do not believe evil is a physical force because I do. Being a United Methodist Christian, I believe in the Devil and in the physical existence of evil. But the fact of the matter is this: everything that evil is, was and ever will be is based on human decision.

Humanity had a choice between good and evil, and unfortunately chose evil. Our once perfect relationship with God became consumed and destroyed. But whether you believe in the Christian point of view or not, the universal, underlying point is that evil's existence is all based on free-will. Ultimately, we are saying that choosing evil is choosing the opposite of God; it's choosing an absence of God. When thinking about this, I look to the story about Albert Einstein as a student in college where during a debate with his teacher, he compared evil to cold and darkness, all defined as being the absence of their opposite.

So some of you are probably asking 'well if God is good, then why did he give us freewill in the first place if it is the reason for evil?' but this idea shows just how good God is.

A few years ago after I received my driver's license for the first time, my parents gave me permission to take out my new car and hang out with my friends until midnight. Their only request was that I don't do anything illegal with my friends. So what do I do? I did things illegal with them. Now of course my parents knew that there was a high possibility that I would disobey them, but did they stop me? No because they'd rather me go and enjoy life while making bad choices rather then going through life miserable while making good choices. That's a lot how God works. Sure, he could control us step by step himself and make us choose the right decisions, but what then would be the point in creating us?

The conclusive fact is that God loves us and wants us to love him and make right decisions by our own choices. And so when we choose something else over God who is good, the result is evil, which is the absence of God. But the important thing to remember is that even amidst evil, pain, and suffering, God's love takes hold of and shelters us. Even when we choose evil, He offers us salvation and a chance to live a life in relationship with him.

So wherever you are in your journey of faith, know that God is nothing but goodness and love and although he is creator of all things, evil has no relationship with God.

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