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The existence of evil seems to be contradictory to the existence of an all powerful loving god, and yet evil does exist. So, based on some people's failed logic, they assume that if evil exists, then either God does not, or God is thus evil. The reason that I say this is flawed logic is because these people take the assumption that if God was good and existed then evil could not exist. This basic assumption is what throws everything off.

I would like you to think of day without night. What would it be? If we had never known night then day would be nothing to us, it would just BE. What about joy without sadness or anger? Without the contrast, how joyful would it really be? If it is always that way, than it just IS. It is the same with good and evil. Good without evil would just be the natural state of things. No one would know what good is without the contrast of evil. How would you know God is good? If all was good, why would you need God?

To fully understand the need for evil, you first need to understand why we were created. What is the one thing that an all powerful God does not have? What is it he can not create? Love. You see, love is the one thing that cannot be forced, even by an omnipotent deity, because if it is, it is no longer love but something else. In that, it is fundamentally different from obedience, loyalty, or even worship. It can not be compelled, bought, stolen, held for ransom, or even manufactured; it can only be earned. It can not be sold or bartered; it can only be given away. And here is the rub: the capacity to love requires the capacity not to love. If the object of God's affection cannot reject Him, then accepting Him is a meaningless concept. If good was all there was, then there would be no ability not to choose God. To allow a creation to truly love him, God has to provide that creation with a choice to not love him. To return God's love is the whole point of our creation. Scripture indicates that God wanted companions to return the love that he had. And that is why we were created, provided with a choice, and subsequently redeemed.

God created everything, even the potential for evil. Though it would be inaccurate to say he created evil, or that he continues to create evil. He simply opened the door to allow choice, to allow evil as a possibility. It is humans that choose and create evil. So, it is precisely because God is all powerful that there is evil. Because he is all powerful he is alone and wants someone to love him. Because he wants someone to love him he created us and gave us a choice to not love him. Because we have a choice we create evil. Therefore, because God is all powerful and loving, evil exists.

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