One of the toughest questions Christians face when talking to people is this - If there is a God, why is there so much evil in this world?
According to my Philosophy professor back home, and certain chapters in the Lee Strobel book -
The Case For Faith, these are some of the theories philosophers have gathered throughout their lives.
1. Evil is necessary.
I know it sounds bogus, but hear me out. If there is absolutely no evil in this world, how would we know what we have is the best there is? Without evil, there would be no contrast to pure goodness and holiness. It's just like light and darkness. When there is darkness, then only can light brightly shine through. Furthermore, God has always promised us free will. Check out
Bruce Almighty. =P If God hid evil and all the things related to evil from us, how would we truly have the freedom to choose, the freedom to destroy ourselves or to receive Christ into our lives? God never wants to force us into loving him; he wants us to go to him whenever we're ready. It's just like how it is much more meaningful to hear your loved one say 'I love you' out of his/her own accord, rather than dropping hints and throwing tantrums just to get what you want. It's much more precious that way. =)
2. God is 100% knowledge, which includes evil.
There is evil in this world; God never denied that. But if God exists and claims to be holy and pure, why did he create evil? When he created this world, he poured out all his knowledge into it, including evil. He is well aware of evil and all its tainted purposes, but because God is all-powerful and in control, he is not affected by it. On the contrary, while God created us in his image, we are merely humans in the end, therefore subject to sins and temptations.
3. Evil could be for a good cause.
I think this is the toughest part to digest. How can God justify severe famine, incurable diseases, senseless wars, even death? Because believe it or not, even these horrible stuff could work for God's purposes. I know it sounds really twisted, maybe even bordering on cruel, but I think everybody would agree that being the omnipresent God, he is able to see the past, the present and the future. Heck, he
is the past, the present and the future. Which means he is much more far-sighted than any of us. We might be questioning God why all these crap is happening, but we are too short-sighted to see the whole picture, the perfect plans that God is weaving for us. God didn't promise us instant joy and happiness in 'three-easy-steps', but he did promise us eternal life with him should we choose to persevere and believe in him, no matter what the odds are.
People say one day, science is going to reveal everything there is to know about this earth, providing enough proof to disprove the existence of God and all his miracles. Faithful believers also hope that one day science will be able to explain everything, so that all of God's works and miracles would be blatantly obvious to all, because the true works of God will not be squeezed out by the advance of science.
I think I just did me Philosophy lecturer proud. *bEam*
